Volunteer Experience 2023 -Mapepe

Today was my first time visiting the village of Mapepe, on the second day of my time in Zambia. Mapepe for me is a paradox of happiness and disparity. The village is what most people envisage poverty in Africa to be, with limited resources in a remote location. With the background that I have had growing, up it is hard to see how a place that looks like Mapepe is home to the most generous, welcoming and happy people I have had the fortune of ever meeting.

When we arrived in Mapepe we were greeted at every turn by big smiles and waving hands. We were welcomed into Blessed Hope School as if it was our home. Every pupil there greeted us warmly and were fascinated to know who we were and why we were in shorts on their coldest day of the year, keep in mind it was 20 degrees and sunny so we were all roasting.

We were shown around the school and here I learned the true power of education and how much it is taken for granted at home. Every pupil was ecstatic to be there and cherished every moment of class, absorbing every drop of knowledge that their teachers could give. They understood that education was the way they could better their lives and give a better life for their future descendants than they had. This was so incredibly heartwarming to see. This is something at home that we do not recognise and take massively for granted, we do not know how lucky we are to be able to attend school everyday, unlike a lot of children in Zambia.

Some of the leaders of the school then took us to see their homes around the village and show us what Mapepe was, this for me was a very tough experience to see the conditions that the amazing people had to live in. Most of the homes consist of a few stone walls and a tin roof with little having doors and windows instead using cloth to cover the entrances. This experience was however made so much brighter by my little guides taking me through their home. The children took us all by the hand sharing with us their happiness and warm throughout the walk, showing us their homes, their friends and favourite places to play.

We were then treated to an incredible show by the pupils of the Blessed Hope School, with a variety of songs, dances and poetry performed for us. The pupils and teachers then took us up and taught us some local dances which were performed significantly worse by us than the people of Mepepe. The talent on display was a marvel to see and made us all feel very untalented, we definitely need to learn a few dances before we go back.

Today was a heartwarming and eye opening day. It has given me a new perspective on happiness and how we can all learn from the amazing people of Mapepe, to cherish everything we have and celebrate every moment with our friends, communities and family. I cannot wait to return to Mapepe and share more with the brilliant teachers and pupils.

-Michael Murphy