Twelve SFU students, along with their residence advisors and staff, will be partaking in SFU’s first volunteer-based international trip to Zambia this May.

This is the first university-approved trip of its kind and will see students working on various projects, including building homes with Habitat for Humanity, spending time at the University of Zambia, and helping out with the day-to-day activities of a girls’ HIV/AIDS orphanage.

“There is a lot of justification for doing something that is linked to volunteerism and community service,” said Micaela Roughton, one of the residence life coordinators leading the trip. “SFU has a number of great international opportunities for students, but they are all linked to academics.”

This trip is the brainchild of residence and housing program coordinator, Brandon Chapman, who worked alongside Roughton and fellow residence life coordinator, Patrick Bourke, to create an international opportunity for students living in residence that wasn’t “purely academic,” though they hope to offer the option of academic credit for future trips. The team hopes to offer a variety of domestic and international opportunities to students living in residence at SFU in future years.

According to Bourke, university students are at a critical point in their lives, a time during which they are still “deciding their futures,” and this unique perspective allows them to bring an element of curiosity to the experience that people of other generations may not have.

“It is a great time for them to have this kind of worldly introspection and to learn about this type of experience,” said Bourke.

While the trip emphasizes community service and volunteerism, the organizers stress that they are not trying to “save” the Zambians in any sort of neo-colonial context. It’s described by Roughton as more of a system of “mutually beneficial learning,” with SFU students being able to experience Zambian culture and life by lending a hand in the community.

This trip will also allow the students to experience the day-to-day activities in a girls’ orphanage, a unique experience that is only possible due to Roughton’s personal relationship with the facility. Roughton has spent a significant amount of time working with the sisters in charge of the orphanage in order to secure funds and keep the orphanage running smoothly.

“This is an awesome opportunity because generally orphanages are hesitant to let people they don’t know in,” explained Roughton.

The participants will be leaving for Zambia on May 2, where they will spend two weeks working with Habitat for Humanity and experiencing Zambian culture. Chapman has been overwhelmed by the progress they’ve made, and the level of passion that has been displayed by all supporters.

“It’s surreal to see that it’s actually happening, and that in three short months we’ll be in Zambia,” Chapman told The Peak.