| "As we drove from Lusaka along the Great East Road, question after question raced through my head," said Bríd Maher. "Was I mad? Was this a wise decision? Would I survive my time as a volunteer in rural Zambia? perhaps I shouldn't have followed my dream to go to Africa. Maybe it would have been much more sensible to stay at home and support 'the missions' through monetary contributions. What about the weather and the mosquitos?" |
| Bríd is from Portlaoise and was a student at N.U.I. Maynooth. She taught Maths and English at Chassa school in Zambia's eastern province, a very rural and beautiful part of the country. "The thing that struck me most during my time in Zambia was the way people managed to keep smiling," said Bríd. "By our materialistic standards, I could say that the people were poor. Most of them lived in small houses made of sticks and dried mud. Very few could afford a bicycle and, of course, cars were a very rare commodity. People grew all their own food, which was mainly maize, peanuts and cabbage. Some had a few goats, pigs and chickens all running around together in the yard." |
