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To Zambia: Adventure Time!

In less than 2 days I will be boarding a plane, and spending basically the next day and a half traveling to Lusaka, Zambia, I am so incredibly thrilled to be going on this adventure! However, traveling to a third world country more than 10,000 miles away from home where I know relatively no one and will stick out like a sore thumb is just a little bit daunting, but that being said, going to Africa is a dream come true and I cannot wait to experience life there.

This trip became a reality in April, when I received a grant through the UC Davis Blum Center to head overseas, (UCD students, if you are interested in working abroad check this place out, it provides amazing opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students). http://blumcenter.ucdavis.edu/initiatives/sg/2011-12/awards

The project that I was funded to work on is to teach and help develop curriculum for RHO Appleseed, a school for children in the Bauleni compound of Lusaka, which is one of the poorest areas of the city. This school holds a special place in my heart because it was named for a friend of mine who passed away over two years ago. I truly feel like this school, an amazing resource for children constantly faced with the harsh realities of poverty, is one of the most beautiful ways to carry on the memory of Richard. To receive more information about the school, please check out this website, http://www.rhoappleseed.org/
               
I plan on using this blog to keep friends and family updated with the happenings of RHO Appleseed, and to tell the stories of the people I encounter. I hope reading these tales inspire you all to dream big, and remember that no matter where you are in the world, you can make a difference if you just try, (I apologize for the cheese of that statement, but I think it is completely true!)
Bye for now J

Emma Shandy, UC Davis undergraduate, Human Relations

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