JARED
Elementary Education Undergraduate |
JARED
Elementary Education Undergraduate |
A week into our trip and we visited an organization called Chikumbuso. This is a lovely charity that educates the local community and feeds the students that come. One of the efforts that our group made while we prepared for our trip was to fundraise for this organization. We were lucky to receive so many generous funds that we made donations to the Women’s Safe Haven Program, the Feeding Program, and supporting a grandmother financially for a year. Knowing that we had an invested interest in this organization we were all extremely excited. On route to the school, we are no longer in the city of Luska. We are in the on the outskirts of town and it is noticeable. The road has turned from pavement, to gravel, to dirt. The houses and shops have became huts and precarious shelters. This is clearly a community in need. As we pull into the doors of Chikumbuso an overwhelming sound hits my ears. Before I step out of the bus this group of a dozen women were all singing a traditional Zambia hymn. While I could not understand the words the effect was powerful. All the women were smiling and dancing with such joy in the eyes and on their mouth. These women work for the organization, and they weave bags and sell them to the community. The work these women do support the charity and themselves. We were shown how to make the bags and were able to sit with the seamstresses while they crafted. Of course, being future teachers, we had to inspect the classrooms and say hello to the students here. Each and every classroom we walked into on our tour we were greeted with a resounding “GOOD MORNING VISITORS!” Although I will admit the younger students were the loudest and most emphatic with their greeting. While on tour we talked with a few teachers who went to Chikumbuso as students, once these students went and got an education, they were so impacted by the school that gave them hope and a dream they returned to give back to the organization and the community that uplifted them. Having a passion for education I know the importance it is to have powerful role models and some of these teachers are examples of that. After our tour we were even able to feed the students’ lunch. This was particularly rewarding knowing that we contributed to the feeding program that ensure the students learning in the school get fed. During the student’s lunch hour, we also joined them in their recess. The school does not have a playground or a set of swings but what it does have is more fun then any six flags park I have ever been in. The students sing and dance together. I had heard before coming to Zambia that many African countries enjoy these arts but experiencing them with children was a real joy.
-Mapalo
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AuthorHello I am Jared Milford. I am a junior at Buffalo State University and I have been blessed with an incredible opportunity to study and teach in Zambia. I am on a trip with ten other students and two professors. Our goal while in Lusaka, Zambia is to create international outreach and use our teaching skills to educate and learn from our fellow educators while we visit their country. Enjoy my journey! ArchivesCategories |