Day 3-4

Yesterday we visited World Bicycle Relief, a non-profit who manufactures bikes here in Lusaka, employing local workers.  The bikes are then donated to girls locally to ride to school.  Once donated, the bikes are theirs to keep and family members can also use them during off-school hours and breaks.  I donated $25 of your donations pooling money together with other students, and we were able to purchase 3 bikes ($150 each) which we are taking to the village with donate to some girls we meet. 

We were also blessed by a visit to our hotel by a woman named Olive Mumba who started her own school, called "Birdland School" here in Lusaka.  It is a high quality private school with a sliding fee scale ranging from $25 per semester to $150 based on the need of the families.  I am considering donating our money to this school because it would go a long way in educating more than one girls for an extended period of time. Mrs.  Mumba said many families enroll their daughters in the school but then end up withdrawing because they don't have the money.   I will wait to visit all village schools first however, to assess which school is in most need of our donations. 

We were also visited by a young woman whose family is well-off and sent her to America to study engineering at a college in Virginia.  She returned to Zambia and is now working in the copper mining industry (Zambia's largest export) as a manager.  She is one of only two women in management positions out of 6000 employees.  In a dominantly male environment, she shared of being harrassed and teased regularly but holds her own, and remains loyal to serving her country's exonomy and supporting her family.  She makes approx. $2400 per year when she could be making close to six figures in the US comparatively.  She is a truly remarkable example of a woman dedicated to improving the economic state of Zambia through education and initiative - not to mention an inspiration to women in Zambia to get an education. 

Today (Wed) we toured the University of Zambia and saw what college life is like here, and a few of us went off on our own to talk to students.  It is easier to ask the students the tough questions about health and education because they are not offended and will answer most anything!  In the villages we will likely not be able to do this, nor will we want to, in risk of offending those living with more traditional values.  (ie. People do not talk about AIDS, Maternal Health, or anything personal even with their loved ones.) 

Dinner time, gotta go :) 

Love,
Emily