General Impression
Overall Rating: / 10
To say I was nervous to travel halfway around the world by myself to volunteer would be an understatement. However, from the moment I landed in Zambia and Paula (the local Project Manager) welcomed me with open arms, all of my fears disappeared. Mwandi is a small village located about 2 hours west of Livingstone. I had the opportunity to work in Beanor’s preschool in the morning and help build mud huts in the afternoon. The program ‘camp’ is safe, welcoming and run like a well-oiled machine. Each day there are different things to do in order to help out, so there is never a dull moment. If you have the opportunity to go to Botswana with Paula and Dan for the safari trips - do it! It is a once in a lifetime experience and a great way to get to know everyone a little better since you are away from the stress of working.I would recommend this program in a heartbeat. Paula was a great support even before I left, answering all of my nervous questions with detailed responses in order to calm my nerves. She has such a passion for the people of Mwandi and truly loves helping them. Matt who ran the day to day operations, was a wealth of information from how to build a hut to where to visit in Livingstone. I loved that we were able to work alongside local villagers when building the huts, learn about their culture and see the gratitude on their faces for all of our hard work. Working with the preschool students and seeing the joy on their faces when we played or simply read the alphabet was indescribable. I learned that it does not take much to help others and that in the end, the people you help wind up helping you even more. They taught me how to be happy with little things and what it means to truly love and have faith that things will work out. I left Zambia a better person because of everyone I worked with in Mwandi and a piece of my heart will always be there!