Nchelenge, Zambia – Luapula Province, 2025

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. We are working on providing a lower cost for the domestic airfare via a charter.  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 45 minutes followed by a 3 hour drive to our base camp. You will work in Prisons, Refugee Camps, and remote villages, one of which is on an island, in an area that has under-privileged communities and one of the highest transmission rates of malaria and other tropical diseases in Zambia. 

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:  In 2025, we are once again invited to provide primary medical and dental care, optometry, midwifery and health education to patients in the Northern Territory, in partnership with the St. Paul’s Nursing and Midwifery School, Kashikishi, Zambia run by the Catholic Mission.  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.

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.

The GFR team, in partnership with our tireless, local optometrist, will continue to provide comprehensive eye exams and free prescription glasses to our patients. In Zambia, the glasses are free but not the exam, so we provide the expertise and examination to ensure patients receive the corrective lenses they need.

Health Concerns in the Luapula Province:  The Nchelenge District is situated in Luapula Province on the swampy shores of Lake Mweru and bordering with Democratic Republic of Congo. (DRC).  The town is named after a tree bearing wild fruit called “kelenge” in the local language.  It is a wonderful place for clinic, with picturesque sunrises and sunset views across the vast expanse of the lake.  Most of the population are peasant subsistence farmers, fishermen and fishmongers. The white sand beaches remain quiet and unspoiled and the shores are dotted with fishing boats and children playing in the sand.

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:  We will also dedicate our 4th water filtration system in Zambia, providing 12,000 gallons of clean water daily to our first community in the North.  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 and a water purifier and bleach maker available to all.

MIDWIVES:  On this trip we will 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).

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 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 Lusaka, Zambia (airport code LUN) on or before April 26, 2025 in time for the earliest flight to Mansa.  Your GFR trip officially starts at the airport for the flight to Mansa on April 26, 2025.  Your team will hold 5 days of medical clinics with a rest/sightseeing day on April 30 in Nchelenge District.  Your GFR trip officially ends with transportation to the Mansa airport on May 3 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, transportation, translators, water, and breakfast and lunch within the official dates of the trip.  Most clinic supplies and any special projects are covered by GFR. In 2025, we are adding a $100 per person fee to cover the increased cost of medications and supplies.  Dinners, except for the farewell dinner, are on your own.  The hotel has a restaurant and there are good places to eat in town as well.

What’s Not Included: Your international airfare, domestic 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 to hotels in Lusaka (if you arrive on the 25th – 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.  Lunch is provided but may be later than expected on occasion.  The weather will be high 80s in the daytime and 60’s at night.  Your hotel has air-conditioning and mosquito nets, hot water, and ensuite bathrooms.  Rooms are shared unless a single room is requested at additional cost.  Please be prepared for rain as the rainy season is just ending.  

Cost: The cost of this trip is approximately $1000.00 per person plus international and domestic 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. 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.

 

Click here to apply for this trip:  I want to join the Global First Responder team in Nchelenge, 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!!)

Itinerary (subject to change): 

April 26, 2025:  Arrive Mansa Airport by 1215 pm to meet your team.   You will need to overnight in Lusaka for an early morning flight to Mansa.  Our transportation will pick us up at the airport and we will travel overland for 3 hours to reach Nchelenge, our base camp for the week.  We’ll stop for lunch and a tour of the Witchcraft (yes, Witchcraft!) Museum, all included in the trip fee.

You will also be able to meet your translators!

Our lodge is located in a safe, clean and serene location, within walking distance of the local market, fishing harbour and the marina, where you can catch a sundowner boat cruise or sit and enjoy the view. After settling into our hotel (the hotel where President Hichilema stays when he is in town!) and organizing our supplies for clinic we will dine while cruising on the Luapula river.  On this trip, breakfast and lunch are included in your fee.  Dinners are on your own.

April 27, 2025:  Nchelenge Correctional Centre.  After breakfast at the hotel, we will travel a short distance to Nchelenge Correctional Centre for clinic.  As of 2023, the Center houses 107 inmates, of which ~15% are reoffenders.  In the prison audit report of 2023, it was noted that prisoners (male and female) have no beds and inadequate bedding.  Males, females, and circumstantial children are housed here and we will see all that want to be seen.

April 28 – April 29, 2025:  Nchelenge Village We will hold clinic for Nchelenge Village residents on these 2 days.  Access to care is very limited in this area.

April 30, 2025: Today is your free day!  We will visit Lumangwe and Kabwelume Falls! Equal or larger than Victoria Falls,  the spray from Lumangwe Falls may be carried 100 m into the air and the roaring sound in the gorge below seems to shake the ground under your feet.  The name of the falls comes from a snake spirit, Lumangwe, which is said to have stretched itself between the Lumangwe Falls and the Kabwelume Falls, a distance of roughly 5 km.  Kabwelume Falls is known for its spectacular semi circle of falling water.  In addition, these falls are the home of ancestral spirits of the area Chiefs.  If you would like, we can hike the 6km from Lumangwe Falls down to Kabwelume Falls, where transport will pick us up.  Our hotel is also within walking distance of the local market, fishing harbor and the marina where you can catch a sundowner boat cruise or simply enjoy the view in the evening.

May 1, 2024:  Chisenga Island. This island is home to 11,000 people with a tiny health outpost and a hospital more than 3 hours by boat and car away.  People often have to travel in dugout canoes to get to a local health center.  

May 2, 2024:  Nchelenge Mantapala Refugee Camp.  This camp was set up in 2018 for refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. 60% of the population is younger than 18; 3% of the population is older than 60; and 30% of the residents have had NO education up to grade 6.  17% of residents are unaccompanied children.  We will work specifically at the safe haven for the displaced / unaccompanied children in transit area and with victims of gender based violence.  GFR will host a farewell dinner tonight and get ready for our departure in the morning.