Chisenga and Kilwa Islands, Zambia 2026

The cost of this trip for each volunteer is tax deductible donation of approximately $1000.00.  You will be notified of the final cost as soon as possible.  Volunteers are also responsible for purchasing their international and domestic airfare from their home to our final destination of Mansa, Zambia. Please do not purchase any flights until the final arrangements have been made.  Thank you! 

If you are interested in a trip that truly serves patients who are under-served in hard to reach areas, this is the trip for you.  We are traveling to the Luapula Province by air from Lusaka to Mansa.  The flight will take about an hour, followed by a 7 hour drive to our base camp. You will work in a prison and on 2 different islands, in an area that has under-privileged communities, many Congolese refugees, and one of the highest transmission rates of malaria and other tropical diseases in Zambia.

Please note:  This trip requires you to bring your own camping gear and camping food for breakfast and lunch from April 19 – April 24.  Clean water for cooking and drinking will be provided by GFR.  Dinners will be chef prepared.  You will need to bring a tent, cot (if desired), sleeping bag, and mosquito protection (you can use a mosquito net tent or place one inside your standard tent for more privacy).  We will be sleeping inside a school.  You will also need to bring camping food for breakfast and lunch.  We will provide clean water (boiling or room temp) for preparing your camping meals as required.  

Pre-Trip: GFR has been working in Zambia for the last 3 years, focusing on general medical and dental care, optometry, and midwifery in partnership with regional health centers and the Dental Therapy School, Lusaka, Zambia.   Since 2021 we have provided 3 permanent water filtration systems in 3 different villages, reducing mortality and increasing days of school and work for the most vulnerable populations.

About the trip:  We have been invited again to partner with the Ministry of Health and local health centers to provide care in Luapula Province.  Our main focus in 2026 will be Chisenga and Kilwa Islands in Lake Mweru.  Your GFR team will build on our past efforts, working side-by-side with local physicians, dentists, midwives, optometrists, and excellent translators for all camps.  We will continue our project training SMAGs (the Safe Motherhood Action Groups) and midwives to better serve their patients and continue to reduce maternal and neonatal death in Zambia.  Because of the high rates of malnutrition seen in 2025, we are also planning a nutrition project that is still in the early forming stages.  If you would like to see our 2025 data, please contact our office at www.globalfirstresponder.org/contact.

Health Concerns in the Luapula Province:  The Nchelenge District is situated in Luapula Province on the swampy shores of Lake Mweru and bordering (across the lake) the Democratic Republic of Congo. (DRC).  The town is named after a tree bearing wild fruit called “kelenge” in the local language.  Most of the population are peasant subsistence farmers, fishermen and fishmongers.

The health burden in Luapula is significantly worse than Zambia as a whole.  Luapula is one of the poorest provinces in Zambia with 80.5% of the population accounted as poor and 64.9% as extremely poor (2012 Census).  The average woman in Luapula Province has 6 children.  Among all ten provinces in Zambia, Luapula recorded the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) of 100 deaths per 1000 births.(2012 Census).  The 2018 Demographic and Health Survey (Zambia) data shows under-5 mortality rates of 110/1000 live births, which can be compared to the neighboring North Western Province at 26 deaths/1000 live births and Zambia as a whole at 61/1000 live births.  One possible reason for the high rate of under-5 mortality is the very high incidence of Malaria at 600-700 cases/1000 (2021, USAID Fact Sheet, Luapula Province).  Malaria kills more than 1200 children under 5 every day, the majority in Africa (World Malaria Report, 2024).

Anaemia prevalence in women and children in Luapula was the highest in Zambia at 71%. Luapula was the 2nd highest province in stunting due to chronic under-nutrition at 45%.  HIV prevalence was at 7.9%, which, interestingly, is lower than average in Zambia.  Additionally, Luapula Province also had the lowest basic vaccination coverage in  Zambia at 67%.

Sustainability:    In 2025, we donated our 4th water treatment facility in Zambia – this time on Chisenga Island.  We are currently collecting data to see the changes in water-borne illnesses, improved school attendance, and overall health.   We will also continue to help Zambia decrease the maternal death rate with professional education for local midwives and SMAGs (non-medical volunteers who monitor pregnant women and help to ensure that women in labor safely reach the hospital).  A nutrition program is in the planning stages to combat the severe malnutrition we saw in 2025 on Chisenga Island.

