Life post-IDEALS

It’s crazy to think two weeks ago today I was due to be heading to the airport to board a plane to return from Zambia. But here I am still am, living the dream for that little longer, and looking ahead to what the next six weeks have in store for me. Life without the students has been a little different, rather varied at time but nonetheless enjoyable. On one hand I miss the busyness of the house, the constant noise and chatter, the stories from the day, laughter and banter and the way we all lived the Zambia dream together… 12 of us squeezed into the house that soon became home. I miss the sleep talking, and late night chats, the random banter and the weekend ventures, the times that were only made because of the people I shared them with. Yet on the other hand I am enjoying the freedom to go where I want when I want, the flexibility that comes from creating my own schedule to spend time here, there and everywhere. I enjoy not having to meet the ‘needing to be home before dark rule’, and I am enjoying the way I am feeling very settled here. Every day my route home takes me to a bus stop, where I then walk about 15 minutes to my house. On this route home I always walk past the same taxi drivers, the same shops and the same market and I am now rather enjoying the conversation that has been struck up every time. In Zambia there is often times you receive attention and it’s a little unwanted but this attention is actually welcomed and even over these past two weeks I have had some lovely little chats with the locals on my way home. It is in these times that I stop and take a moment and realise how ‘at home’ I feel, how welcomed I feel and how genuinely content I am. I may have six more weeks left but I am sure that without a doubt they will fly by, just like the past twenty weeks have!

Cricket at the UTH Special School

I have also discovered here than no one day is the same, even if two days you do exactly the same things the conversations you have, the encounters you experience all make every moment unique. These past two weeks have included many of these moments. Last week for example, when going to UTH Special School to help deliver a PE session there, I walked past a group of kids who were playing cricket and recognised a few of them. So I stopped, assuming that this was some of the class we normally teach and joined in… Only in Zambia could you do that. It wasn’t until about half way through that I soon realised, that not only wasn’t this class the one I teach but another group were delivering it. I soon found out that the Zambia Cricket Union were delivering this session and had recently created a new partnership with the school, which was fantastic. After chatting for a while we discussed the possibility of partnering the ZCU and Sport in Action and I am going to spend the next few weeks looking at forming a partnership where cricket is delivered through some of our programmes, and helping up-skill some of our Peer Leaders along the way. I never imagined playing cricket in Zambia but like I said no one day is the same.

Steph and I still Living the Dream

I have also managed to visit the Alive and Kicking Football Factory within the past two weeks. Through the IDEALS programme the footballs we have always used have been created by Alive and Kicking which are an organisation who makes football in Africa for Africa, printing them with messages to help use sport as a tool to educate about health. The words ‘football factory’ make you think or at least made me think of this industrial sized building but it’s far from that. Each football is hand printed; hand stitched and formed into being. Each employee creates approximately 3.5 footballs a day, which as you can imagine suggests the process is quite a long one. It was inspiring to watch these individuals hand craft these balls, focusing heavily on the small details which make these balls what they are. I was blown away by the work they do and how dedicated they all were in making their products. I am looking forward to working more closely with Alive and Kicking and their partner organisation Tackle Africa to help deliver the health aspect of their programme.

Oh and the weekend may have included a little visit to 'Oktoberfest' which was so so much fun! It was nice to enjoy a day off with Steph and some of our Zambian friends as we made our way to Fringilla to enjoy a day of music, dancing and a few drinks. This was the first festival I have ever been too, ever and it's fair to say Zambia more than delivered. A great day that was so much fun and another memory created from living the Zambia Dream!

Some highlights from Oktoberfest 2015

It's not goodbye, but see you soon

Our last group photo before we went to the airport!

It's now been just over a week since the third and final IDEALS students left Zambia and what a different experience it's been. I remember sitting on the floor of the girls room last Wednesday, the night the students left for the airport, and for the first time experienced a lonely kind of strange feeling. Many pre-warned me that my time post-IDEALS would be lonely but as I sat there it feel strange and if I am honest I didn't like it. There was an eerie sense of quiet about the house, where once there was laughter and chatting, and movement, now remained silence. The bunk beds (which now have a kind of infamous history within the IDEALS houses) no longer squeaked with every movement, the house no longer radiated life and all but remained was Steph and I.

The place I called home for the past four months

I have said it time and time again but I can't quite comprehend where the past four months have gone, where time has flown too. Time is funny like that, here one minute and gone the next. To think that just under four months ago I arrived in Zambia and have since spent that time adventuring through with three groups of amazing students is crazy. It feels like yesterday that I arrived yet it feels so long ago since Group 1 were here with us. Each group spent just under six weeks in Zambia with us and each group provided some memorable experiences for life. They all were like a little family full of different personalities, different interests, different characteristics yet together we were all united by one common factor: our love for sport, and subsequently our ever growing love for Zambia. Plus not only as it hard enough saying goodbye to the final group, we also had to tidy, clean and clear out the place we have called home for the past four months. It's not surprisingly how much rubbish can be left behind by students but what was surprising was how long it took us to clear it out!

