Mission Direct - Volunteers helping the world's poor

My Story

I am desperate to go back - I know you get attached to wherever you go, but I really have Africa in my blood now!

Brenda Wood went for a two week trip to Chamba Valley in Lusaka in 2008. She has barely stopped talking about it since. She explains why...

This was your first ever trip to Africa. Were you apprehensive?
Oh yes! I was really nervous and excited at the same time - a real case of mixed emotions. But when I arrived all that went straight away: we arrived at the hotel in the dark, but the cooks met us off the bus and greeted us with a traditional African song and lots of really warm hugs. After that I knew it was going to be fine and the apprehension lifted like a cloud.
You went onto with the Fountain of Hope project, trying to rescue street children and get them to join the rehabilitation scheme. That sounds quite nerve-wracking, especially for a woman. How was it?
That was a strange moment. We went through this huge, huge street market and down alleys to where the street children congregate. I felt like I was visiting hell: the buildings and asphalt were all black - it just seemed to suck all the light in. But the kids weren't threatening at all. They just wanted to hug us and talk to us. They asked us about everything - where we'd come from, how our cameras worked...
You also helped out at something called the Kumbaya feeding project. What did you have to do?

We had to help distribute maize porridge among three hundred children at a local school. They just had one bowl of this, and that was their only meal for the day. As a treat we brought some apples, but we had to show the children how you eat them - they had no idea!

All the while, there were hundreds more children outside who weren't from the school trying to get fed too. They would try and join the lines. But we only had enough food to feed the children in this school - it was heartbreaking.

With so much need everywhere, did you ever wonder if you were making any difference at all?
It was hard seeing how extensive the need was. You just had to remind yourself 'I can't help everyone, but I am making a difference to these people.' And it makes you more determined to help projects like Kumbaya when you get home. They have expanded and can now feed more children, thanks to donations from Mission Direct. So there is something else that you can do - that's definitely the way to look at it.
What did it feel like to come home after all that?
It was actually much harder coming home than it was adjusting when I was out there. I took me five or six weeks to adjust to life over here again - people can be so negative over here, I noticed that so much after the positivity of everyone in Zambia - people over here seemed so negative.
Who would you recommend the Zambia trip to?
Anyone with a nurturing bone in their bodies will love Zambia. The orphans and street children are a whole lost generation - they will lap up as much affection and hugs as you can possibly dish out. I would say pretty much any age group would get something from a trip to Zambia, but think that young people and people on gap years would be energized by the liveliness of the place.
How has the experience changed you?
I am retired now, and I find myself wanting to do more and more for the projects I was involved with. I went on a sponsored skydive to raise more money for them. Also I want to get more people to try out a Mission Direct short trip for themselves. And I am desperate to go back - I know you get attached to wherever you go, but I really have Africa in my blood now!

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Brenda Wood

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Restoring the gift of childhood

A proper childhood is a precious commodity. It is one that is cruelly denied to tens of thousands of children in Zambia. Due to poverty and AIDS, they are denied such basics as food, shelter and education. Most tragically, many children are even denied a loving family and left abandoned as street children.

With Mission Direct you can help to give some of these things back to Zambia’s children. You will be working on school building projects for primary school children from one of Zambia’s poorest townships, who would otherwise be denied any education at all. This is the first step out of poverty for these children and their families.

Contribution: £1,495

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jackie_johnsonCall Jackie Johnston in the Luton office
8am - 5.30pm
Mon - Fri
to apply or find out more.

t: 01582 72 00 56

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