Duration: 21 or 42 days The Book Bus - UNHCR project - Zambia
The Book Bus project started in Livingstone, Zambia in 2008. After just one year we were invited by the UNHCR to volunteer at Meheba refugee settlement in North Western Zambia. This pilot project was so successful that the UN have invited us back (thanks to our 12 pioneer volunteers!) and we will repeat it in 2010.
Volunteer with us this year and make a difference.
Working with refugees in Africa is not for everyone: however, if you are willing to square up to life in a refugee camp the opportunity to really make a difference to the children is waiting for you. We partner with half a dozen primary schools that serve young children who live within the camp. Everyone has a story to tell and some of the tales are quite harrowing; but their thirst for knowledge is amazing and the desire for literacy is strong.
If you would like to get in touch with an ex Meheba volunteer then please email volunteer@thebookbus.org as they are eager to share their experience.
History
Meheba was opened in 1971 for refugees who fled Angola during the Angolan revolution against the Portuguese. In the 1990’s, Meheba started receiving refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Burundi. Meheba was projected to close down after thousands of Angolan refugees voluntarily repatriated, but repatriation ended after the Angolan war flared up again in 1998. Although nearly 64,000 Angolan refugees were successfully repatriated, efforts to repatriate Rwandan refugees have proven unsuccessful. At its greatest capacity, Meheba Settlement provided refuge for ~120,000 refugees from Congo, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Sudan.
Where is it?
The Meheba Refugee settlement is situated 75 km west of Solwezi, in North-Western Zambia. It is 75 km from Solwezi up to the entrance of the camp. From there it is another 18 km from the entrance to the UNHCR offices. There is a good tarmac road from Solwezi to the entrance of Meheba.
What’s it like?
Meheba Refugee Settlement covers a vast area of 720 sq km. It is divided into 8 blocks from A to H with 125 roads and numerous villages. The average household plot is 25 x 30 meters, the average family size is 6 persons. The average agriculture farming plot per household is 2.5 hectares.
The population of the camp is 15,756 of which 5,128 are children. Some of them attend school while others do not. There are 3 types of schools in Meheba; 1 high school, 5 basic schools (that is, receive some government funding) and 9 community schools (i.e. set up by a village with no government funding at all).
Agriculture is the main source of income, but farmers struggle with degenerating soil fertility and expensive fertilizer. There are very few job opportunities that offer minimal pay. Farming, small business and limited agency jobs are the sole alternatives. Men are generally employed in greater numbers than women and have usually received more schooling than women.
Education:
•Education levels: there is inconsistent correlation between a child’s age and their level of education. Most refugees living in Meheba have received some primary education, but very few can afford the high cost of secondary school.
•Classes are conducted in English, are generally overcrowded and under-resourced.
•The Zambian Ministry of Education runs five elementary schools and one high school.
•Many smaller communities within Meheba are too far from government-run primary schools for children to attend classes. As a result, many children in Meheba do not attend school at all.
UNHCR
“Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees”
Established on December 14th 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly, its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.
In more than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50 million people restart their lives. Today a staff of around 6,300 people in more than 110 countries continues to help 32.9 million persons.
Practical Information
How do I get there?
Ndola has an international airport and you will be met here by the Book Bus leader (the flight route is usually London to Johannesburg to Ndola). Together you will travel from Ndola to Solwezi and onward to the settlement. South African Airways fly to Ndola from London Heathrow (via Johannesburg); Kenyan Airways via Nairobi is another option.
What are the conditions like?
As you can imagine conditions are rather basic. Camping facilities are basic with long-drop toilet facilities and little or no electricity.
As a group the volunteers visit Solwezi town at the weekend where we can stay in a hotel (optional) and enjoy electricity and showers.
What’s the cost?
The cost of the 3 week placement is £830 plus a local payment of $450.
This includes all transfers, all accommodation, all food and the services of an experienced Book Bus leader.
Dates
We ask for a minimum commitment of 3 weeks (due to the awkward logistics of getting to Meheba). You can either join for 3 weeks or 6 weeks:
17th July to 7th August
or
7th August to 28th August.
The first block of three weeks is during term time when we will be working with individual year groups plus their teachers. The second block of three weeks represents the final week of term, plus the first two weeks of summer holidays. In 2009 attendance during the summer holidays at The Book Bus slightly exceeded attendance during term time!
Maximum volunteer group size = 12
Join us and climb aboard....complete a booking form today
“You’re going to spend a month in a refugee camp? Why?” asked the lady at Zambian Passport Control, with wide, questioning eyes.
“Because it’s different to anything I’ve ever done before...”.
I’d never been to Africa, and prior to the trip I was filled with nervous anticipation. Being a trainee teacher, I knew I could handle spreading a love of books and reading to children, but I worried about what the people of Meheba Refugee Settlement would think of our group of western do-gooders.
Entering Zambia, I watched the country roll by, children running and waving, colourful clothing and the dusty shades of orange and yellow. Meheba defied all my expectations. A vast scrubland, dotted with towering termite hills, it was divided into spacious plots for the refugee families. Although we felt every bit the white strangers, everyone was incredibly friendly, curious and welcoming. They came from all over Africa, and though they possessed little, they did not complain. Each had a story to tell. One man, who taught himself English from a dictionary he carried under his arm, had lived in the camp for 25 years, and hoped to write a book about his experiences. A thirteen year-old girl shared her story of pain and violence with me, but ended with her eyes glistening with hope.
During the day, we worked with groups of children in classroom corners or outside in the sun. We shared our favourite childhood books and created hats, masks, stories and drawings. I’ve never met children more eager to learn. Together we chased the Gingerbread Man, invited the Tiger to tea, and bounced my inflatable globe. Even the teenage boys gathered around to hear the children’s stories.
Camp life took some adjustment, with its tents, long-drop toilet, and bucket shower in the trees. We spent the evenings playing games, star-gazing on top of termite hills, watching the local football match, and occasionally battling vast armies of ants. In our spare time we helped build a school kitchen as most of the locals stood by watching. Apparently, TIA (This is Africa).
Working with The Book Bus team proved an incredibly emotional experience. It hurt to leave, and someday I hope to return. Not for the sunsets or the landscapes, but for the people. Meheba was different to anything I’ve ever experienced, but it strengthened my feeling that we are all essentially the same. I recommend the experience to everyone. Stephanie McCullough