A Bumpy Ride

July 11, 2017

Our main form of transportation during the trip is a small van driven by a Zambian man named Allen who has worked with this program for many years previously. The van is a pretty tight squeeze to fit us all, but we make it work. We do a loop stopping at each of our 4 service sites to drop students off for the morning. Being the last stop on the commute, the drive is about an hour. However, I am also the last to be picked up so the commute home is rather short. We are also able to hire Allen for trips external to our normal service learning route for which he is contracted, such as going to the mall, for some extra kwacha.

When we are somewhere that is not our compound past sunset, which occurs at 6:00pm, we usually hire taxis to take us home. The main reason for this is that Lusaka does not have many streetlights, so walking home in the dark puts someone at risk for a motor vehicle accident because it is very difficult for a driver to see pedestrians. The prices of taxi cabs are not set, however, and you must haggle with the driver for the rate. A short cab ride for 4 people costs about 40 kwacha or 4 US dollars. Professor Gardinier thought it was important that the students see what public transportation is like in the city, as this is how many Zambians travel to and from work. Upon our first meeting with the University of Zambia students with whom we are partnering with for this program, we were divided into groups and sent on a scavenger hunt around the city to get a chance to see the local malls and markets. During this hunt, we needed to take two buses. Public buses are not immediately recognizable to non-Zambians. They look exactly like the van Allen drives us in, but they have an orange stripe down the side. Catching a bus is a chaotic experience. There are many drivers yelling at you to pick their bus out of the multiple options. The buses are packed well past capacity, and the drivers have a habit of physically guiding you into their vehicle if you are taking too long or asking questions. Haggling happens quickly and usually in the local language. Once the bus arrives at a stop, if the rider getting out is sitting in the back, everyone in front of them must get out to let them out. However, unlike Boston transportation, you will never have to wait more than two minutes for a bus to come because there are so many. So, while the buses are packed, they are extremely quick, so you get to your destination fast. Also, you don’t have to spend time waiting, and you are able to haggle for a lower price. If one is accustomed to the process, like our Zambian peers were because they had done it countless times, it is very simple. However, it was definitely daunting as a newcomer.

Written By

Maegan Cross

My name is Maegan, and I couldn't possibly be more excited to be embarking on this once-in-a-lifetime journey to Zambia with my peers and some truly incredible faculty members. I am a second year Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major with a minor in Human Services. My program on this DOC is Driving Social Change. Although I someday hope to work domestically in the fields of economic policy, income inequality, and human rights law, I know that this is going to be an invaluable experience for me because I will get hands-on experience in third-party intervention strategies. I, like so many other Northeastern students, want to work for the federal government so I can incite positive social change that will benefit the least-advantaged, oppressed, underrepresented members of our society. However, a huge factor in my ability to accomplish my goals is that I, as I am not myself a member of many of the populations I will be working to serve, am limited in my understanding of the needs of these people. This is why learning foreign intervention strategies is so important to me. My work developing programs for youths in a Zambian nonprofit will teach me best practice for understanding the needs of a community and implementing programs that will fulfill what the people need, not just what I, or any other person coming from a place of privilege, think they need. The skills I learn in Zambia will fuel my ability to advance the social and economic well-being of minority communities in my own country, and allow me to be the most positive ally I can possibly be.