Zambia

Zambia, the warm heart of Africa!

Zambia is a landlocked country in the heart of Southern Africa. It is situated on a high plateau with majestic rivers like the Luapula and Zambezi running through, creating natural borders and ample water supplies. Zambia borders Angola and DRC (Congo) to the North and Mozambique to the West and Malawi and Zimbabwe to the East and South. Zambia is slightly larger than Texas with a population of 11.5 million people. Mining and processing of Copper, Zink and Coal contribute to over 85% of the annual GDP. Even though the climate is excellent for agriculture, the search for a better life in the mining industries of the larger cities has made Zambia a highly urbanized country, with 50% of the population living in the cities.

The Zambian people are very open and friendly. The population compromises of over 70 ethnic groups with each their unique language and culture. The most important quality is that Zambians feel very much like one people. “One Zambia, One Nation” as expressed in their national motto. Zambia has been a peaceful country both under and after the British colonization that ended in 1964. Zambia is home to the Victoria Falls, as well as huge areas of National Parks where wile game can be seen walking around freely.

Zambia is one of the most indebted countries in Southern Africa. 32 % of the total GDP is annually used to pay back loans. 86% of Zambian’s live below the poverty line. Zambia has an 18% HIV rate among its population. As a consequence 46% of the population is under 18 years old. There is much to be done in this nation that is struggling to come to grasp with the AIDS epidemic and poverty.

Development Instructors are very much needed in Zambia.

DAPP Zambia, a member of Humana People to People, started its work in Zambia in 1986. DAPP Zambia runs 21 development projects that are distributed in all 9 provinces. These projects range from Child Aid, where the emphasis is on grass roots development in rural areas, to TCE and HOPE, where the emphasis is to get control of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In addition to that, DAPP runs 27 retails shops where second-hand clothes collected and shipped from Europe, are sold for reasonable prices to fund many of the social projects such as Child Aid and HOPE.

As a Development Instructor in Zambia your work could be:

*Development Instructor in Child Aid. Children are a country’s most precious resource. For a developing country like Zambia, it is of utmost importance to secure good conditions for the children’s development. In the Child Aid project you will work with starting and running pre-schools, training and facilitating the pre-school teachers, help start small loans groups with micro-financing, and supervising the building of latrines and safe water wells. This work is mostly done in the country side, so you must be ready for very basic living conditions, where electricity and running water is limited. Your transportation will most likely be by bike or foot.

TCE – Fighting HIV/AIDS. Zambia has one of the highest HIV rates of Southern Africa. Despite the success from Zimbabwe and Uganda to curtail their HIV-rate, Zambia’s HIV rate has been on the rise for years, with no visible signs of slowing down. The TCE (Total Control of the Epidemic) program is a powerful tool in the fight. As a Development Instructor in TCE you will take part in the massive house to house education campaign that is carried out. You will be educating everyone in the area about how to avoid getting infected, and how to deal with people who are affected. You will give lessons and train “Field Officers” (the local staff) about all subjects connected to the disease, and its consequences.

*Teacher in the Children’s Town. DAPP Zambia runs a Children’s Town where 300 kids, many of them street kids and orphans, get a second chance for a good life with education and skills training. As a Development Instructor in the Children’s Town, you will be a teacher a parent and a care-giver. You will teach English, science, knowledge about the world. You will tutor the kids that need extra school attention. You will be an important figure for kids that need good adult role models.