Purnell Zambia Trip Featured in the News April 11, 2006
A recent article in the Newark Star-Ledger featured Purnell students' trip to Zambia to do community service.
During Project Exploration, ten juniors and seniors went to Zambia to volunteer at the Namumu Orphanage Center and the House of Moses orphanage. Living and working in Zambia for two and a half weeks the students experienced vast differences between the African and American cultures. From teaching children, following African time, and eating new foods, the experiences these students had will not soon be forgotten.
History teacher William Warlick, one of the chaperones for the trip, is well acquainted with Africa, as he spent much of his childhood there. "My parents helped to start the Namumu Orphanage Center and worked with the people who run House of Moses. Although they are retired and living in Orlando, Florida, they now lead groups back to southern Africa three times a year."
Before traveling to Africa, the girls solicited donations of clothing, school supplies, books, toys and medical supplies such as Tylenol to take with them. Nathalie Rodriguez '06 says, "We each carried two large bags, about 70 pounds worth of stuff. We weren't able to take everything that was donated."
The donations were well received by Namumu. Edwin, Namumu's Director of Finances, thanked the students, saying, "The gifts that you have brought to us are the butter on the bread." Katie Simoes echoed this sentiment in her journal. "I saw some of the children wearing some of my personal donations. For me, that was the butter on the bread. Being here is the biggest gift I could have ever asked for, and seeing the kids cherish what I brought was just an extra joy."
The students worked with much younger children while at the House of Moses Orphanage. "It was quite an experience just knowing we were able to be of some help," said Kiersten McCooley '07. "Every day we fed, held, and played with the babies. They really took to us." Ay-Shia Baldwin '06 agreed that the trip changed her. "It made me realize how fortunate we are living in America."
In addition to working at the two orphanages, the students also were able to do some traveling around the country. They visited Victoria Falls, which at 1708 meters wide is the widest waterfall in the world. The students also went on a game drive in Chobe Park in Bostwana. As a tremendously different cultural experience, the students visited an African market, and experienced the thrill and frustrations of bargaining with the merchants. "You could tell some of them were trying to scam us," said Katie Simoes. "I did pretty well though. I would just look them in the eye and make them know that I meant business."
The biggest impact for Katie, though, was her personal interaction with the orphans. "They welcomed us with such open arms and big smiles. After only one hour of being at Namumu, I already felt like a part of the orphanage family."
