The cost of this trip for each volunteer is tax deductible donation of approximately $750.00. You will be notified of the final cost as soon as possible. Volunteers are also responsible for purchasing their international airfare to Livingstone, Zambia (LVI).
About the trip: GFR has been invited once again to provide primary health care and dental care in conjunction with the Dental Therapy School, Lusaka, Zambia. Our team will provide medical and dental care, health education, and a sustainability project from the very youngest to the very oldest patients. We will also continue our project training SMAGs – the Safe Motherhood Action Groups – and midwives to better serve and continue to reduce maternal and neonatal death in Zambia. On our first day, we will have an orientation lecture on the state of health care in Zambia from our ground host, a teacher at the Dental Therapy School and public health student. Our team will work side-by-side with local physicians, dentists, midwives, and dental therapy students throughout the week.
Livingstone is a wonderful community for clinics! It is also a wonderful place for your team to have some downtime. Our hotel location is directly across the street from a supermarket, restaurants, a bank, and within walking distance of a great craft market. Livingstone Falls, while not at peak water volume, has the remarkable Devil’s Pool open and we will take advantage of that! There is a small but wonderful National Park less than a 1o minute drive and we will transit through the park many times, seeing elephants, giraffes, zebras, and white rhino. This year we saw a young rhino with his mom (young does not mean “small”)!
Sustainability: GFR is again planning on providing a water filtration system for a small village about an hour from Livingstone. This will help this community meet the government requirement of running potable water at the school, which in 2024 is a requirement for the school to remain open. The water project will provide clean drinking water for the entire community, with solar power to move the water from the bore hole to the large holding and purifying tanks.
Our team will continue help Zambia decrease the maternal death rate with education for SMAGs (non-medical volunteers who monitor pregnant women and help to ensure that women in labor safely reach the hospital) and midwives.
As always, our team will again work with Dental Therapy students who have undergone a rigorous selection process to translate for the medical team and get hands-on experience in examinations, providing anesthetic, and extracting teeth, all under the careful eye of our ground host and other local dentists.
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 2024 and will also be providing a new community center in the Peruvian Amazon in 2024.
Arrivals and Departures for the Medical/DentalTeam: Please arrive in Livingstone, Zambia (airport code LVI) prior to the official start date of the trip (August 10, 2024). Your hotel is covered from August 9th to August 17th. Your team will hold 5 days of medical clinics with a rest/sightseeing day during the week. Your trip ends on August 17, 2024. Please see the “after the trip” section for more information on staying longer in Livingstone and Zambia.
What’s Included: This trip includes lodging, transportation, translators, water, and most meals within the official dates of the trip. Most clinic supplies and any special projects are covered by GFR but in 2024, we are adding a $200 per person fee to cover the increased cost of medications and supplies.
What’s Not Included: Your international airfare, snacks and drinks other than water, personal vaccines, and pre/post trip travel costs and expenses, trip insurance, transportation to and from the airport (appx $10/person), and any post- trip adventures you wish to engage in while in Africa!
Cost: The cost of this trip is approximately $750.00 per person plus airfare. 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. 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 2024, we are adding a $200 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!
Consider a day trip to Chobe, Zimbabwe to see an amazing array of animals on safari! Our team can book as a group for a safari on the 18th, if you would like to join in the fun. Go for a hike at Livingstone Falls. Walk with lions or spend some time feeding giraffes at an upscale hotel (This will be offered on our free day!). Go shopping! Consider a night at a truly fancy hotel where giraffes, zebras, and birds meander through the property (and the food is amazing)! There is so much to do in Livingstone. Want to go further afield? Most flights go through Johannesburg, South Africa – consider a day or two stopover to do another safari!!
Click here to apply for this trip: I want to join the GFR team in ZAMBIA!
If this is your first time applying in our application system, please create a login and password. You may use this login and password for all future trips you apply for (and we hope to see you on LOTS of GFR trips!!)
Sample Itinerary:
Prior to August 10, 2024: Plan to arrive in Livingstone, Zambia as required. The trip will officially start on the morning of August 10. Tonight is “on your own” – please make your own hotel reservations (you will know the host hotel well in advance). Hotel and meals are on your own today. If you arrive prior to the meeting time set for the team, please plan on having meals and lodging “on your own”. This is a great day to rest up from your long flight and explore the hotel, take a dip in the pool, and sit by the fire in the evening with your teammates.
August 10, 2024: This is the official start of the GFR trip. There will be a morning team meeting after breakfast. Your team will come together to organize supplies and get ready for the week. Throughout the week your team will work in prisons, schools, at a juvenile reformatory farm, and an old age home.
August 11 – 13, 2024: Your team will have clinic for the next 3 days in 3 different locations. Your team bus is more than comfortable and a great way to get to know your translators and other team members. The average ride to clinic is 60-90 minutes. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included.
August 14, 2024: Today is your rest day! You can choose to rest at the hotel, swim in the pool, visit Victoria Falls, walk with lions or take a small safari, shop, and more. Today is on your own for activities. Breakfast is included, lunch is on your own, and dinner is on your own if choose or you can join your team at a set time.
August 15 – 16, 2024: The next 2 days are clinic days. You are recharged and ready to work! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included.
August 17, 2024: Today is the departure day for the team. Saying goodbye to your team will be hard but you will have during the week to conspire for more fun as a group if you wish. The hotel can help you make those arrangements. We hope you will stay longer in Zambia – safaris and waterfalls are waiting for you! Breakfast is included and we’ll sadly say goodbye.