Out of your comfort zone

Apparently you should do one thing every day that scares you.

When you live and work in another culture, you come across plenty of opportunities for stepping out of your comfort zone. One example is attempting to speak the local language. It's likely that words will be mispronounced or used in the wrong context. I’ve certainly tried words in Bemba and ended up looking or sounding rather silly! But on the other hand, there are also occasions when it's easy to stay within your comfort zone and avoid taking a risk. It’s natural to find comfort in familiarity.

Scary faces

 Everyone has a different comfort zone. One of my friends who came to visit me here in Zambia actually has a fear of flying. I was amazed that despite her fear, she flew from London to Ndola via Johannesburg and even took an internal flight on a very small aircraft. At first, some of the children at school were fearful about getting into the pool to learn to swim. It took them a while and they held on tightly to an adult, but they did it. For me personally, I love travelling and swimming but there are other things that do scare me just a little bit.

A friend that travelled to Zambia despite her fear of flying

I've tried to make sure that I step out of my comfort zone at certain times and on other occasions I have simply had to. Ridiculous as it may seem, I dislike insects and have on several occasions been scared of little critters that are far smaller than me; particularly scorpion spiders that are astonishingly quick and can climb walls! My usual approach is to just deal with it by killing them as quickly as possible. I wasn’t quite as cool, calm and collected when I found a mouse running around my house here – my approach to this was standing on the sofa and screaming!

Clearly not so scared of snakes!

After just one term of living in Zambia, I went on a trip to Kazembe and certainly felt out of my comfort zone. Once we arrived there my friend who had organised the trip announced that I would be leading the team in groups around the town and to the clinic, to talk about faith and pray for people. It would have been far easier for me not to do it, but we ended up being able to encourage lots of people and see an instant improvement in some of them. Doing a bungee jump over the Zambezi River in Livingstone also scared me a bit. Not in a petrified way, more exhilarating. There's something about adventurous activities like skydiving and white water rafting that appeals to me. It makes you feel alive.

Preparing to bungee

If I’m honest, I wasn’t even sure about writing a blog when I first came to Zambia. How do you know if you’ll have anything to say? How do you know if anyone will want to read it? But I’m certainly glad I took that risk. It has been a great way of sharing lots of things that are going on here and keeping friends and family at home updated. I’ve realised I seem to spend a lot of my time communicating with people in different ways, so I don’t know why I thought I wouldn’t have enough to say about my time here.

As school teachers we regularly try to push children out of their comfort zone and tell them that it’s okay to make mistakes, because we see the potential they can achieve. But we have to model it to them too. Many a time in the classroom, children have helped me with this by pointing out that I've made a mistake!

Eager faces ready to learn something new

Making our own choice to step out of our comfort zone, gives us the opportunity to learn, grow and develop. Yes, there’s a chance you’ll fail or won’t enjoy it but there is also a chance you will. Living and working here has taught me that when we step out of our comfort zone, we usually find that we can achieve so much more than we think. 

Snake!!!

Another little piece of my heart

To help the Arise team be both purposeful and efficient, we have created some policies and procedures for us all to follow. This means that any team member is able to help a child or guardian who comes to the office, which includes being able to respond objectively rather than emotionally. This is an important part of working in this environment, as it helps us to treat people fairly and use our resources in the best way.

Arise volunteers who work in the office

Nonetheless, there are times when particular people or situations melt your heart. In that moment you have to decide whether to follow the usual guidelines or do something different. I often pray in these situations because it can be very difficult to determine the best way forward. Will giving extra help create dependency or lead to empowerment? Do I want to help because it will make me feel better, or is this a real injustice for which we can advocate? 

One of the children who came to the office to collect school shoes

One young man in Arise has broken my heart a bit this week. He is a double orphan (which means both his parents have died), who has been raised by his grandmother. He is 14 years old but during this short time has suffered a lot. Last year he was admitted to hospital and treated for HIV, until they realised he was HIV negative and then instead treated for TB. Of course, there would be outrage in the UK if a misdiagnosis occurred and people would certainly be held to account. That doesn’t happen here in Zambia; things just continue as they are. When this young man recently came to the Arise office, I didn’t recognise him because he is now so thin. He has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. 

Although I don’t know him particularly well, this young man always seems cheery despite his circumstances. He has received a referral for an assessment and treatment at another hospital, so came to the Arise office with his uncle to ask for help with transport money. Arise doesn’t usually help with healthcare costs, because our support is primarily focused on education and discipleship, but occasionally we will help with more serious medical appointments. We set priorities for the majority but sometimes feel compelled to look at individual cases with extra compassion. There are likely to be many grey areas ahead for this young man’s situation. Will he receive an accurate diagnosis? How much will potential treatment cost and for how long will it be needed? How should his family contribute? Will support be sustainable?

