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Thoughts on leaving Zambia

It has been quite an extraordinary year, and an experience that I’ll never forget. Being back in the UK is a bit of a culture shock, particularly as I’m spending most days in Central London at the moment. It is, however, great to be back and there is no doubt that my appreciation of "home" has been greatly enhanced by my experiences in Africa.

Africa is a most perplexing continent. It is unimaginably large – when I think how much I saw in my time in the region and look on the map and see what a tiny fraction of the continent I managed to cover, it is mind-boggling. The problems that countries like Zambia have to face seem insurmountable. Some teachers in government school earn the equivalent of £25 per month and many have to wait months or even years to get paid. The HIV rate is quite appalling, estimated at around 70-80% of the population. The nation’s average life expectancy is the second lowest in the world at 38. The lowest in the world is Sierra Leone, which is war-torn. The country’s debt is crippling and the infrastructure is a crumbling shadow what it obviously used to be. What is most baffling is that most Zambians do not seem to be concerned about this. They typically live from one day to the next, and the idea of planning for the future is an anathema to them.

Against that background, it may seem difficult to understand how I could have coped, let alone enjoyed the experience. It has to be said that as an ex-patriot, it is easy to shield oneself from the lives of the everyday Zambian problems. In Kitwe there were a number of good restaurants and bars and the social scene amongst the staff was good. Lechwe School was a terrific place in which to work and was very refreshing after four years battling with the problems of a school in Inner London.

However, there were problems at the school due to a rather unsympathetic and unknowledgeable Board of Management whose interference in the work of the teachers was inappropriate and ill informed. The members of the Board were mostly local businessmen who (rather like Margaret Thatcher’s government) saw everything in financial terms and had little knowledge of matters educational. This was a shame, considering that the Principal was so supportive but was constantly frustrated by the Board’s interference. There were also problems in recruiting teachers from overseas. The Board made several appointments taking teachers from the local mine school (which was highly selective and followed the Zambian curriculum, rather than the quasi-British curriculum followed at Lechwe) and putting them in an environment for which they had not been trained and of which they had no experience.

My position in the Music Department was, however, great. Together with Paul Parker, the Head of Department, we made a great team and supported each other very well indeed. It was fantastic to be able to share ideas and learn from someone with so much energy and imagination, as well as having enormous enthusiasm for his subject. It was also immensely rewarding and interesting to be able to teach from age 5 to age 16 and that made for a very varied and exciting week.

The main reason for going was, of course, to travel. Unfortunately, the Board clearly did not realise this as they firstly banned us from taking the school cars out of Zambia and then out of the Copperbelt Province, having previously promised us new cars at interview and then again soon after we arrived at the school. The new cars never arrived, and we had to drive around in battered old wrecks, which were in constant danger of being impounded by the police.

However, the places that I managed to see were all incredible. Seeing the Victoria Falls not just once, but three times, looking quite different each time was a great privilege. Harare was a fascinating city, with a great mix of colonial and African culture. Kariba was quite beautiful and Chobe in Botswana was an unforgettable treat.

I can’t end without mentioning the friends I made during my year there. I met Sharon and Ruth in the UK before travelling out with them in August and who lived in the same block as me. We were always a brilliant team and could rely on each other for support and a laugh. Keith was a great source of gin and gossip and I’ll miss his good humour. Garth, the Principal was not only a great guy to work with, but also a good friend. Alex and Susanni who ran the boarding hostel where I did regular duties were brilliant company always, as was Graham, Head of Design and Technology and Andy and Karen from the Maths Department.