2ND ANNUAL WFWP YOUTH SERVICE TO AFRICA: ZAMBIA YOUTH SERVICE TRIP 2008

ZAMBIAN SOY NUTRITION PROJECT

For the second summer in a row, young women from WFWP, USA traveled to Africa to lend a hand of service. This July, five young women – Jamie Carroll, Jhiye Lascari, Jessica Mackin, Steffanie Lascari and Young Mi Ashworth - and their chaperone, Mrs. Poppy Richie, embarked on an unforgettable journey to Zambia.

The primary focus of this trip was to help the WFWP Soy Nutrition Project in a joint effort with a Japanese team of four women. The founder of this project, Mrs. Kimura, was the project leader. She organized other activities as well, including a service visit to a hospice; a tour of the main hospital in Lusaka; a visit to a neighborhood medical clinic; a visit to the US Embassy and USAID; and an opportunity to meet many NGOs at the annual agricultural fair in downtown Lusaka.

The Soy Nutrition Project is an outstanding example of what a few women can do to make life bearable for others who are suffering. It began in Zambia in 1994 with the provision of soybean powder for malnourished children under five years old. At that time, Mrs. Kimura, a nutritionist and WFWP member, came from Japan to set up nutrition guidance classes and distribution of soybean powder at medical clinics in Lusaka, the capital city.

Mrs. Kimura has continued all these years to work with doctors and nurses to carry out this project. More than 15,000 children have been helped through this service.

The WFWP volunteers visited and worked at two different clinics. Their responsibilities included holding the beautiful Zambian babies and weighing them, which the young women especially enjoyed. They also charted the weight of each baby. They learned to make soybean vegetable porridge and distributed soybean powder to the mothers.

The program is not yet 100% effective in helping babies gain enough weight, so Mrs. Kimura is planning to create a home visitation program to further educate young mothers. However, part of the problem is poverty and the inability of mothers to buy enough good food to feed their families.

The young women then went on to work at the nearby Ballastone School, doing spackling and painting with supplies donated by WFWP. Some of the students who had just begun their summer break got inspired to join in.

Poppy Richie, the chaperone, presented a set of character education curriculum books, which she co-authored, entitled Discovering the Real Me. She also trained teachers at the school how to use the books in their classes.

The interns presented a lesson from one of the books to a group of children as part of their service to the school. Finally, WFWP donated scholarships for two orphans whose families couldn't afford to send them next year to the school.

One unplanned service project happened as a result of a chance meeting with a man named Mr. Kalumba, who had founded an organization serving orphans in a very poor section of Lusaka. He invited the WFWP women to speak to a gathering of about 60-70 children. They shared in the singing and dancing, and they spoke in support of the message, which was HIV awareness. They also were able to give out gifts they had brought from the U.S., mostly school supplies. The children were very happy that young women had come all the way from America to spend time with them!

None of the women had ever been to Africa before. They learned a lot about Zambian culture, and were saddened by the widespread poverty. As one of the world's poorest nations, Zambian life expectancy is only 37 years. HIV affects 17% of the population. The infant mortality rate is 102 deaths for every 1,000 births, and malaria is still a serious health problem. Government services are few, with no garbage collection, poor quality roads, and virtually no plumbing or electricity. Even if an area has electricity, there are blackouts every night.

Conditions at the local hospital were most shocking to the visitors. It was dirty and crowded with very little sanitation or equipment.

Many Zambian children don't have access to education and have to work to support their families. Young school-aged children are seen helping their parents at roadside family businesses -- little shacks selling produce, clothing, and other things.

In spite of all these hardships, the people of Zambia get through it somehow. They are busy, walking everywhere, dressed in bright colors, trying to make the best of the situation they were born into. The Americans said, "We enjoyed meeting the Zambian people, and we learned about the importance of keeping hope alive, even in the midst of such poverty."

The interns, all young women between the ages of 17 and 23, expressed sympathy for the people they met. However, the girls were impressed by the Zambians' strong sense of community and how friendly everyone was. By contrast, they commented on how unfriendly Americans often are.

In summary, they said, "Perhaps we Americans can learn something from this nation. We all felt so welcomed and appreciated in Zambia, and are grateful to WFWP for organizing this wonderful opportunity to serve in Africa!"