Resting in the Arise office

This week an elderly gentleman who I have met many times now also visited the Arise office. He is almost blind and lives alone. He has a grand-daughter living nearby but he isn’t the primary caregiver. This means he is not eligible to be accepted into Arise, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to help him. We welcome him our weekly guardians’ meetings and he is one of the most regular attendees. Occasionally he will ask if we can spare him some food. When I talked to him about how he manages for food, he said that people give it to him out of pity. My heart breaks for this elderly gentleman too. He shows such positive character despite not being able to see, and consequently, work. Although it doesn’t strictly follow our protocol, we have arranged to visit him in his home to see if there is any appropriate way to help further.

Arise guardians gathering for a meeting

It can be extremely hard to know what to do to help people who are struggling because their problems can seem insurmountable. We sadly have to learn not to say yes to every single request because we wouldn’t be effective, and it wouldn’t be financially viable. However, sometimes being affected by other people’s pain means we don’t lose sight of the purpose of what we are doing. I believe that when we pray, God can lead us in what to do. The Bible says we should loosen the chains of injustice and set the oppressed free and then the Lord will guide us (Isaiah chapter 58).

Little visitors to the office who make me smile

Life Experiences

One of the things I love being able to do here in Zambia is create opportunities that allow the children to do things they have never done before. There was much excitement when we took groups of children from Kapumpe to the swimming pool. They had been looking forward to it ever since it was first mentioned, and would ask every day when they could go next. Two years on from a school trip to a game park, they still talk about the animals they saw and ask if we can visit again. It is lovely to see the look of delight on their faces; I can’t help but thoroughly enjoy the experiences too because of their reactions. 

                            School trip to Nsobe Game Park



Last week was half term for schools in Hampshire, where I used to teach back home. Many children who attend those schools will very likely have been on outings – perhaps to a farm, theme park, the beach (maybe not quite so likely in February!), to visit friends in a different city or possibly even travel to another country on holiday. In contrast, the children supported by the Arise Project tend not to have many opportunities to venture far from where they live, apart from occasionally going to stay with a relative. It is actually rare for the majority of these children to even go to Ndola, the nearest town which is 15km away.

Tasting ice cream on a school trip into town

A group of boys from Arise had a very exciting, new experience last week – they played in a football tournament at the big football stadium in Ndola. The tournament was organised by a charity that we often link up with, Beyond Ourselves Zambia (BOZ), which is a UK-based charity working here in Zambia with community schools in Kitwe and Ndola. BOZ invited ten schools and youth projects to each bring a team of ten boys to the tournament for seven-a-side football matches.

First Arise game at the tournament

Games were played in front of the stadium

We provided our team from Arise with a fantastic Southampton Football Club kit which they were absolutely delighted with, especially when they found out they could keep it! (A few of them even changed into it again straight after school the next day.) A parent from one of the schools I used to work at in Hampshire had kindly donated the kit on behalf of the club. We just had to find trainers for a few of the boys who didn’t own any themselves, although some of the other teams played barefoot.

Arise football team in Southampton kit

Most of the players on the other teams were somewhat older and bigger than our team which gave us a bit of a disadvantage, but it didn’t stop the Arise team from giving their best in each match. It was a bright sunny day, so it was extremely hot and sweaty for them running about all over the place. They lost their first game but drew the next two games and managed to win one 2-0. There were some amusing celebrations when they scored, with a couple of the players doing multiple backflips and our Zambian adult helpers running around on the pitch. I felt like a proud mum (and very British!) standing on the side line cheering them on.

Backflip in action

  
The boys were then invited to have a tour of the stadium. I’ve been to the stadium several times to watch Zambia or the local team play, but for them the walk into and around the stadium was filled with numerous new experiences. In the posh changing rooms, they wanted to wash their hands with the liquid soap, in the VIP lounge they skidded around on the thick carpet and all of them were eager to have numerous photos taken. Even going in the lift was fun, and I found it entertaining that one of boys who tends to have a bit of attitude at school, was a bit scared of this new experience and held on very tightly to my arm!

In the stadium changing room

 

View of the pitch from the VIP Box

Levy Mwanawasa football stadium is named after the third President of Zambia who served from 2002 until his death in 2008. It was opened in 2012 and has a capacity of 49,800. Probably the biggest highlight of the day for the boys (apart from lunch which seems to be a highlight of any school trip for children both here and back home in the UK!) was playing on the pitch inside the stadium during the afternoon. 

Playing on the pitch inside the stadium

  
A huge thank you to BOZ for organising such a great day and to Southampton Football Club for supplying our kit. The children in  Arise are very much hoping this might turn into an annual event. All the work and organisation put in to the day was definitely worth it for the smiles on the boys’ faces.

Thank you from Arise!

