Macdonald’s Farm in Lusaka, Zambia

The MacDonald’s are a Scottish family who moved to Zambia in 2002. Don runs a building material business, Christine is a doctor and they have 3 girls. They are also “parents” to a family of 30 boys, aged 5 to 15 that have came to live with them from the streets, gutters and byways of downtown Lusaka. They all live on a farm, using a method of farming known as ‘farming Gods way‘, just outside Lusaka.

The gap placement is for those who want to be part of a large community. You need to be kind and tolerant, ready to muck in and do what needs to be done, ready to live as part of the large extended family. The ethos is that of a large family and not an orphanage or institution.  If you are the kind of person who requires large amounts of privacy and personal space then Old MacDonald’s Farm is probably not the place for you!

The gap placement:

 

The Macdonald family adopted 35 street kids into their home.  You can go and be of help in a number of ways:

 

There is plenty to do around the house, family and farm. The exact role for the placement can be developed with the MacDonald’s before you go and refined when you arrive, but here are some specifics :

 

• Teaching: This would be ideal for aspiring or ex teachers, but would be suitable for anybody able to read and write English and understand basic schoolwork.  You will supervise study in the evenings 6 days a week, and to help the boys where they find difficulty.  As such you would have to be “boy friendly” and approachable and willing to build up a friend/mentor relationship with individual children.  You would also spend time working on remedial teaching with boys who are not ready for school or are having learning , preparing them for formal education.  This is not work for the faint hearted or workshy, but it can be lots of fun.

 

• Handyman: With a house this size, there is always work to be done repairing and patching up, painting and renovating, especially as the boys have a real gift for destruction!  The daily routine would involve keeping the infrastructure in order, discussing, planning and executing maintenance work and any new project work, including building, plumbing and electrical work.  Although not so hands on with the boys, there will still be a great opportunity to supervise the older lads as they learn the skills of a trade.

 

• Farming. The farm is a smallholding, with a variety of animals as well as cereals and vegetables, to make the MacDonalds community self-sustaining. It is run on the principals of ’Farming God’s Way‘ (see www.farming-gods-way.org/ ). You would be able to help on the farm - a combination of the song  ’Old MacDonald’s Farm‘ and ’The Good Life’!