Reflection: Volunteering and my time in Zambia

One year and six months in Zambia as a VSO volunteer; six months less than originally anticipated but the work I set out to do is more or less completed!

Before leaving Australia and starting out as a volunteer we are told about the ups and downs of volunteering and living in a developing country. And as much as you try to prepare for this, there are still moments when you wonder why you did it.

I’ve said before that volunteering in Zambia is like being on a giant rollercoaster and I have to say now, that it really is. There are some great highs such as meeting new people and forming friendships, visiting new and fabulous places, new experiences that you know you would never get at home and being challenged in a way you never thought possible. At the same time there are big lows. The obvious one, missing family and friends from home; really bad days at work when you question why you bother, the volunteer allowance which doesn’t allow you to do much at all and the unreliable services that come with being in a developing country (e.g. water, power).

Following on from my post on development aid, I must say that for many of my days in Zambia I have felt like I am exacerbating a problem just by being there; that being the reliance on foreign aid. I don’t believe that Zambia really has any excuse for the position it finds itself in given that it is one of the few countries not to have been impacted by civil war. It has plenty of resources such as copper, lots of fertile land, parks and animals, not to mention the beautiful Victoria Falls. It has been victim to poor government and public mismanagement as well as struggled with HIV and AIDS. Nonetheless, it is one of only a few countries to have actually gone backwards in the Human Development Index over the past 20 years with the other notable mentions being the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.

I’ve given my time as a volunteer in Zambia a lot of thought and decided that I would list the things I will miss about Zambia and volunteering and the ones I won’t.

What I will miss:

• The terrific people I’ve met! The friends made in Livingstone as well as other VSO volunteers. And my two puppies, Rambo and Simba who were great guard dogs
• The über red, ripe tomatoes found in local markets; the avocados, bananas and mangos, all super cheap and tasty
• Freedom to make decisions or better put as absence of the “nanny” state, meaning being able to have 3 instead of 2 beers and then being able to drive home; not having high fences around something as beautiful as Victoria Falls to stop stupid people from getting too close to the edge; and being able to drive in parks with really cool animals
• Assisted pumps at the petrol station. I love this, I know I’m super lazy but I love being able to sit in the car on those wet or super-hot days while someone fills the car with petrol for me
• Being only hours away from safari!

What I won’t miss:

• NOT being able to drink water from the tap (we are so lucky in Australia)
• Smelling the meat at the supermarket to make sure its ok for purchase, or even worse, blocking my nose as I walk through the meat section
• Sporadic and unreliable water and electricity
• Poor customer service. We complain a lot about this in Australia, but just try banking in Zambia after working for a bank in Australia! Me: “The ATM just returned my card and receipt without the cash”. Standard Chartered Bank Staff: “Why don’t you just come back tomorrow and check then to make sure you have the correct balance”. Me: “No, how about you fix this for me NOW”. Standard Chartered Bank Staff: Blank stare……
• The vinegar tasting wine that South Africa exports to Zambia. I know South Africa has some great wines and that demand for it is probably still low in Zambia, but do they really need to send the garbage that they do?
• NGOs and aid everywhere! For the reasons already mentioned

I’m not sure what will happen to Zambia or where it will be in 10 years’ time. I do feel sad for many of the people that sit at the bottom of the heap and are relying on those at the top to simply do their jobs to help improve their situation. Last year a new government took over the leadership of Zambia and although not off to a flying start, I hope they can start to bring around some of the much needed change that Zambia needs.

As for me, I’ve learnt a lot about myself over the past 18 months and from my observations and interactions with people in Zambia, an awful lot about human nature, all of which I hope will have made this experience worthwhile.