In the summers of 2012 and 2013, I participated in the Community Development program in Nampula, Mozambique. I was called to work with a fully-integrated poultry farm in a very rural area in the northern part of the country. This trip appealed to me because of the connection to my major, Poultry Science, and the opportunity to see the poultry industry on a different continent. The program was focused less on in-the-classroom learning and more on hands-on service and leadership. Throughout my experience, my idea of study abroad really transformed from a very self-centered perspective to a servant’s heart.
My plan in May of
2012 was to get on a plane with my best friend, go work on a chicken farm, and
go on a South African safari. My plan quickly changed when I began working
alongside Jesse, one of the supervisors on the broiler breeder farm.
 | |
| Jesse Lutonde |
He was one
of the few employees that spoke English, so he was tasked with becoming our
project host and translator. I spent three weeks working, talking, teaching,
and learning with him. Jesse is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. His father and brother were killed in the civil war there in the 1990’s
and his mother died from HIV/AIDS. He has a wife, four sons, and a daughter who
live in Malawi. He only gets sees them once or twice a year. He speaks English,
French, Portuguese, and many other tribal languages. He is only a few years
older than me and had seen so much unimaginable hardship. Everything he does,
he does to provide a better life for his family. It would be easy for him to
give up and settle in his circumstances. However, his spirit is rich with hope
and passion for feeding other Africans like himself. He is so interested in his
job and always striving to do better. This incredible man is the reason I enjoy
what I do so much. My mindset completely changed from May to June that year. I
was less focused on what the world owed me and more interested and passionate
about what I owed the world. That step towards enlightenment is one of the
greatest gifts and it was all thanks to Jesse.
My plan for my
second trip in 2013 was to return to the farm, provide more technical service,
and give back to my friend who had given so much to me. I was lucky to come
across a refurbished laptop for that I loaded down with presentations,
journals, notes, and pictures from my poultry science classes. The day I
returned to the farm, I gave the laptop to Jesse and showed him all the
information on it. He was so appreciative he nearly cried. I knew how much he
loved his job and wanted to continue to move upward. We took a picture to send
to his wife in Malawi and she was equally as ecstatic to have a way for her
children to Skype with Jesse. One of the professors on the trip asked me why I
cared so much to give away a perfectly good laptop. To me it was very simple.
Jesse’s story had shown me a new perspective and a better way to think about
how a little white girl could impact the world. His story was all he had to
give. So the least I could do was enhance his life a little bit with technology
and information that came at such a little cost to me.
 | |
| Emily Lhamon participated on the U of A Community Development in Mozambique Summer Program 2012 and 2013 |
