Seeking adventures and feeling at home

Familiar paths

Muli bwanji? – Hello, how are you? I’m Mia and I’ve been living in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, for eight months. As I stroll through our neighbourhood on my way to work, it strikes me how familiar the streets are to me now, whereas at the beginning they were still so new and exciting.

Nisala!

... means something along the lines of: I need to get off! – a phrase that I call out multiple times each day to tell the driver of my minibus that I’d like to get off. Alongside Yango, an Uber-style service, minibuses are the only form of public transport in Lusaka. As well as the driver, there’s always a conductor on board the buses, who tries to encourage as many people as possible to get on, mostly by shouting loudly. The bus only sets off once it’s “full”, which, over here, sometimes means squeezing up to 20 people into a 12-seater.

Most of the buses head into the bustling city centre, or “towni”, which is home to a series of markets. These markets employ many people and offer everything you could ever need in life – from clothes and food to tech.

Each morning, I head out onto the street and pay five kwacha (around 15 cents) to board a minibus to the circus. You never have to wait long for a bus – they come every few minutes. The loudspeakers often play reggae music or songs by Yo Maps, Zambia’s most famous singer, and you soon find yourself in a spontaneous conversation with your fellow passengers.

Kalingalinga

... our lively neighbourhood, located relatively centrally and packed with little stands offering fresh vegetables, avocados, mangos and passion fruit. Hair salons appear at every turn, with women sitting patiently while getting their braids done. People sit at street corners with hot pans, cooking and selling golden fritter balls called tumbua. And in and amongst it all are lots of children and students: the neighbourhood is very close to the University of Zambia (UNZA). Above the small shops, signs bear names like “God Provide” and “God Saviour Shop” – a familiar sight in Lusaka, a city profoundly characterised by the Christian faith. Christianity influences life across the whole of Zambia – not just through the many churches, but also through first names like Blessing, Moses and Gift, which are extremely common here. For most Zambians, going to church on Sunday is part and parcel of their weekly routine.

With an estimated population of three million, Lusaka is nearly as big as Berlin. And yet its neighbourhoods retain a very personal, almost village-like atmosphere – something I really appreciate. Over time, we’ve come to know so many of the local shopkeepers, tailors and young people from Kalingalinga. And if, in the evening, you realise you’re missing a few ingredients while cooking, the nearest shop if only a few minutes’ walk away.

Circus Zambia

My partner organisation, Circus Zambia, is a social enterprise offering young people from disadvantaged backgrounds access to art as well as a safe space. The goal is to promote life skills and forge education and employment opportunities. Every Saturday, around 80 young people from various parts of Lusaka, mainly the socially disadvantages districts like Chibolya, Mtendere and Garden, come together to train. Circus training incorporates a variety of disciplines, including acrobatics, juggling, dance, trapeze and clowning. The organisation puts on professional shows every few months; these mainly feature the older members of the circus. Roughly 20 artists within the circus earn a living from appearing in shows or at workshops as circus coaches.

As well as the commercial side, which provides the majority of the funding for the circus, there are also social components consisting of three parts: the mind, body and soul programmes. The body programme focuses on physical training and developing soft skills like trust and communication. The mind programme teaches hard skills to open up career prospects for the young people outside of the circus – through courses on drafting a CV or compiling a portfolio for example, or through private tutoring. The soul programme deals with social issues such as women’s rights, children’s rights, preventing drug and alcohol abuse, HIV and climate justice. The circus remains a unifying element across all of these projects – whether that’s through training sessions or through public performances that translate these themes into shows.

My responsibilities on site

My assignments within the circus vary greatly depending on the project. For example, in past projects I’ve taken on duties such as costume and set design. I’ve also done some graphic design, for example for the posters and flyers for our shows. Apart from that, I help out with the large training session on Saturdays as well as with camps and other workshops. At the moment, I’m organising a course focusing on career advice for young people as part of the mind programme. One of my other tasks is to manage the social media account – and occasionally write a newsletter.

What I value most about the circus is the incredibly open and friendly atmosphere. From the very first moment I felt so welcome. There are always a lot of young people getting involved, which makes it easy for me to meet people my own age. Something I find particularly inspiring is how much creativity is expressed here and the exciting projects that are always developing – this makes an impression on me time and again.

At the same time, my year here has motivated me to engage more closely with our colonial past and the colonial structures that continue to have an impact even now. Experiencing this so directly has shaped my views on global political relationships, different forms of racism and my role as a volunteer, and is something that has stayed with me to this day.