Friday, June 12, 2015

What's next?



As we are settling back into being home, we wanted to share with you some highlights of our memorable trip! Unfortunately, we did not have internet access to update our blog while in Zambia, but that gives us even more to share with you now! Of course, we cannot cover everything that we experienced in this blog, so we urge you to reach out to us so that we may share our experiences with you.

We arrived in Lusaka late Saturday night (5/23/15) after almost 30 hours of travel time! We met our Habitat host, Paul, and learned more about Zambia and the people who live there. Many families in Zambia are larger; Paul, for example, was one of ten children. Due to large family sizes and with 65% of the population living on less than $1 per day, anything further than primary education is often too expensive for families to pursue. Welfare, Financial Aid,  and HealthCare or the equivalents to these programs are nonexistent in Zambia. Approximately 15% of the population tests positive for HIV, and the average life expectancy is 35 and 42 years of age for men and women respectively. Paul shared with us all of this information and gave us an orientation to Habitat for Humanity in Zambia and the week ahead.

During this first night in Lusaka, we also discovered that we would be traveling another five hours to the village we would be building homes for the next morning. To our surprise, we would be spending the next week in a small village called Twapia within the town of Ndola.

We arrived in Twapia the next evening (5/24/15) and were greeted by women and children of the village singing and welcoming us. It was a wonderful beginning to the week ahead. For the next week, we worked on and completed two homes! Both homes were built through the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Program and despite language barriers (the people of Twapia speak Bemba), we enjoyed working alongside the families and learning more about the culture of Zambia throughout the week. Agatha and Katherine were the two women we built homes for. Agatha is a widow and has three children. Katherine is divorced and has eight children, but lost four. She now cares for three grandchildren. Both women grew and sold produce to support themselves and their families.

Before work each day (which began at 8:00a.m.), children in the village would greet us and walk us to the work site. Many would wait alongside the build site and then walk us home in the evenings when we were finished (around 4:00p.m.). We enjoyed playing with the children after work until the sun set around 6:00p.m. and we went to dinner. We were fortunate to have five women of the village cooking dinner for us each night, a gesture we later returned by taking them to dinner at the end of the week. These women also gave us a cultural night on Tuesday (5/26/15) where we learned more about the village and the people there.

It was wonderful growing closer to the community throughout the week. Some of our group played soccer on a nearby field with locals, others conversed with residents of the village around a camp fire each evening, and many of us developed friendships with the children who welcomed us into Twapia. The week was filled with many emotions, challenges, and rewards. We are so thankful for your support and the opportunity to give Agatha and Katherine the keys to their new homes at the dedication ceremony at the end of the week.

Now we are wondering, what's next? As we advocate and raise awareness through our experiences, we hope to find answers to many of the questions we had throughout these weeks and determine what we can do next.

Below are a few pictures of our week!