ZAMBIA TEACHING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA

Situated in the vibrant town of Livingstone, this project - just a stone's throw from the world famous Victoria Falls, allows volunteers to make a real difference to the lives of the deprived but very enthusiastic children.  Teaching volunteers will help teach at six community schools in the town - keeping the local children off the streets and helping them to have a more positive future.  Volunteers will also be involved in some very worthwhile community development projects including the Elephant Pepper Project, Home Based Care Group and building, painting and refurbishing schools and clinics.

	Location:	LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA	Dates:	Volunteers should arrive on the 1st or 3rd Monday of each month
	Fees:	£845 - 2 weeks £1,095 - 3 weeks £1,295 - 4 weeks £1,695 - 6 weeks £2,095 - 8 weeks £2,495 - 10 weeks	Payment:	£180 deposit at time of booking – balance payment of project fee due 12 weeks before departure
	Reference:	AV023

Highlights

• Gain teaching experience in a challenging environment and work with disadvantaged children
• Get involved in the community, and with those who really need help
• Based in Livingstone where there is so much to do at weekends and in the evenings
• This project welcomes qualified teachers, student teachers or simply those keen to help
• Many varied activities and community projects from which to choose
• A real variety of locations - with projects in the town, in the rural communities, in clinics, hospices, farms, old people's homes etc
• Working with such friendly people - the locals are the friendliest people anyone could wish to meet
  

General Information

Teaching Projects 

'Mosi-oa-tunya' - "The Smoke That Thunders" - is the local description of the spray created by the world famous Victoria Falls, the magnificent number one tourist attraction in Zambia. Volunteers will have opportunities to visit the Falls and perhaps take part in some of the fantastic adventure activities on offer at this exciting venue - or they may just wish to immerse themselves in the local culture and enjoy the wonderful scenery that this area offers.

This extremely worthwhile project gives volunteers the opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of the children in this region of Africa and no previous teaching experience is necessary - just the desire to help!  Any volunteers with experience are able to teach their own class using in-depth lesson plans. Teaching volunteers spend the mornings as teaching assistants in the classroom and possibly with sports coaching programmes which keep children off the streets.  

Term dates for 2010 are as follows:

First Term:  11 January - 9 April
Second Term:  10 May - 6 August
Third Term:  6 September - 3 December

During school holidays volunteers help to run "Holiday Clubs" which allow pupils to catch up on any learning missed due to the "hot seating" system in Zambia.  These clubs are great fun and provide a safe place for the young people to spend their holidays.   Volunteers might plan short lessons, perhaps in maths, science, geography etc as well as arranging fun activities such as sports matches and creative art lessons.  They may even help the children to put on a talent show!

Volunteers will find that most of the schools have large classes and few facilities, but many children with a desire to learn. There are several ways in which volunteers will assist the schools:

Teaching Assistants

Teaching volunteers will spend the mornings in one of the six community schools in the area.  They will be assigned to a class and assist the teacher, particularly by giving the children the individual attention that will help them make progress.  This is very much appreciated.  The schools in which volunteers will work are:

Nakatindi Community School (420 pupils, 10 teachers and two sessions - morning and afternoon) - quite a large school that also has PE classes run by the sports volunteers, reading clubs to help pupils struggling with literacy and art club some afternoons.

Mwandi Community School (150 pupils, 2 teachers and two sessions - morning and afternoon) - a small under-privileged school on a hill overlooking Livingstone with afternoon clubs for art and reading and PE.

Malota Community School (150 pupils, 2 teachers and two sessions - morning and afternoon) - a small and very under-privileged school with limited resources  but very good teaching principles and methods.  Teaching volunteers help out in the classrooms in the mornings and once further classroom space has been created will help to establish activities in the afternoons.

Livingstone Primary School - a basic school that receives little by way of government funding - where volunteers will assist in the classroom and with football training as well as revision classes on Friday afternoons for those that are struggling to keep up.

Dwamba Christian School - a very under-privileged school with only one permanent building.  Classroom assistance and PE are provided.

Dwamba Basic School - a large basic school with less involvement by volunteers but where Life Skills Workshops for the 16-18 year olds are provided.  These workshops help the pupils in their transition from school to employment and cover items such as writing a CV, telephone and interview skills and basic first aid.

Group Work

Volunteers may be asked to help with small groups of children who are struggling to keep up with the rest of the class, and can provide support at a slower rate with greater repetition to enhance the learning.

Revision Classes

As the pace in the class is fast and individual attention is low, children often fall behind.  Volunteers can help by repeating subjects in revision classes to help the children keep up in the regular classes.

Marking Tests and Assignments

Teachers at schools in Livingstone give many tests and assignments to their pupils, and with homework this results in a lot of marking to be done.  This is an important role of the teaching volunteer and is so useful.

Community Projects

After spending the mornings in the schools, volunteers will rotate between the different community projects in the afternoons.

Building, painting and refurbishing schools and clinics

Schools are very short of classrooms resulting in most children being able to attend one session per day only.  Volunteers will help the local builders and community to build as many classrooms as funds allow and will help with mixing cement, bricklaying, plastering and painting.  Hard but very rewarding work!

Elephant Pepper Project

The Elephant Pepper Development Trust is an organisation that aims to reduce the conflict between farmers and elephants.  The elephants often raid the farmer's crops which means that he may lose his entire year's income in one night.  Many of these elephants are then shot as a result.  The Trust has found a way of using chilli peppers - which elephants dislike intensely - to keep them away from the farmers' lands and volunteers will help out with tending the chilli seedlings, watering, weeding and harvesting.

