Zambia is one of the friendliest countries you are likely to visit – people will make you feel very welcome there. Their smiles and joy are infectious. Poverty and affluence exist side-by-side in the cities, with many people living in shanty towns – with poor housing, limited water supply and amenities, but not far from a modern shopping mall. A high percentage of people have a strong Christian faith and despite the poverty, they are thankful to God for what He gives them and people rely on Him to provide for their daily needs. There are lots of children; half of the population is under 15 years. The children are curious to meet people from the UK and have a great sense of fun.

4th - 18th July 2026

25th July - 8th August 2026

15th - 29th August 2026

Ask a Zambian child what they want and they will tell you: “I want to go to school.” Education is the single most powerful tool to bring hope to the next generation. It reduces the number of displaced orphans and street children. It transforms young people into productive citizens: leaders in their families, churches, communities and nation. Furthermore, keeping girls in school reduces teenage pregnancies and early marriages and allows them to have aspirations for the future. Many children are unable to go beyond primary school, as parents cannot afford the costs associated with secondary school. So increasingly, providing good quality, inexpensive secondary education is essential to realise a child’s full potential.

We will be working at community schools in the shanty towns, where unemployment is high and many children struggle to attend school. We are building much-needed infrastructure such as additional classrooms and toilet facilities. These new facilities will help to provide an education for many orphans and vulnerable children, who otherwise may not be able to attend school. We will be working with local builders, who will provide the expertise in construction and who will train us to do tasks alongside them.

The work to be done on the building site will depend on the team you are on. This could be from laying bricks to painting walls. We will always aim to have a range of tasks available, so everyone can do something they feel comfortable with. Often, there will be children around – from the school, or neighbouring homes. It is good to take time out to talk to and play with them. They love to sing and play games – let them teach you some of the things they enjoy and take some bubbles, as this always goes down well.

Each day is very varied and active. In the afternoons, we visit some of our partners: these visits usually involve organising an activity so that we don’t just become ‘charity tourists’. For example, we may visit people living with HIV, praying with them and distributing food; read to disadvantaged children at a drop-in centre for street children; help to serve lunch at a school feeding programme; meet girls living at a safe house and arrange craft activities with them; organise a holiday club at a school, running games and activities for them. We will also meet children living on the streets, learning about their families and encouraging them to go to a safe house or return home. During the visits, we will take any aid that you may have brought with you.

At the end of the trip, we spend a few days in Livingstone – home to the magnificent Victoria Falls, one of the wonders of the natural world. We will relax on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi, looking out for hippo, crocodiles and elephants. During a safari, we will be looking out for a host of different animals and birds – though there are no big cats in this region. While in Lusaka, we will visit a craft market to give you a chance to purchase some gifts and souvenirs. In the evenings, we may relax and watch a DVD, or arrange a BBQ. 

Flights and local travel

Flights from the UK to Zambia will involve a change of aircraft, usually in Dubai, Nairobi or Addis Ababa. The total travelling time may be 15 - 18 hrs. You will fly to the Zambian capital, Lusaka. The journey from the airport to Chamba Valley, where we stay, is only about 30 minutes.

While in Lusaka, we have our own minibus and will hire a larger vehicle when necessary. Most journeys around Lusaka are less than 30 minutes, so we don’t spend too long getting where we need to go.

May to October is dry season in Zambia – it would be unusual to see any rain at all! Teams visiting during July and August will be surprised at the cool mornings and evenings – if you are coming at that time, bring a sweater or fleece and warm pyjamas. During the day it will generally be sunny and warm, though occasionally there will be overcast and cooler days. In September and October, it will be getting hotter, with temperatures increasing to over 30ºC in the shade.

In Lusaka, where we spend the majority of our time, we are guests of the Evangelical Church in Zambia (ECZ), we stay in guest houses at Chamba Valley run by them. The newly-refurbished guest houses have clean and comfortable twin rooms (and double beds for married couples), with shower room, kitchen and lounge. A number of families, mostly ECZ workers, live at the Chamba Valley site, where there is also a church and  school. All beds are fitted with mosquito nets, and towels and bed linen are provided. There is a communal dining room.

In Livingstone, where we usually spend 2 nights at the end of the trip, we stay in twin rooms (a few rooms take 3 people) in a comfortable lodge on the outskirts of the town. There are usually hot showers and there is also a small open air swimming pool.

When in Lusaka, the cooks at Chamba Valley will prepare meals for us – they will work hard to make sure the teams are well fed. Dinner is usually chicken or beef, with various sauces (not too spicy), served with potatoes, rice or pasta and vegetables. Occasionally, there will also be the option of nshima, the local staple food made from maize. Vegetarian meals usually include soya or eggs. Portions are generous – don’t expect to lose weight on this trip! We usually have a DIY breakfast of cereal and toast, as this gives more flexibility for those who prefer to rise early and allows us to get away promptly to start the day. Tap water is not drinkable on this trip, so we will provide a plentiful supply of bottled water.

