Restless Development and the International Citizen Service programme have done a huge amount for me. They have paid to vaccinate me, train me, and fly me to Zambia. They have taught me about development around the globe and locally in our Zambian and British communities. They have offered me the chance to change the world…
What percentage of British government spending do you think should be spent on international development? On Friday, 12th September 2014, parliament will vote on a bill to continue to support international development. Click on the link below to find out more about the bill and why it is important. WHY YOU SHOULD SUPPORT THE 12TH…
Due to my busy working schedule and other such commitments, the blog has sadly been left rather to her own devices over the past few months. However, in an attempt to revive her, I’ve decided to post some photos of my experiences in bite-size portions of five at a time. (All of the photos are…
In 1999, Jeremy [Gilley] founded Peace One Day, a non-profit organisation, and in 2001 Peace One Day’s efforts were rewarded when the member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the first ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on 21 September – Peace Day. Peace One Day’s objective is to institutionalise Peace Day…
Following on from my previous post, The Guardian has published an interactive look at women’s rights around the world based on UN and World Bank data. Click on the image above or here to be taken to the original page.
2014 is already off to a great start. There are some excellent films hitting the box office, we’ve got the Sochi Winter Olympics to look forward to, the US and UK will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan and Kanye West has made a groundbreaking New Year’s resolution (see the 27min clip here). It’s bound to be…
When one of the eighth graders stood before the class and proudly proclaimed his ambition to become an accountant, I was surprised. In such a community as this, I wondered if there was any need for such a role: there was no bank, no electricity even, and matters of taxation and compensation were meted out…
Last night I had the privilege of going to see two speakers at the latest TEDx Edinburgh event, the first of four smaller, ‘Salon’ events. The theme was Justice. First to take the stage was Dr Katy Long, a lecturer in International Development at the University of Edinburgh. (To see more of her work, check…
49 years ago today Zambia gained independence from British rule. Today is also United Nations Day, the anniversary of the 1945 Charter of the United Nations. And it is my birthday. Lots to celebrate. With several hours of video stashed somewhere on my hard drive, there’s no time like the present to start sorting it into…
Today is Blog Action Day. This year’s theme: Human Rights. As teachers, we quickly tired of teaching our students lessons that they had evidently been taught several times before. They knew all the obvious answers – stay in school, drugs are bad, don’t have unprotected sex – and many seemed to comply with these rules more…
GOAL-SETTING 101 CONTINUED… I arrived in Zambia equipped with a suitcase full of toiletries and a handful of expectations. I expected poverty and hunger, poor healthcare and inequality. I completely neglected to consider the reason I was there: education. Of all of the issues that affect the developing world, I had previously given the least thought…
Goal-setting 101 continued… Why not ease ourselves into my series of Goals posts with a humorous anecdote? As the 8th Grade class jotted down their answers to the question What is a goal you have for your future and what will you do to achieve it? I wafted about from pupil to pupil, reading over their shoulders and providing…
As it dawned on me that my being in Zambia had a time limit I started to worry about the sustainability of our work in the community. During exam week, when the children were either revising, bored or both, I went to the school with Moono, an ICS colleague, to teach Grade 8 for an…
Liv in Zambia 