Ali Williams '07 had a life-changing experience when she visited Africa in the fall of 2017. She donated a mural she made to children in a community in Zambia. Below, she describes the trip and what it meant to her.
I traveled to Africa with my mom and sister in early November 2017. Zambia was our first stop before heading to Botswana and Cape Town.
My mom has a background in education (she’s a retired teacher) and I thrive off of community-driven projects, so we were interested in visiting a school and helping out in any way we could.
We had been in close contact with Waterberry Lodge (where we were to stay in Zambia) and learned about an initiative they had started called Tukongote Community Projects. Waterberry founded Tukongote Community Projects to improve the educational opportunities in nearby villages. They began with one preschool class, and now support over 400 children in three preschools and one primary school.
MAKING THE MURAL
Before our trip we collected donations like books and craft items to bring with us for the schools. I proposed the idea of working with the children to create a mural to install at one of the new schools that had just been built. This mural was for Liyemo Pre-School, so it was important to use bright colors and imagery that was fun and relatable to the village and young children. After figuring out the logistics, I worked on the design with some back and forth dialogue over email from our host at the lodge, and painted the mural in my studio. The mural was small enough that I was able to roll it up and take it as my carry-on item during the flight.
I installed the mural with the help of my sister. The kids loved the mural and were extremely curious about it. The installation process is unusual. I paint on a material called parachute cloth – a thin, synthetic fabric – and then it’s adhered to the wall with a permanent glue medium.
A MOVING EXPERIENCE
After the mural was finished, we played with the kids. They sang and danced outside with us. It was the most adorable moment. The community and the children were so friendly and welcoming.
The teacher from the school shared with us that they have difficulty accessing water. She also touched on disease and the mortality rate. She had lost all of her children and family and adopted six children in the village that were now attending school. Many of the older children there take care of the younger children. It’s a true caring, loving community where everyone helps one another.
It was a huge eye-opener and I quickly realized how much I had taken for granted. I left feeling inspired and deeply moved. It was such an uplifting and positive experience. It was also a huge reminder to be humble, to love, to be kind and to be gentle.
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