St Michael's School Zambia '24 Project Final Update – Volunteering in Zambia!

St Michael’s CofE High School student Eva Watson has shared the final update on the schools Zambia '24 Project. A culmination of the students’ incredible fundraising work, 15 pupils and 5 staff travelled to Zambia spending two weeks working with Mission Direct on a number of projects in the community.

We are impressed by the impact the students made in the short time they visited, painting classrooms and helping build a new toilet block. It's very affecting to hear of the poverty the students witnessed and the daily challenges communities in Zambia face. We hope that our support of the Zambia '24 Project has brought attention to how important projects like this are.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Eva for sharing updates on the progress of the project and are so pleased that our donation has made a difference. Read the full final update below:

At the end of July, St Michael’s CofE High School in Chorley sent a team of 15 pupils and 5 staff to Zambia for two weeks with Mission Direct, a Christian charity that runs short-term overseas volunteering trips.

We had an amazing time, working on community development projects in the mornings and then visiting local schools and other community areas in the afternoons.

We helped to build a new toilet block at one school and paint classrooms in another. It was very hard work in a hot and dusty environment but by the end of the first week, we could see what a difference we were making as the buildings were transformed.

In the schools, we spent time with the children playing games and singing songs. We also helped share out food one afternoon. That was really hard as there wasn’t enough for everyone so the older children went without so the younger ones didn’t go hungry.

We also got to experience first-hand the challenges the community faced in very poor living conditions. We visited some of the students homes one afternoon and went with the Footprints charity to visit a group of people living on the streets on another. The people we met were really welcoming and enjoyed playing football with us and sharing their life stories. It was heart breaking to see what challenges they faced on a daily basis.

At the weekend, we attended a very lively church service. There was lots of singing, dancing, and acting throughout and we were invited to get up and share a few songs of our own too. It was the best church service I have ever been to!

I feel very privileged to have been part of the St Michael’s team and grateful for this opportunity. I have some amazing memories that I will never forget.

I’d like to thank Teckentrup UK and all those who have supported our Zambia ’24 project for their kind donations.

Eva Watson
9 September 2024