Transition Times: They're such different worlds that Lusaka may as well be a million miles from Monkstown. Gráinne Faller reports on how Irish students have made a difference there.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Monkstown has little in common with Lusaka. The capital of Zambia is typical of many African cities: bloated and busy, with immense wealth minutes from unimaginable poverty. Monkstown may have its inequalities, but on the whole it is a leafy Dublin suburb with good schools, lovely restaurants and a sea view.

"It's so strange, coming out of a country where you're in the majority and going somewhere where you're a real minority," says Ryan Stapleton. He was one of a group of transition-year students from CBC Monkstown who took part in the school's Zambian Immersion Project last year. First impressions were good, as Hugh Noonan describes: "Random strangers would say hello to you on the street. We'd just have conversations with people asking where we were from and were we enjoying ourselves." "People seemed to be so happy with so little," agrees Carl Clarke.

This was the third group from the school to visit and work in the Misiss Compound in Lusaka as part of an ongoing project between the school and the Misiss community. "We were fundraising all year for it," says Brendan Moore. "We had a cake sale, a church collection, a race night, loads of things."

The students have found that, as years have gone by, their fundraising efforts have been more and more successful. "People were giving us fivers and tenners," says Niall Linnane. "One woman was saving to go to America and gave us the money instead."

The key to spending the funds as far as the school is concerned is to give control to local leaders in Zambia. They know what's best for their community in terms of development, and, as they lacked the resources to realise their ambitions initially, the partnership works out well for both sides.

So far, funds have been spent on buildings for the local primary school, which has 900 pupils. A fence around the compound has also been improved; other projects are ongoing.

Although the trip was interesting, it wasn't a holiday for the boys. School started at 8am, which meant they had to get up at 6.30am every day. "We spent our time helping teachers," says Enda Gallen. "We taught things using the blackboard and helped with one-to-one stuff like reading. They were in classes of 40 or more, but all of them wanted to work."

David Kennedy recalls an incident when he was helping a young girl with her reading. "In one of the books the word 'doll' came up, and she asked: 'What's that?' I tried to explain that it's a toy and that you look after it, and she said: 'Oh, like my little sister.' She was five or six."

He adds: "We got the chance to visit different places, like the orphanage and the hospice." Here the stories begin to flow, as the students remember individual encounters. As in much of sub-Saharan Africa, Aids is a huge problem in Zambia.

Helen O'Connor, the boys' teacher, gives an example of the kind of incidents that the students encountered. She says: "In the hospice, one student was talking to a man who was lying in a bed. Just a few minutes later the same man was lifted out dead. It was a real shock to the system for the boys."

To try to cope with some of the more difficult experiences, the group would reflect on the day each evening. "It was good to talk about it and to know that everyone was feeling the same way," says Ciarán Flynn.

It's the little things that help, according to Brian Shanley. "I was in the Aids hospice. There was a small corridor, and all these babies were bawling crying. The nurses weren't doing anything. We were told not to pick the babies up, but I couldn't help it. I picked one of them up, and she stopped crying and started laughing and giggling. I think we made a difference just in that basic interaction."

Not all the stories are serious, however. Thanks to Barra McGuirk, the compound was ringing with The Fields of Athenry. The students played football and other games with the children after lunch every day.

Transport threw up inevitable adventures. "We were in a taxi, coming from the airport," says O'Connor. "The police were out checking cars, and they pulled our taxi over. Our driver had second thoughts, said 'Let's go' and drove off . . . That's the kind of thing that happens sometimes." The students chuckle at this and exchange stories about DIY bus repairs and other things that happened.

How did the boys cope once they returned to Dublin and had to deal with normal life again? "Everyone was asking us about it, and we brought back a lot of memories," says Niall Linnane.

"There's no point in feeling guilty," adds Jack Cullinan. "It's not anyone's fault where they're born." "You really do see two different sides to the world, though," says Carl Clarke.

O'Connor says: "As a follow-on, we're making a link with a refugee organisation in Dún Laoghaire called Plus, which deals with underage refugees." Some students are thinking of doing more after their Leaving Cert. "Rather than heading out to Spain or Ibiza for two weeks like a lot of students do after the exams," says O'Connor, "some of our students are going back out to Zambia to help with the building that's going on. It's great. The community knows us, and, on our part, it has really become a part of the school."

The next trip out will be in 2007 and there is a huge amount of fundraising still going on. Conor Monaghan sums it up when he says: "Zambia is supposed to be a developing country, but it's actually a country at a standstill."

The students and teachers at Monkstown CBC hope that the Zambian Immersion Project will go a small way to changing that.

How you can lend the students a hand next week

CBC Monkstown has featured in Transition Times before, when some of its students competed for Gaisce awards. Last year, as part of the scheme and as a fundraising exercise, the students walked to their school from Wexford.

It was such a success that they're doing it again. The walk is a major fundraiser for both the Zambian Immersion Fund and the school's Tsunami Relief Fund. It will take place over six days, and many students and teachers are participating.

February weather is often cruel, and they're giving up a chunk of their mid-term break, so, if they pass through your area, pop out to make a donation and cheer them along. This is their schedule:

February 15th Wexford to Enniscorthy February 16th Enniscorthy to Gorey

February 17th Gorey to Arklow

February 18th Arklow to Wicklow

February 19th Wicklow to Greystones February 20th Greystones to Monkstown