To travel to Africa has always been an ambition of mine.  I was taught about the wee “black babies” as a young boy at school and was well aware of the plight in developing countries via the media.  “The Spirit of Paul Mc Girr” gave me the opportunity to travel to Lusaka and witness first hand the daily struggle of the people there and to pass on some bricklaying skills.

It was a fantastic experience.  The Zambian people are warm, welcoming and cheerful despite the hardships they endure.  They are extremely willing to learn and develop new skills in order to improve their own lives and I was struck by the enormous amount of pride the men and women possess.  They do not want or need handouts, they want to be self-sufficient and simply require the knowledge and training to do just that.