Being a part of the UK based Beyond Ourselves team means that there are sometimes moments when I can feel disconnected from the work on the ground in Zambia. In the midst of administrative tasks, raising awareness, raising funds, and nurturing relationships with schools and businesses which support us, it can be surprisingly easy to forget the ‘why’ of Beyond Ourselves and get stuck in the day to day ‘what’ of the work.
An amazing part of my role is that I get to visit Zambia three times a year and what’s even more incredible to me is that these trips always come at the perfect time. Times when I need to remember ‘why,’ when I need to reconnect with our friends and partners in Zambia face to face rather than over email, when I need to get re-inspired by the vision and re-energised for the days ahead.
Now is one of those times.
So today, on my first day back in Zambia, I visited Janna School and was encouraged to see some of the recent developments there; a repaired and completed boundary fence, two new classrooms that now have a roof and are being plastered, the Early Years outdoor learning area making progress, and plans being made for the ‘ntemba’ shop that will be set up as an income generating activity for the school.
But the moment that encouraged me the most, the moment that (as my friend would say) made my heart sing, was when I walked past the Grade 7 classroom and looked in at them through the window. Sat in that classroom, well-fed, healthy and concentrating on their studies, were children who I first met back in 2009 when they were in Grade 2. Children who started at Janna School when it had no classrooms but was one of the few schools in the area offering education to those in the community who wouldn’t otherwise have access to school.
These children have seen great changes at Janna over the past few years and as I looked at them today I realised they are both the reason for and the beautiful product of that change.
They are our ‘why.’
No comments:
Post a Comment