6/5 Update from Jami - HIV Education Program

Today is my last day in Zambia for this year's trip. The day started off with a few of us walking into town to get chitenge dresses made for ourselves and our family. We ate lunch at the Church Planting School where Annie made the best nshima with chicken I've eaten!! We arrived in Kitwe at the Mindolo High School around 13:00 and unloaded our equipment and started to set-up for our presentation. We have a nice big hall that holds close to 1000 students. The energy in the hall was amazing. We started out with a funny skit to let the students know that we're crazy muzungus (white people). The Doctors Office skit was a hit and Georgina made her debut at the school. Georgina is going to be famous all over Zambia! The dance competition was outrageous. The student who won the competition was an amazing dancer. George and Elizabeth joined in the dance competition, the students got a kick out of it! I presented the material on Biology/ Transmission and the students seemed to be very interested and attentive for the most part. The highlight of the day was the small groups. The students (8th-12th grade) were asking lots of questions and talking freely about a lot of topics. It is exciting to see the students really thinking about the information, thinking about things they have heard and questioning the logic of myths about HIV/AIDS. My message for this year's trip was to get the students to know more than just facts, they need to have a deep understanding of the things we're telling them. They need to think about things and decide for themselves what choice they want to make with their lives. I hope that this was a mission accomplished. The only bad news of the day was that the school is letting out all the students tomorrow (Wednesday) since there is a teaching meeting all day. I think we've all become accustomed to plans changing with the wind, so our program will start-up again on Thursday. I have no doubts that the rest of this weeks program is going to great!

As we drove home, all packed into the back of the van, I looked out the window and saw the most beautiful sunset. The colors in the African sky at sunset can't be matched anywhere else in the world. I feel privileged to have been a part of this HIV/AIDS team. I can't say enough about all the people on the team, they are amazing. It's always sad to say goodbye to this place and all the people I've met here. Mufuliria, Zambia is really home! I've seen children grow and friends change into these amazing people. I look forward to seeing what happens next year.