Microloans - a new venture for Arise

Employment opportunities are hugely lacking in Kaniki. The Bible College and Baluba Farm employ a small number of people from the local community, and there are also some smaller farms, shops and stalls. Apart from this, it is very difficult for people to find regular work. For the majority, 'piece work' (occasional manual labour) is their only way of making money, which will earn them the equivalent of £2 or £2.50 for a full day’s labour.

Many Zambians rely on small-scale subsistence farming

Many people in Zambia are very resourceful. It is quite impressive to see how many sacks of charcoal can actually be transported on one bicycle! Some people in the villages make and sell fritters, or collect grass to sell to be used in building roofs, but it’s quite a challenge for anyone to start a business up without any capital behind them. In addition, many of the guardians in Arise are uneducated and so they don’t have many of the necessary skills to run a successful business.

Transporting charcoal

For some years now, a UK-based Christian charity called three:eighteen have supported our work at Kapumpe and Arise. They have helped sponsor some of the school children and teachers and fund an annual youth camp. Three:eighteen specialise in microfinance projects. They provide microloans and business training, to enable groups of people in impoverished communities to start small businesses. They first started the microloan project in Chinsali in the Muchinga Province of Zambia in 2012. Since then, three:eighteen have supported over 40 groups in starting small businesses. They also currently employ two Zambian trainers to run the work on the ground.

three:eighteen website

During the last year or so, we as the Arise team have been discussing ideas with three:eighteen and planning how we might start such a project in Kaniki. It was launched this January. There has been a lot of interest from our Arise guardians and all six of the people we approached to be part of the first group, eagerly accepted the opportunity.

One of three:eighteen’s trainers kindly came from Chinsali to spend some time training up a local Zambian who runs his own business here, who would then become the trainer in Kaniki. Together they spent two days with our first group of Arise guardians delivering training and supporting them to write a business plan.

three:eighteen microloan trainers

Two days later the plan was complete and ready to be submitted to three:eighteen for approval. The group have opted for a business selling chickens. We were really impressed with how the group worked together. We had been concerned about some of their levels of illiteracy, but the benefit of working as a group means that they can all contribute different skills and work together to support each other. They aptly named their group, ‘Twikatene’ which means ‘Let’s hold hands together’.

Business training in action

We are looking forward to seeing how the Twikatene group gets on and for how the microfinance project might grow to equip other groups in the future. Please pray for this group - that they would work hard and continue to work well together, overcome obstacles and for the business to grow.

Twikatene Group

You can find out more about microloans and small businesses in Zambia on the three:eighteen website website. If you are interested in supporting some of the costs associated with training more locals, follow the link below and select the 'microloan' option:

Click here to donate towards three:eighteen microloan projects

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support.

Bit by Bit

‘Panono panono’ is an expression commonly used in Bemba, which is the local language in this part of Zambia. It means ‘bit by bit’. So when I’m struggling to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak English, I’ll often say “Icibemba panono panono” which means 'I only know a little bit of Bemba'. The Bemba vocabulary is much smaller than English so this expression can also be used to mean ‘slowly slowly'.

With a friend who was teaching me new Bemba words

To me, 'panono panono’ is a very apt Zambian expression. Most things seem to happen slowly here. I have learned to appreciate that long-term development means VERY 
long-term. Working at schools in the UK, if I asked a teacher to change their lesson plans in a particular way, I would expect the way they worked to change right away following the conversation. That’s just not how things work here. Things move and change more gradually, which is a challenge when you’ve grown up in a fast paced, convenience-led culture. Although it does mean that Zambians tend to be a lot more patient than us Brits.

A place where things tend to move very slowly

One of the lovely grandmothers supported by Arise recently came to see us and let us know that her house had collapsed. She lives in Kanfinsa, a rural area about 9km from Kaniki. My colleague Naomi went to see the house and found that there was a whole wall missing, as well as a large crack running through one of the other walls. Unfortunately the heavy rains we have been experiencing, which have been desperately needed for the crops to grow, have caused extensive damage. The family were using a big piece of plastic sheeting to try and keep the rain out, but this was not proving very effective which meant the lady's bed was getting extremely wet from the rain.

Where the wall has collapsed

Another damaged wall

This particular grandmother is the guardian of five 'double orphans' (which means they have each lost both parents). Looking at the photos Naomi had taken, my initial thought was that the house needed to be demolished and built again from scratch to give the family a decent standard of living. But I knew better than to suggest this. As a visitor here it can be tempting to think we know better because we are used to a much higher standard of living, but what is acceptable or expected here is very different to what I am used to back home in the UK. 