About the trip:  In 2026, we are once again invited to provide primary medical and dental care, optometry, midwifery and health education to patients in the Northern Territory.  We will continue our midwifery project training SMAGs (the Safe Motherhood Action Groups) and midwives to better serve their patients and continue to reduce maternal and neonatal death in Zambia. We will also provide care for the many patients with Lymphatic Filariasis and educational programs on malaria and cholera.

This trip is planned as a camping trip on 2 different islands (Chisenga and Kilwa) in Luapula Province.   We worked on Chisenga in 2025 and found it to have some of the sickest patients we have seen in a long time.  We will, as always, work together with the Ministry of Health, the local health centers, and local providers to provide the best care possible.  Primary drivers of poor health included malnutrition, Lymphatic Filariasis, Cholera, and Malaria.

In 2025, we provided a permanent water filtration system capable of cleaning 12,000 gallons of water per day.  This is the only source of clean water on Chisenga Island.  While we believe this will be very helpful in improving general health conditions, our goal is to address some specific issues in depth.   We are planning on having an agricultural component to improve home gardens and larger scale projects, continued clean water development on different parts of the island, and significant professional and community education on nutrition, maternal and child mortality, and mosquito-borne illness.

Arrivals and Departures for the Medical/DentalTeam: Please arrive in Lusaka, Zambia (airport code LUN) on or before April 18, 2026 in time for the earliest flight to Mansa.  We highly recommend that you arrive on April 17.  Your GFR trip officially starts in Mansa on April 18, 2026.  Your team will hold 5 days of medical clinics.  Your team will stay in hotels at the start and end of your trip with camping for the clinic days.  Your GFR trip officially ends with transportation to the Mansa airport on April 25, 2026 for the flight to Lusaka.   Please see the “after the trip” section for more information on staying longer in Lusaka.

What’s Included: This trip includes lodging (a mix of hotels and camping), transportation (other than airfare), translators, water, and breakfast and lunch within the official dates of the trip.  Most clinic supplies and any special projects are covered by GFR. Dinners are included on this trip either at the hotel or campside.

What’s Not Included:  Expenses prior to arriving in Mansa, Zambia on April 18 are not included in your fee.  Your international airfare, domestic airfare from Lusaka to Mansa, snacks and drinks other than water, personal vaccines, and pre/post trip travel costs and expenses, trip insurance, transportation to and from the airport to hotels in Lusaka (if you arrive on the 17th – which we highly encourage you to do!), and any free day or post- trip adventures you wish to engage in while in Africa!

Important Information about this trip: This trip will have some long bus/boat rides and long days.  Walking on uneven ground is to be expected.  There may be times when you will need to work outside.  The weather will be high 80s in the daytime and 60’s at night.  Please see the information above in GREEN regarding camping, food, and mosquito protection on this trip. 

Cost: The cost of this trip is approximately $1000.00 per person plus international and domestic airfare, breakfast and lunch camping meals, and required camping gear. You are responsible for purchasing airfare that meets the required arrival and departure times.  We always suggest giving yourself extra time for delayed or cancelled flights and that you purchase trip insurance from a reputable carrier. If possible, the in-country round-trip flight will be offered at a group rate closer to the trip to help you reduce your cost.   This trip is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.  You or your donors will receive a tax receipt upon making your donation.

How is your cost calculated?: At Global First Responder we strive to keep your costs low and our quality high.   We value your participation and willingness to volunteer your time and expertise. Everyone at Global First Responder is also a volunteer, donating their time to administrative tasks and paying their own way to participate in medical and construction missions around the world and here at home.  The fee you pay covers the actual cost of your expenses in country including lodging, transportation, meals, and translator fees and expenses. In 2025, we are adding a $100 general fee to each volunteer cover the increased costs of medications and supplies so that we can continue to provide excellent care for our patients.   At GFR, no one is paid a salary and everyone is a passionate volunteer, doing our part to help drive our mission of “One Global World, One Global Family”.

