A Little Goes a Long Way

Volunteer Service in Zambia as a Student

Article and photos by Marissa Sutera

Enthusiastic young students in Zambia are rich in curiosity and life despite their material poverty.

Just two weeks in, I struggled to say goodbye to my classroom full of energetic, bubbly Zambian kids. I had grown attached to the kids, even though I only volunteered for a short period. Studying abroad opened my eyes to the world, but volunteering in Zambia demonstrated that there is more to a place and its people than meets the eye. 

The Road to Zambia

As an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, my study abroad program in the United Kingdom sparked an ongoing love for travel. If I have any regrets, I wish I had studied abroad earlier. When I began my graduate program at Eastern Illinois University, I sought any opportunity to feed my craving for travel.

Early in my first semester, my former boss and current friend, Kelly Holland, introduced me to "Lessons From Abroad." This conference, specifically for study-abroad returnees, is packed with various speakers, exhibitors, and resources covering how students can return abroad during or after college. When I attended the conference in Chicago in October 2013, little did I know that thanks to what I learned, I would be on a flight to Africa a few months later!

I was barely at the conference for five minutes before I was standing at the Kaya Responsible Travel booth, brochure in hand, learning how to volunteer abroad... and that it wasn’t too late to apply for programs during winter break. I was thrilled to learn that it was not only possible but also likely to travel abroad again in the near future.

Less than a month later, my application was submitted. I was on my way to being a community and teaching volunteer in Livingstone, Zambia, during the winter holiday season.

What is it Like to Volunteer Abroad?

Although it seemed short, it was, in reality, a long journey to get to Zambia, and upon arrival, it took a while for everything to sink in. It was December 2013, and I was on winter break from my MBA program. It would be my first Christmas away from home. I stayed in a hostel with the other volunteers, and soon after arriving, we had an orientation.

Inside, I may have freaked out a little bit.

Wait, so I’m already going to be in the classrooms tomorrow? I have zero teaching experience!

II was already feeling overwhelmed, and I had not yet even started the program! Thankfully, there was a tight-knit community of volunteers to help ease us into a teaching role.

That leads to my most important volunteer tip: Don’t let something new scare you from a potentially life-changing experience. While new is undoubtedly challenging, it will be a more rewarding and memorable experience.

A typical day in my placement started with teaching a classroom of about 50-100 kids ranging from very young to 14-year-olds. Thankfully, a few volunteers were in each classroom to help manage such a large group of kids. Then, we would return to the volunteer house for lunch. In the afternoon, we would alternate between various activities, such as spending time with the residents in the Maramba Old People’s Home, leading a reading club for kids, or teaching basic skills, such as public speaking or the English language, to adults to help make them more employable. Once the afternoon projects were over, we all had time to hang out with other volunteers, walk around town, swim, or relax.

Teaching kids of all ages in a classroom in Zambia.

Is Volunteering Abroad Worth It?

Many people have expressed their opinions to answer this question, coming from all ends of the spectrum. My answer, obviously, is a resounding “YES!”

Volunteering in your community for a few hours or a full day is one thing, and then returning to your comfortable home with reliable Wi-Fi and electricity. However, it’s an entirely different experience to volunteer abroad in an unfamiliar country and be completely out of your element.

As with any time spent internationally, you will inevitably have a connection with each destination, and stepping out of your comfort zone during a volunteer program will strengthen that connection even more.

Of course, volunteering abroad is not for everyone. Yet, I highly recommend it to anyone looking to give back, who desires to build relationships with people and communities worldwide, and who is willing to take on additional challenges to overcome obstacles.

How To Choose a Volunteer Abroad Program

There are many important factors to consider when selecting a volunteer abroad program that best fits your needs. Looking into yourself, your skills, and your interests to decide what you find most important can help substantially match you with the right company and program.

• Location is an excellent place to start. If you are tied to a particular destination, such as Africa, you can work with an organization such as African Impact (with whom I worked directly in Zambia), which specializes in projects in various countries across the vast and varied continent.
  
  
• The length of time and the time of year can also be very important in making a program choice. If you are looking to go for a short period, maybe during winter break or when you have some time off from work in the summer, ensuring that the programs offered during such periods are a good starting point.
  
  
• Language requirements are also an important consideration. You want to make sure the program you choose is in a language you can speak and understand so that you can make the greatest possible positive impact.
  
  
• A program that includes transferrable work experience is often highly beneficial to students. Depending on the specialty required, it can be reasonably easy to find. For example, plenty of volunteer teaching programs are available if you are studying education. For those in science or environmental fields, an environmental sustainability program may interest you. There are plenty of options; sometimes, you must dig to find the type of program you seek..
  
  
• What you will be doing abroad  is also vital to consider. Some projects require specific skill sets, such as certain health and medical programs. In contrast, similar to the community and teaching program I participated in, others do not require experience.
  
  
• Cost is almost always a factor. Keep in mind that sometimes it is more realistic financially to stick closer to home (i.e., a destination in Central America for those in the United States) rather than traveling to the other side of the globe due to the cost of air travel, insurance, or other factors perhaps not covered by the project.

Returning Home

I went to Zambia to teach kids in their own community. However, I came back home with the unexpected discovery that not only did I teach them, but they also taught me.

Many are concerned about having the newest car, the latest technology, or the most prominent house. In reality, my experience has reinforced the view that none of these material things really matter beyond the superficial…certainly not by comparison with the depth of personal connections and relationships with others.

So many of the kids I taught were thrilled to color and draw. I realized that they were not used to having resources, such as pens, paper, crayons, and pencils readily at their disposal. Seeing how many kids were unbelievably talented writers and artists was heartbreaking. Yet, they had limited access to the tools that allowed them to use and develop their talents. However, it was encouraging and often moving to see the way they learned to make do with what they had, no matter how little.

The kids in Zambia provide lessons from abroad that are applicable at home. Regardless of our situation in life, I think we can all find joy in life’s simple pleasures and take the time to give to others. Happiness can be found in the smallest places — sometimes, we must open our eyes.

Marissa holding a small child, eager to learn like so many other children, in a classroom in Zambia.

Marissa Sutera is a 2014 MBA graduate of Eastern Illinois University and a 2013 marketing graduate of the  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she works in education abroad. When she’s not traveling, she enjoys running, hiking, biking, and writing for her travel blog, It’s The Little Things.