The Other Side of the Track

You step across the railway track to get into the Misisi slum. And, when you cross the track, you enter a world of squalor and suffering. Children with nowhere to go and nobody to care for them sit silently along the edges of the streets. Unloved and forgotten, there are no smiles to be seen on their lips, no hope to be found in their eyes. Mothers, seeking to provide for their children, are often forced into selling themselves for a pittance before they can purchase scraps of food. Young men, with no opportunities, no prospects, and no chance, get stoned on the local brew, get into fights, and fall headlong into a life of crime. The streets of Misisi are oppressive; a place where fear and the threat of violence are constant, unwelcome, companions.

When I was invited to join a team of volunteers on a trip out to Zambia this Autumn, I didn’t know what to expect.  I went armed with my electrical knowledge as a resource for the team and my enthusiasm!

The experience was a sobering and yet moving time for the team from the UK.  Kids Alive International International, based in Yeovil is the UK arm of the Kids Alive charity, which works in many countries of the world.  We visited the Zambian capital Lusaka on this trip and also Mongu, an area very near the Kalahari desert in the west of Zambia.   

Our mission on this occasion was to build relationships and gain an understanding of the needs of the homes and schools supported by Kids Alive International.  Somehow we also managed to fix buses, lorries and cars, wire classrooms and security lights and also taught children and provided a teacher training afternoon in both areas of Zambia!

Before our trip we decided that we wanted to take something out for the children themselves that they don’t easily get hold of – football kits! Martock Rangers Football Club donated a lot of their old strip as did several families from the area and we split this into two lots – so the two homes we visited had at least one full strip and more. The children were overjoyed and were stripping off in front of us getting organized with a game of football – getting a photo of them was really tricky!  We also took out school resources, clothes and some solar panels for safe lighting during power cuts.

The needs in Zambia are great.  Water is a big problem as the country is suffering one of its worst droughts ever, and the country runs on hydroelectric power.  So, no water means a reduction of electricity across the whole of Zambia with regular power cuts, no water means the failure of the crops, no water basically means life is harder than we can ever imagine.

Even with all these hardships, the children still attend school with a smile on their face, they are so keen to learn and want to have a bright future.  They have so many ambitions - doctors, nurses, teachers, accountants are all on their list of possibilities.  They have so little and yet are so full of optimism – we all should learn from their example and thank God for all we have.

I shall be heading back to Zambia next year, I must.  Kids Alive International are always looking for more people to get involved – you too can join the charity in helping to make a difference - as a member of a team, as a child sponsor or as a prayer partner.