After the trip:  There is so much to do in Zambia that it is hard for us to choose what to highlight for you!

Mid-April is an excellent time to visit Zambia and the safari parks.  The costs are lower, the rainy season has ended, the daytime temperatures are in the mid-80’s, and it is not high tourist season.  From Lusaka you are a 3 hour drive to the Lower Zambezi National Park, a 30 minute drive to Lusaka National Park, and a short flight away from parks in Zambia, South Africa, and Botswana.

About GFR: GFR has a long history of building and repairing schools, clinics, and community centers in areas where we provide care, as well as placing permanent drinking water treatment facilities in communities that have great need.  In 2022, we built a school in the Peruvian Amazon, and in 2023 we built a community center and orphanage in Liberia, in addition to completing the installation of water purification systems in India and Zambia as well as a water purification facility in Uganda. We will ensure their continued operation of these facilities in 2025 and will also be providing a new community center in the Peruvian Amazon in 2025.

Click here to apply for this trip:  I want to join the Global First Responder team in Chisenga Island, Zambia!                                                                                                     

General Itinerary (subject to change – this information is not finalized at this time)

April 17, 2026 (PRE-TRIP):  Arrive in Lusaka, Zambia.  This night and all food is on your own.  The official start date of the trip is April 18 with your arrival in Mansa, Zambia.  The cost of the domestic flights (Lusaka to Mansa; Mansa to Lusaka) is on your own and is not included in the trip fee.

April 18, 2026 (Flight to Mansa): Arrival in Mansa, Zambia by 12:00 noon for the official start of the GFR trip   The team will be picked up by bus and driven approximately 7 hours to Nchelenge, where we will spend the night.  Upon arrival we will organize supplies and gear for our first day of clinic and the transfer to the islands by boat tomorrow.  This is the official start of your GFR trip.

Breakfast: On your own.  Lunch: Fast food in Mansa.   Dinner: Hotel

April 19, 2026 (Clinic Day 1):  Nchelenge, Zambia.  We will work at the main prison in the morning and transfer by boat to Chisenga Island in the afternoon.  In 2025, we saw 85 men and 12 women, with circumstantial children under 3 years of age.  We saw many cases of sexually transmitted diseases, back and joint pain, abdominal pain, and fungal infections.   Upon transferring to Chisenga Island, we will set up camp and have a dinner prepared campside by our chef with local ingredients.

Breakfast: Hotel.   Lunch: Hotel prior to departure for Chisenga Island.  Dinner:  Chef prepared

April 20, 2026 (Clinic Day 2): Full day clinic on Chisenga Island.  Late Afternoon: We’ll see the water treatment facility placed by GFR in 2025 and hear about health improvements from the availability of clean water.

Breakfast and Lunch: Bring your own camping food.  Dinner: prepared campside by our chef.  

April 21, 2026 (Clinic Day 3): 3/4 day clinic on Chisenga Island and a tour/demonstration of the nutrition program being implemented on the island.   Depart for Kilwa Island at the end of the day and set up camp.

Breakfast and Lunch: Bring your own campng food.  Dinner: on Kilwa Island, prepared by our chef.  

April 22, 2026 (Clinic Day 4): Full day clinic on Kilwa Island.  Overnight on Kilwa.

Breakfast and Lunch: Bring your own camping food.  Dinner: prepared by our chef

April 23, 2026 (Clinic Day 5): Full day clinic on Kilwa Island with Congolese refugees. Overnight on Kilwa.

Breakfast and Lunch: Bring your own camping food.  Dinner: prepared by our chef.

April 24, 2026 (Sightseeing and boat transfer to Nchelenge):  Transfer by Boat to Nchelenge and visit a beautiful waterful (with a short hike) and a tea plantation.  Overnight at hotel.

Breakfast: camping food.  Lunch and Dinner: Hotel

April 25, 2026 (Flights to Luska):  transfer with early departure to Mansa for flights to Lusaka.  This is official end of your GFR trip.

Breakfast: snacks.  Lunch: Fast food in Mansa.  Dinner: on your own in Lusaka.