In Livingstone, we will normally eat out in local restaurants. Here the choice is more Western style, with pizzas, pasta and burgers and other international dishes available. Please note that Christians in Zambia do not drink alcohol, so while in Lusaka we have a ‘no alcohol’ policy. In Livingstone, when we are in a more Western environment, we can relax this rule. The age for consuming alcohol is 18 years.

If you have any special dietary requirements or food allergies/intolerances, please let us know in advance. We will do all we can to accommodate these.

The local currency is the Zambian Kwacha (currently £1 is about 30 kwacha). The staff team will exchange your pounds for kwacha when you arrive. You will not need to spend money on food and transport (except for the occasional drink or ice cream) as this is all included in the suggested trip contribution. However, you may want to bring money for souvenirs. Also, you may have been given, or raised, money to pass on to our partners. During your trip, you will be touched and inspired by many of the people you meet and the situations they face. The staff team will guide you on how your donations can be used and you will be able to see directly the impact these can have.

All the partners we work with speak English, but their first language will be one of the Zambian languages – often Nyanja or Bemba (there are over 50 languages in Zambia). People we visit in their homes may not speak English, but when necessary there will be someone there to interpret. Also, children will be learning English at school and will be keen to practice with you! Do be ready to try greetings in the local language – your efforts will be greatly appreciated.

You may well have a generous baggage allowance and this gives you the opportunity to bring aid or useful gifts with you. We will tell you what would be gratefully received when you attend your orientation meetings. 

The Guest Houses where we stay in Lusaka are on mains electricity, but there are occasional power cuts. Please be prepared for this, bring a torch and a sense of humour! There is usually hot and cold running water, but at times the pressure may be low. If you want to keep in touch with home, make sure your mobile phone will work in Zambia. We hope to provide Wi-Fi in the communal areas. Christians in Zambia do not smoke, so if you wish to smoke we would ask that you do so discretely and not on any of the partner visits. 

When you join a Mission Direct team you will meet people from a range of backgrounds. It is important that you come ready to be a team player. We work hard together and generally have a lot of fun doing so. Some of these ‘strangers’ may well become lifelong friends afterwards. Trips where people try to opt out and ‘do their own thing’ tend to be far less successful and enjoyable for everybody on the team; please bear this in mind. 

Mission Direct is a Christian organization and the Partner organizations that we work with are often, though not always, led by Christians. We are all on a life journey and are delighted to welcome people of any or no faith to join us. Typically we have short morning and evening reflections and on the trip you will visit a local church. We would like you to attend these aspects of the trip as part of the ‘teamwork’ ethos though there is no pressure for you to join in with the services, sing or pray if you don’t want to. The trips provide an eye-opening cross-cultural experience and are great fun. 

You don’t have to be particularly strong, able, young, old or skilled in building or DIY to join a Mission Direct trip. We will put you to suitable work pretty much whoever you are. Children under 18 are welcome as long as they are accompanied by at least one parent or adult “en loco parentis”. The youngest child to join us was 7 years old, the oldest person was 88. If you are deemed fit to join the team by your doctor, we will be glad to have you join us.

Sadly, there are accessibility issues for Mission Direct trips due to the nature of the country and, of course, the building sites. If you have a particular disability, please get in touch and we can discuss what is possible on this, or another Mission Direct trip.

Parts of the trip may be substantially different to your last visit. Prepare to do different things and meet new people, though you will probably also see some familiar faces too. We ask that you  allow those on their first trip to enjoy and experience each day as it unfolds, so avoid those ‘spoilers’ please!  

7.30am Devotions at the guest house

8.00am Breakfast

8.30am Leave for the building site in the team bus

9.00am – 11.45am Working at the building site. A range of tasks: perhaps laying blocks, mixing concrete or painting. But take time out to rest and play with the children!

11.45am Return to guest houses.

12.30pm Lunch with guest speaker from one of our partners

2.00pm Depart for partner visit – eg. home visits to people living with HIV; running a holiday club with school children

5.00pm Back at the guest house, free time.

6.30pm Dinner

To join us, you’ll be asked to cover the cost of your trip, which is calculated using the previous year’s volunteer numbers and the total cost of the campaign. We build in an assumption of being able to claim Gift Aid on 60% of all contributions. We rely on this to cover any cost variations and to keep the charity running so it is important that you Gift Aid your contribution if you can. 

Once your application has been accepted you will have the opportunity to set up a payment plan for your contribution. 

We ask you to fundraise for more than just the trip contribution to support building costs and help pay for materials and local labour. 100% of any extra funding, excluding Gift Aid, goes straight to the project.

Mission Direct is registered under the ATOL scheme licence number 10768
All the flight-inclusive mission trips on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels, and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.caa.co.uk

Your Financial Protection.

When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive mission trip package from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme