First things first: hello to any readers, and thank you for making the effort to view this! By way of a brief introduction, I’ll just mention it’s Lucy writing: Eva has allowed me the role of the blog author, as writing is something I’ve always enjoyed, and she has the role of photographer (and editor of my ramblings).
To set the scene, I’m currently sat on my own in our student house in London, ready for the journey from Heathrow tomorrow: the house has been completely emptied of everyone’s belongings as we’ve all moved out, and it’s rather eerie with no trace of a person living here (I’m having to sleep in as many jumpers as I can, extracted from my luggage, as even my bedding has been taken back to Nottingham). So, to counteract the loneliness and the idea of a long night ahead, I thought I’d crack on with the first blog post (despite Eva not being present – hope she doesn’t mind…)
Perhaps a good place to start would be to explain why Eva and I are meeting at Heathrow tomorrow to undergo a 16-hour journey to a place which neither of us have ever been to before, to give up two months of our summer for a volunteering placement. Quite honestly, I’m not sure where it all began. Perhaps it was when Eva and I were discussing possible visions of our future career, and realised neither of us wanted to be accused of conforming to that widely-held stereotype of a law student: that we’re ‘in it for the money’, that we all have no conscience, that we couldn’t care less about representing people who actually need it unless we get a fat pay-cheque at the end, etc. That was probably part of what set the ball rolling, but I’d like to think that we also had a less selfish motive - both of us felt strongly that we could, or more correctly should, share the skills which we’re lucky enough to have picked up with those to whose life it might really make a difference.
I’ve always felt grateful for the education I’ve received – not just formally from my school and uni, but also the knowledge and perspective I’ve picked up from the brilliant people in my life. It’s my belief that education is not something which we’re ‘lucky-to-have-but-if-we-haven’t-had-then-oh-well’ – education can make such a difference to the outcome of someone’s life that it is not something we should take or leave, and it’s equally not something which should be left for those who can afford it. To me, education is a vital commodity, and it’s essential that those who have knowledge should share it. Just as it is essential that a person who can grow food should share it with those who cannot. Or at least, that’s my take on it.
Anyway, how does this all link in with our trip to Zambia? PEPAIDS, the charity we’ll be working with, has a very similar philosophy: they are reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS primarily through the power of education. The title stands for Peer Education Programme against AIDS, meaning that instead of a ‘teacher’ telling a ‘class’ what they should do, the charity works with local communities around Zambia to pass on information about how to reduce the risk of contracting HIV, and how to minimise the negative consequences of the disease once it has already sunk in its claws. And then the people who have received the information can proceed to share it with their peers, and the solution spreads.
It perhaps sounds disarmingly simple – that a disease which was, until recently, perceived as being completely incurable, can have the sting taken out of its tail by something as straightforward as the sharing of education. Maybe it isn’t quite so easy and I’m being idealistic. But that’s one of the reasons for this blog – to help us keep track of our thoughts as we go through the two months ahead, and leave it open for both ourselves and you as the reader to decide whether or not we do something useful. I suppose the rest of the aim of the blog is to document our adventures as we explore what will be to us a completely new continent and culture (exciting stuff)…
Going off on a bit of a tangent, whilst writing this I noticed that the dictionary defines education as ‘the giving or receiving of information’; it’s a double-edged sword. It seems that this might summarise our placement pretty well - although we’re there to share what we know, I have a feeling we’re going to experience a whole lot of things that are completely foreign, upsetting, or even previously unimaginable to us.
On that cheery note, I think it’s enough for tonight - time to try and find sleep on my duvet-less bed. Please keep viewing, it’s good to know we’ve got support! We will update you soon (perhaps with a little more information on what we’ll actually be doing).
Thank you for reading,
Lucy
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