Service Day

The Day of Service is Full of Solutions

The Day of Service on Saturday, February 27th provided each Summit participant the chance to put all their ideas about sustainable solutions to work by engaging in action. Students visited ten different sites around the Lusaka area and had a multitude of experiences. During the Service Day everyone wore their Summit t-shirts and celebrated the joy of making a difference in the world.

Students that visited the Chikumbuso women and orphan’s home, received training in crocheting reused plastic bags, while students gardening a the Anti-AIDS Teachers’ Association of Zambia (AATAZ), worked in fun teams to plant vegetables and experience their youth activities. Sustainable gardening and environmental practices were further practiced with Service Day projects at Pestalozzi, the Jesus Cares Ministries, and the innovative Conservation Farming Unit. AISL parent/agrieconomist, Jan Nijhoff and keynote speaker, Hammer Simwinga, accompanied students that visited CFU.

Keynote speaker Austin Gutwein and his mother, Denise, enjoyed playing with the children at the Open Arms Community School and learned about the AISL ‘Dig a Hole’ project. Students continued to work on building a sustainable fish pond and also painted the classrooms. Likewise, more than fifty students headed out to Mukwashi Trust Primary School, where students did everything from building chicken coops, reading, salsa dancing, to playing with the parachute, repairing desks and planting. These opportunities were described by the Press Corps Summit News as “tots to the max.”

Students also acted and danced with Barefeet Theater and the Nomakanjani dance troupe. Finally, a small group of girls, spent an intense day experiencing the challenges of the Vision of Hope Women’s Shelter. Accompanied by AISL school counselor, Helen McBride, students returned to school early to process what they had experienced. While service can be tremendously rewarding, it is not without its dark side and the challenges of finding solutions was laid bare as students learned how hard it is to help these young, homeless girls of Lusaka.

Everyone returned to the school excited to share about their experiences and ready to formulate action plans with their perspective schools about all that they had learned at the Summit over three days. It was a great way to learn by doing and broaden perspectives about sustainable solutions.

Click here for the Service Day Activities that will be offered on Day 3 of the Summit.