We were delighted to welcome Joshua Duforest to visit some of our community programmes whilst on his internship with Consolidated Nickel Mines in June. Here is an account of his experiences and adventures with the Musangu Foundation;

Along with my internship on the mine site, I was also introduced to a new concept, one in which I had not given much consideration towards in the past. This was the importance of social engagements and investment through mining.

Before embarking on my trip, Emma and Vicki who manage the Musangu Foundation, introduced me to a number of ongoing initiatives. These programmes included the Clean Burning Cook Stove, LIBRARY Project (Education) and the FARMING Project. I was fortunate enough to view and participate in a number a of these within the short duration of my time in Zambia.

I met Busiku Sulwe, Musangu’s in-country Project Lead and two Community Liaison Officers and we set off in the morning traveling to two chosen distribution points to hand out a new delivery of clean burning cooking stoves. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by eager and curious community members. We provided a brief demonstration of the stove using alternative fuel sources, these included corn husk, dried cane and dung. Some community members appeared to be skeptical at first, however after a couple of minutes we were able to light the alternative materials through a minimal volume of charcoal. Within 5 minutes we had a substantial heat source, more than sufficient for cooking purposes. Overall, the 50 stoves were greeted with much optimism.

Having briefly visited the community school through the stove distribution day, I returned and was introduced to the children in grade 5 to grade 8 and senior teaching staff. After an introduction with the Deputy Head, we discussed teaching and education at length, after which I was given the eagerly awaited tour of the school and the facilities.

Overall, I was vastly impressed with the amenities, building standard/quality throughout the school, however one particular area stood out, the library. It was clearly the pride of the school and it was easy to see why, the foundation had achieved the Library Project outcomes – supplying a vast array of educational material.

The following day, I returned to the school to teach a Physical Education class to grade 8 students. In the session, we discussed the importance of warm-ups and stretching, in addition to exercise and living a healthy lifestyle. A number of competitive exercises were organised to develop team work and communication skills.

The main part of the session took the form of a mixed-team football match, everyone seemed to enjoy this greatly. My interest in the project has not wavered since returning and at present I am in the process of sourcing some additional and much needed sporting equipment.

I am extremely grateful and fortunate for the granted opportunity. I would like to thank Victoria Partridge, Emma Parker and Busiku Sulwe for allowing this opportunity, arranging my visit and making the duration of my stay so pleasant. I hope to provide additional support throughout the future and applaud everyone involved in the Foundation for the great work they have achieved thus far and their future aspirations for the region!

If you would like to find out more about volunteer opportunities with the Musangu Foundation please get in touch with Vicki Partridge vicki@musangufoundation.org

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