Vocational Training in Mnukwa, Zambia

A team of 5 Hands Around the World volunteers have just spent nearly 2 weeks at the project. They were warmly welcomed by the villagers and had an exciting time.

Their arrival coincided with the celebrations of 50^th Anniversary of Zambia’s independence and the volunteers were treated to songs, poems and dancing by the local children. Everyone had a fantastic time and when the boys dressed up as animals there was plenty of laughter. 

The main objectives for the trip were to get the carpentry and sewing projects up and running and with sewing machines in place (thanks to Tools for Self Reliance) and the new deliveries from the UK of carpentry tools,  volunteers Sian (sewing) and Dan (carpentry) were very busy. 

In these pictures Sian is working with one of the ladies and the chief is trying his hand at carpentry after the official hand over of the building.

The Hands Around the World team included 2 sports students who ran very popular lessons and games sessions as well as helping in the classroom art and play sessions. 

We made the decision to get 5 children from each of the 5 schools in the chiefdom and make the 90 minute drive to the famous South Luangwa park. There were many logistical challenges but eventually these lucky few saw a lioness, elephant etc for the first time. The 5 selected teachers also enjoyed this as a first for them.

The Vocational training centre was opened and with tools in place, some good people enthused the team left feeling confident that this was the start of a new chapter for Mnukwa. 

There are many things still to do but 2014 has certainly been a busy year for the project with many positives evident.