The guardian with the youngest child she looks after

Naomi decided to ask the local pastor what we could do to help. It's not a good time to buy bricks here at the moment as it’s more difficult for people to make them and transport them during the rainy season. So the pastor’s advice was to find a temporary solution until bricks are easier to source and the house can be properly repaired. I can't imagine having to sleep in a house that lets the rain in so badly. When it rains in Zambia, it really pours. Nevertheless, the pastor kindly offered to find someone who could temporarily fix the house, using tree branches and mud to pack up the gap from the missing wall, fill in the crack and nail the roof down to prevent leaks. The local Zambians are really the best people to suggest appropriate solutions for a problem like this.

The pastor, his wife and some of their children

Bit by bit the house will be repaired, although at first only temporarily. This is one of the many types of situation that Arise is able to fund from the donations we receive. The immediate work will cost about £20, which would be unaffordable for this lady who doesn't have an income and has five children to feed. Generally Arise doesn't help the people we support pay their rent because we do not want to encourage dependency, but during the rainy season we will often help vulnerable families with roof repairs.

A typical grass roof

This story gives you another glimpse into a very different life to ours. There is no question that wherever we are, we all face different struggles and sometimes we have to accept that things will only change bit by bit. Arise is making a difference 'panono panono' by helping the very vulnerable but wonderful people that it supports. Thank you for your support for our work.

Operation Christmas Bucket 2016: Thank You!

In December, Arise ran their second annual Christmas Bucket Appeal. This year we hoped the Appeal would be able to bless every single family (almost 90 in total!) supported by the project with a gift of essential food and household items stored in a bucket which could then be re-used to collect water.

Some of Arise the guardians with their Christmas gifts

Thanks to the help of everyone who donated to the Appeal, we achieved our target of £700. This enabled us to buy the buckets, their contents and even covered the petrol needed for several trips in to town to buy the items.

Boxes bought from town

Buckets being filled

Naomi with the buckets ready to go

Arise staff Naomi, Agnes and Lister did a great job of purchasing and distributing all of the buckets whilst I was back home in the UK for Christmas. This was quite a mission to organise as some of our Arise families live in rather rural and remote places.

The pastor in Kanfinsa helped to deliver them in his community

 
Once the buckets were filled, the team spent the time that we would usually spend visiting individual homes in the community, gathering together small groups of guardians to give the buckets to. Every single one of our guardians was really pleased to receive their gift. It was a pleasure to be able to bless them in this way at Christmas time and to remind them of the good news of Jesus.  

A family happy to receive a bucket

On behalf of all the families in the Arise project, a very heartfelt thank you for your support which made this possible.

One of the grateful Arise guardians

Pondering Privilege and Responsibility

I am really encouraged by the interest that people show in the work that I’m doing in Zambia and I love sharing about it. A common reaction is, “That’s great, but I couldn't do that!” However I believe that if I - whose concerns included whether I would be able to bring my hair straighteners and who didn’t own a torch or anything remotely practical - can, then many people could! However, I also understand that coming to volunteer long-term in a country like Zambia is not for everyone and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

One of my reasons for saying I don't believe that this is for everyone is because I believe the main focus needs to be working with local Zambians - providing training and developing their skills for the longer term future of the country, rather than getting lots of people to move out here and take their potential roles.

Educating parents

  
Also many people in the UK and other developed countries play a vital role in helping fund such work. Many people from the UK support me either financially and/or in prayer so that I can live and work here (a big shout out goes out to Winchester Hope Church and my family and friends. Thank you!). We also have people contributing financially to the work of Kapumpe and Arise which has enabled these projects to grow. Some people are also giving things like their time and skills or do other things to support me; so it may not always be financial. People play their part in different ways. The Bible says that ‘In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well…If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.’ (Romans 12:6-8 NLT). I am very grateful for lots of different people.

Raising money for Arise at Hope Church Winchester

We are extremely privileged in the UK compared to many other places in the world. To have a good standard of free education, free healthcare as well as a social welfare system means we have many advantages that people in a lot of other countries don’t have access to. Like anyone, I find it very easy to compare myself with people around me and forget how most of the world live. But actually, like many of my peers I was able to attend school, sixth form college and university. I’ve also been able to travel abroad to lots of different places, and these are opportunities that many people here in Zambia could only dream of.

Ndola Central Hospital

In Uncle Ben’s words of wisdom to Peter Parker in Spiderman: “With great power comes great responsibility.” I'd agree that along with the privilege we have, there is also a responsibility to use what we have wisely and for the benefit of others, not just ourselves.

My longer term plan is to return to the UK and hand over some of the work here to local Zambians who share our vision and are invested in the ongoing work. In some ways they are actually the best people to help other Zambians, because of their cultural understanding. 

One of our Zambian staff helps to run our farming project

Living in Kaniki makes me very aware of the opportunities I have, because I see need all around us on a daily basis. The personal challenge for me is to remember this once I’m back in the UK and to put in to action what I’ve learned during my time here. I want to make sure that I give from what I have in a way that helps empower other people who don't have such opportunities. As Gandhi said, "Live simply so that others can simply live".