My ZamFam 1

So as Group 3 leaves and my time as part of IDEALS comes to a close, I can't help but take a step back and reflect on what has been the summer of a lifetime. There's been highs and lows, tears and laughter but above all I have created some memories that will without a doubt stick with me for life. To have had the opportunity to journey through this incredible country alongside 29 students and 7 staff members, and to have had the chance to play a part, no matter how small, in helping them fall in love within this place I hold so close to my heart, is a privilege I will forever be grateful for. The past four months have once again highlighted the value of this project, not only to those in Zambia but also those from the UK. The project provides every individual involved the chance to offer their skills, knowledge and expertise to those they work with in the local communities, enhancing the lives of the people they meet and the communities they work within. But in return the students take away so much more than they can ever imagine, developing as an individual and a professional, returning back to the UK a better person. You only ever have to speak to each individual involved in the project this year to know that Zambia has, in more ways that one, changed their life and for that I am more than thankful. As one of the Team Leaders that is all I could have ever wished for, for people to fall in love with this place the same way I did back in 2010.

My ZamFam 2

Zambia once stole my heart and this year it has done it again. Forever grateful for the privilege, for the opportunity and the chance to experience what has without a doubt one of the most incredible summers of my life. If I am honest I am so not ready for it to end...

I miss these guys already... Come back please!

Wallace Tournament Take 3

Doing my babysitting duties looking after Chichi as she slept

Last weekend marked the third and final Wallace Tournament of my time in Zambia as Group 3 organised, hosted and delivered a fantastic day to celebrate the hard work of the past 6 weeks. The Wallace Tournament always acts as a great day for not only all of the participants but for the students to come together and really recognise the fantastic work they have been doing in and around the communities in Lusaka.

The day started with an early rise as we all made our way across to Munali, one of our placement sites, to set up and prepare for the arrival of approximately 400 children and teams from Fountain of Hope, Chipata, Mtendere, Munali and St Patricks. As with most things Zambian time always plays a part as our 9:30am start was delayed and we soon found ourselves over an hour behind on some of the tournament schedules. I have to give credit to each and every IDEALS student, as despite this, a scenario which would often cause mayhem back at home, they were relaxed and embraced it as all part of the day. 

Team Photo... Munali U12s

One thing that is great about the Wallace Tournament is that Steph and I can take a step back as Team Leaders and let the students make the day what they want it to be. From the sport specific scheduling to the theme for the day, to the team colours and posters, the students have the flexibility to make the day all they want it to be and more. This also means that on the day, we can help umpire and officiate but also spend some time wandering around observing the different sports in action, chatting to the participants and enjoying the day. From the first Wallace Tournament to now, I have had the chance to get to meet every team from each of the placement sites, getting to know some of the individual players and have be grateful to have been able to spend time getting to know them as people but also as players. For a few of these teams I have also had the chance to coach them, playing a small part in helping them become better players. This means that although we shouldn't have favorites, admittedly when watching some games there were a few occasions when my allegiance was one of the teams other the other ones but obviously this I couldn't show!

With my Mtendere Netball Family

Unlike the two previous tournaments where we had certain placement sites dominate specific sports, it was great to see other teams emerging as winners with Fountain of Hope making history and winning the U12s boys' football competition for the first time ever... History in the making for this Wallace Tournament. Mtendere won both the U15s and U17s netball competitions but not without tough competition from Munali who fell short by one point in one competition and lost in extra time in the other. Those games could have gone either way! Another positive sign that the level of ability being demonstrated by each placement site is bettering, and even since my arrival in Zambia four months ago, the players have without a doubt got better; something I attribute again to the hard work and effort of all of our students who have worked tirelessly with the Peer Leaders and teams to play their part in enhancing the teams they coach. We are all here because we believe not only in the power of sport as a tool but because each of the students are coaches who are here to share their knowledge, ideas and skills to enhance the lives of those they are working with.

Never a dull day with these boys :)

A crazy busy day but one I know I absolutely loved, as did all of the students and that was even with the challenges of it being one of the hottest days we had experienced so far. The Zambian summer has well and truly arrived. What a way to wrap up the past 6 weeks, it's been fun and these students have done themselves more than proud! I feel somewhat like a proud mother as I stand back, take a moment and smile on what has been a fantastic adventure which we wrapped up with a cracking Wallace Tournament!

My Zam Dream Team after the fun of the Wallace Tournament was over