Zambia on Polish land
My first, monthly trip to Zambia ended in November 2017. However, not did so the action – things have even sped up!
Self-made ambassador
A stay in Africa offers so many new experiences and inspirations that after returning to the homeland, it’s a pity not to share them. I had been working as a volunteer in elementary school (where the youngest children are 3-4 years, and the oldest 19), so I decided to focus on a similar age group in Poland, and I started touring the area. Armed with photos, African souvenirs and costumes, letters and drawings of local children, I visited an orphanage, a socio-therapeutic club, a Scouts’ detachment, schools, and kindergartens. Altogether, over 800 Polish children listened to me during 15 meetings! Thanks to these activities four stores and their clients also got involved in supporting Zambian school. At that time, I also appeared on local television for the first time, which help me to promote the project in the region of Łódź. It turned out to be the key solution soon thereafter! But let’s start from the beginning…
14 packages
There are thoughts that, once they sprout, are incredibly hard to eradicate. The second trip to Zambia soon became not only awaited but inevitable. Knowing Linda’s reality, I didn’t want to go with empty hands and having learned their needs before, I knew what should I bring in the first place. I have started to collect materials and resources for their purchase and dispatch. The idea was enthusiastically received and hence the lectures, stories, and shows were accompanied by charity fairs, fundraising, and various support from children and their parents. There were action twists, weeks of waiting even long after the planned departure date and a huge amount of goodness.
In order to collect money for shipping, I used Zambian chitenge materials, which I brought from a previous trip. Magda from Sztukowo.pl and my beloved mom Jolka, always willing to support my activities with modabergamo.pl, they have created beautiful bags and pillows from the material. The income from selling their art was spent on parcel delivery. African accessories arouse great interest and I regretted not bringing more chitenge – fortunately, I reach a person in Poland who had a solid supply. This occasion resulted in pillows and bags “which learn to read”, purchased by those wanting to help people, including the City Council in Głowno. The last items are still available.
The full history of this contribution you can follow on zrzutka.pl/kvfbus and pomagam.pl/CreativeHomeZambia
I went on the second trip to Zambia at the beginning of June 2018 and stayed until mid-September. At that time I started the project of CreatIWE Home, about which you can find all the information here.
Zambia on the workshop
Since autumn 2018, remaining in constant contact with friends in Linda, who are taking care of our project, I have been active in Poland again. From my trip, I brought a larger supply of popular in Zambia chitenge material and used it in a variety of ways. Most of it was used at workshops for families in Głowno’s kindergartens. The works were sold on fairs, the income of which again supported the development of MaggTrice CreatIWE Home.
During the following months, I ran plenty of workshops for older and younger children and their parents. In the pre-Christmas period, several schools’ and preschools’ fairs and concerts were held for the benefit of African children. During the winter break, whole families took part in activities such as these. Later Zambia was met by pupils of schools, kindergartens and artistic clubs in Legnica (“Faustynka” Association), Głowno and Popów Głowieński. My “television career” started again: even TVP talked about me, and local television assisted in the opening of one of the charity fairs.
The last straight
September 2019 was full of events and great contacts again.
In cooperation with a friend who specializes in training therapists in the field of occupational therapy, we conducted workshops in Zambian climates for seniors. Tales from the Black Continent, viewing souvenirs and photos were interspersed with memory and physical exercises accompanied by African rhythms and songs. Here you will see the full photo relation from this meeting.
An amazing flow of positive energy took place also in Radom. Footballers of the Bronia Radom team were present at the lecture under the slogan “Zambia – mission of the heart”, which I ran in the center for deaf children. The charity institution has been gathering materials and provided me amazing equipment! When the young athletes got to know the situation in Zambia, without hesitating a minute, they spontaneously collected money and bought a lot of accessories, only regretting that they had so little time to act. This amazing movement of hearts will stay in my memory for a long time! We stay in touch with both groups and surely our paths will cross more than once. All the gifts and equipment they offer will not only support CreatIWE Home but also other schools and institutions in the vicinity of Lusaka.
To be continued …
You probably guessed what it all led to – another flight to the southern hemisphere! A year after returning, in the last months of 2019, with a solid dose of new inspirations and ideas to implement, I am again setting off to Africa. You can follow my activities on Blog, Facebook, and Instagram.
