Look around. Notice where you are, and what you are doing. Sitting on chairs in a warm assembly hall, in your tidy uniform, just after lunch, in one of the best schools in the country, watching a presentation on a large display.

We have all become so accustomed to this sort of thing, that it is no longer unusual, in fact, it never really has been.

I want you to try, for just a few minutes, to imagine how life would be without all of these nice things, normal things, things we take for granted. How easy would life be then?

While in Zambia, I spent a lot of my time teaching in Ngwenya Community Baptist School.

For 8 days, I taught a Grade 5 class, the equivalent of a Primary 5 class, from 7:15am – 1:30pm. With only a short 20 minute break in between.

What immediately struck me was the broad age gap in the class. The youngest pupil was a young boy named Joe, he was ten years old. The oldest pupil was a boy named Eustas, he was sixteen years old. There are a number of reasons for this broad age gap. Many people don’t start school at the correct age, many dropped out of school and returned a few years later, many are forced to leave school to look after their family due to their parents dying, and some are just repeating a year.

I also noticed a broad standard of knowledge in the class. Of the 30 or so pupils in the class, around half understood everything that was being taught to them. They would complete the work given quickly and quietly, and would sit in silence when they have finished. The other half didn’t understand basic maths and English. They had great difficulty in doing any of the work which was set for them. In fact, I am still unsure as to whether some of them could actually speak English.

The problem is that the concepts being taught are not fully explained to the pupils, and if a pupil doesn’t understand, he/she is left to fall behind.

On the positive side, I was in a school which has just recently been built. It has individual classrooms for each class and the buildings are very modern. It also had some qualified teachers, as opposed to some of the schools which the other boys were in.

Linda community school and Libuyu School were just large buildings, about the size of a school assembly hall. But there were large holes in the roofs, and all of the classes were in the one room.

None of the schools we visited had an abundance of materials. My class had two text books for each subject to share between them.

The YCTC (Youth Community Training Centre) which Michael and Kevin McManus visited was a breath of fresh air. It was run by two of the Sisters based in Livingstone. Sister Josephine, one of the sisters, is an Irish woman. She dedicates most of her time to the young adults who attend the Centre. The centre consisted of a number of very up-to-date buildings, with a new hall drawing towards the end of its construction. The centre had a number of very modern computers and other machinery for the use of the pupils. The centre focused on the more vocational skills needed in the labour market.

The people in the YCTC were all in and around 20 years old, mostly people who dropped out of school. They were being taught basic maths and English skills, as well as being taught how to use the computers and the machinery for wood-work, and clothing design classes. The YCTC is a place which gives the local people another chance to gain a good education which can give them a good future.

Another thing I noticed was the evidence of corporal punishment in the schools.

This was my first experience of corporal punishment, and in all honesty I was quite disgusted. I was also quite annoyed to see the other teachers letting this happen.

But this sort of thing is probably remembered by many teachers in this room, as the use of Corporal Punishment was only outlawed in 1988, less than a generation ago.

Violence is a big part of the education system. Beatings happened almost everyday. Fighting amongst the pupils was also a very regular occurrence. On a number of occasions, pupils in my class were punching and kicking each other in front of the teacher, who did nothing to stop them.

But the use of violence in schools in Zambia is nothing unusual. It is part and parcel of the Zambian culture, and is used as a teaching tool.

There is clearly a difference in teaching methods in Zambia. Here, we are taught the material and encouraged to learn it to the best of our ability. In Zambia, the children are not taught the material properly, but are expected to know it.

And here we are, back into the Abbey assembly hall. For some of you, what I have just said will have had absolutely no effect on you whatsoever, but for those who understand where I am coming from, I thank you.

I have just one final thought on my experience of my time in Zambia.

Please, no matter what, don’t take anything you have for granted.

The people in Zambia have so little, yet they were able to live life to the full.

But we all seem to forget just how lucky we are.

If you ever get the chance, which many of you here will, to do something which involves giving a little back to those less fortunate than ourselves, jump at the chance.