Building up education in Africa
15 Nov 2022
Old Boy Nik Bull (14668) has swapped Wellington for Livingstone, Zambia, to help build much-needed classrooms in Africa.
A member of Harper House from 2014–2018, Nik is a volunteer on a construction project in Livingstone, a town in south-west Zambia on the border of Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia.
“It is extremely fulfilling helping people out,” he says. “The project is based in a school, where we are building classrooms and storerooms. I always thought it would be very cool to volunteer somewhere in the world, particularly in Africa.
“I was unsure what I wanted to do after finishing university, so I thought it was primetime to do it. I did a bit of research on the best volunteer companies to go with in Africa and went through an application process to work on the project.”
Nik, who holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Victoria University of Wellington, believes “it's important to give back and help others, as it hopefully gives people more of an opportunity than what they might have had”.
“It’s such a good way to experience a completely different culture as you are integrating yourself into their way of life,” he says. “It’s a very eye-opening experience in Zambia as we don’t realise how good we have it back in New Zealand until you see the way people live.”
Nik has been travelling overseas in Europe before heading to his volunteer role in Africa.
Looking back on his time at College, Nik appreciates “getting a fantastic education and making lots of great friends”, along with the “standout” memories made in Harper House.