Home Based Care/Farming

There are several home based care projects in the area and volunteers may accompany the local women of the district who visit patients with HIV, TB and malaria within the local community.  They may contribute by way of basic first aid and help teaching first aid and basic health care.  The home based care community volunteers rely on government medical supplies or donations but some have their own land that they use to raise money for their work.  This is the most sustainable way to ensure the project continues and volunteers may help with work on the farms, assist with simple farming, the produce of which is sold to raise money for medical supplies for the Maramba Home Based Care Group.  The opportunity to work with this group gives a real insight into the lives of those suffering and a good understanding of Zambian society.

Reading Club

Pupils from various schools attend the afternoon reading club where volunteers help out with literacy skills - encouraging the children to read and helping out with difficult words.

Art Club

Volunteers are encouraged to plan these themselves using their own creative ideas to deal with a variety of issues.  For example, the art club could produce posters for an anti-drugs campaign or make Christmas cards or decorations, Easter masks etc.  The children also enjoy finger painting and making papier mache models.

Adult Literacy Club

This is a very important club and one that is very popular with volunteers - aimed at helping local adults become more employable through improved literacy.  There is a structured syllabus with beginners/intermediate and advanced classes, and relevant testing and a certificate issued to those who are successful. 

A day in the life of a volunteer ...

Here is how a typical day in the life of a Livingstone teaching, sports coaching, community development volunteer might take shape.  Please note that  itineraries may differ depending on the number of ther volunteers on the placement at the same time and their experience, and this is simply to give an example:

07:00	Get up, eat breakfast and start getting ready for your project
07:45	Head off to work.  The volunteer arrives at their assigned school and class, and after saying "Hello" to the children, gets down to work.  Lessons usually last half an hour and include maths, science and English - and also native language lessons
11:30	Lunch break. You will be picked up from your project, and taken to your volunteer house, where lunch is waiting for you.
13.00	Planning sessions - time to prepare for the afternoon projects - perhaps making posters or flash cards, writing a quiz or just getting supplies together.
13:45	Depart for the community project
17:00	Arrive back at the volunteer house for supper and a free evening, perhaps to enjoy a beer in front of the TV.

Optional Free Time Activities

These are not included in the project fee and prices are given as a guideline only as they are subject to change.  Volunteer co-ordinators will be happy to help with making the necessary arrangements.

• Dinner/Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi River - USD 35 - 45
• 2 nights on an Island Paradise on the Zambezi - USD 120
• 2 nights onboard a boat cruising along the Zambezi River - USD 180
• 2 nights on safari in Chobe National Park - USD 200
• White water rafting on the Zambezi River - USD 150 per half day
• Bungee jumping and gorge swings over the Batoka Gorge - USD 125
• Helicopter Ride over the Falls - USD 150 for 15 minutes
• Microlight flight over the Falls - USD 120 for 15 minutes
• Elephant back safaris - USD 120
• Canoeing safaris on the Zambezi with experienced guides
• Game drives in Zambia's Mosi-oa-Tunya or Botswana's Chobe National Park

Project Age Range:   Volunteers on this project should be aged between 18 and 40 years of age (17 year olds may be considered with parental consent).

Support

Support and advice is available from the Project Managers whilst on the project and from the UK Amanzi Travel Team.
Find out more about Amanzi Travel support  

Orientation

A comprehensive information pack will be sent to all volunteers upon booking their trip and further advice and information will be provided by telephone and email before departure. A full orientation will be provided on arrival at the project by the local support team.

Accommodation and Meals

Accommodation is provided at Livingstone Backpackers - in an area of the property dedicated for volunteers only.  This makes for a great atmosphere and the accommodation is very popular with the volunteers.  Single sex rooms house either six or eight people and there are plenty of showers and toilets.  The plumbing is excellent and provides lots of hot water!  The accommodation is about five minutes' walk from the local supermarket, and only two minutes to the market and an Italian restaurant which serves great pizza.  The accommodation, which has 24 hour security, has free internet, and use of a climbing wall, jacuzzi and swimming pool.  There is a lovely garden and a cash bar is available.  Volunteers can book all sorts of exciting optional activities at the house.  Three meals a day are provided.  Breakfast is on a self-serve basis and usually consists of cereals, porridge, toast, tea and coffee.  Lunch and dinner are meals prepared by the resident cook.  Sometimes at weekends volunteers will need to cook their own meals from ingredients provided, as staff have some time off.  This is the best time for that as volunteers are often out and about exploring the area or taking part in tourist activities.

Getting There

Fly into Livingstone or Victoria Falls Airport where a member of staff will meet you and take you to the volunteer house.

(There may be a number of ways to reach your destination airport - for further information or advice please contact Amanzi Travel)
Let Amanzi Travel arrange your flights for you

Fees

What is included

• Financing that goes directly back into the projects themselves, to buy building materials, books, equipment etc
• Airport transfers from Livingstone Airport on arrival and departure
• Daily support from your Project Managers
• Full board and lodging including three meals a day
• Weekly laundry service
• Full orientation on arrival
• Daily transfers to and from projects

What is excluded

• Travel insurance to include cover for repatriation
• Personal items eg clothes, travel goods
• Return flights to Victoria Falls or Livingstone Airport
• Transport by air or bus to Livingstone from Lusaka Airport - if you choose to fly into this airport
• Use of internet (email) and telephone
• Soft drinks, wines, beer and spirits and snacks
• Visas for border crossings and any trips undertaken other than in the planned programme