Transborder volunteers: California students make a difference

During his two years in this rural farming community, he said that he lived with a host family in their village, which included eight immediate family members and about 50 extended village family members. He added that he would often help the family with farm chores, such as plowing fields, planting seeds, pulling weeds or helping to watch the younger kids.

He said that the family even gave him a Zambian name, Samuel Banda, which includes a traditional Zambian last name that translates to “Mud Hut.” 

“I felt like the warmth and the welcoming of the people really resonated with me and allowed me to thrive,” King said. 

King said that his closest neighbors were a 7-mile bike ride away, and so he immersed himself in the local community as much as possible. He even became fluent in Nyanja (also known as Chichewa), one of 72 historical languages spoken in southern Africa. 

His fluency was put to use when he performed songs in this local language at an educational concert he hosted for the community, which also doubled as a clinic for free HIV testing through the collaboration of local health ministries. He said that besides performances by local musicians, there were also sketches, testimonies and speeches to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS testing and community resources. 

“It was so amazing to see all of these community members work together to make it possible,” King said. 

After returning from his volunteer service, King applied for the Peace Corps’ Coverdell Fellowship, which provides financial assistance to returned volunteers pursuing graduate school. He said that he was offered the opportunity to pursue his master’s degree in geography at Long Beach State. 

King is in the second year of his graduate program and said he has been living in Zambia for the past month, conducting research for his thesis on the impact of drastic cuts and reductions to USAID funding in the region. He said that many health, climate and governance programs have been dismantled, with some programs eliminated.

King’s research centers on interviews with local program leaders to better understand their sentiments on the issues. He added that many residents are left with unanswered questions and feelings of uncertainty or distrust toward American aid. 

“The American partnership is compromised now,” King said. “Either it’s going to change and manifest itself in a different way, or perhaps African nations will abandon America and seek help from other countries.” 

King said the field time may take another four to six months to complete, at which point he will return to the U.S. in hopes of writing a “meaningful thesis that can help both nations understand what is happening.” 

After graduating, King said he plans to apply to serve as an English teaching assistant in Zambia through the Peace Corps’ Fulbright Scholar Program.

“I want to dedicate myself to international relations and global studies,” King said. “The Peace Corps’ volunteer service was the perfect opportunity for me to gain this awareness and these skills.”