In this interview, we have the opportunity to hear from Lianne Bronzo. She recently served with the Peace Corps as an agriculture volunteer in Zambia with her partner, Adam. Lianne’s experience and perspective shed light on the impactful work being done by PCVs around the world. As we get into the interview, we gain a deeper understanding of the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that often comes with serving in a foreign country, working with local communities, and navigating unexpected situations. Join us as we share Lianne’s journey and gain insights into the transformative power of volunteering with the Peace Corps.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises, Challenges, and Personal Growth
- Community Projects and Interactions
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Impact of Media
- Third Year as a Volunteer in Zambia
- Continue the Conversation
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Can you provide an overview of your experience serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia in the agriculture program?
Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP) is the only current aquaculture program in Peace Corps worldwide. RAP PCVs work with farmers in measuring and digging earthen gravity-filled ponds to raise freshwater fish. This promotes food security, mitigates climate change, and diversifies income.
RAP is a unique program in that you can quickly see a tangible change. While fish is commonly consumed in Zambia, most are sourced from over-fished natural lakes. They are not traditionally raised in rural settings. Tons of fish are imported from China, but Zambia has enough natural resources to supply its own fish. The Zambian government has been promoting aquaculture to meet this demand.
Peace Corps volunteers work with the Zambian Department of Fisheries (DOF) as extension agents by reaching small-scale farmers in rural villages. PCVs also support small-scale fish farmers in scaling up to a commercial-size operation and encourage them to integrate other elements in conjunction with fish (e.g, grow soybeans for fish feed, vegetables on the pond walls, raise chickens to use manure as pond fertilizer).
I wrote more about the RAP program on my blog: Peace Corps Zambia Rural Aquaculture Promotion
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Zambia as your service destination?
Adam and I met while living in South Korea in 2013. He had served with AmeriCorps twice and had an extensive service background. And he knew he wanted to continue that path with the Peace Corps. To be honest, that was the first time I considered it as well. Upon further research, it sounded like an experience in line with my values and interests. So, after we left Korea and traveled for 2 years, we decided to serve together. We gained agricultural experience by volunteering on organic farms and permaculture properties in Thailand and Australia.
To use these new skills and further develop my passion for sustainable agriculture and food security, I sought Peace Corps programs in the agriculture or environment sectors. We originally applied for the environmental education program in Panama, but we could not take the Spanish language test in Australia. We then agreed to be placed anywhere; Peace Corps chose Zambia for us and we just went with it!
I went in with no expectations and left with a feeling that Zambia would always be considered a home for me.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Can you tell us about your host family and how you cross that cultural divide while being a member of their household?
Our experience was unique to Peace Corps Zambia in that we did not live with a host family. This was in part because we served as a couple and lived on school grounds. As opposed to most situations where families live nearby, we were isolated and had a lot of privacy. In the long term, I am glad to have had this as an introvert. Being “on” every day could be exhausting. So at night—when we rarely got visitors showing up at our house—I knew I could just be myself.
Our assigned resource mother lived a few minutes’ walk away and we’d visit her often. Her name is Grace. She is an incredibly independent woman. Her home consists of adult women and a few of her grandchildren. She has many leadership roles in the community, one being the chairperson of the Twikatane Women’s Group. She is always busy attending and leading meetings, arranging with government officials to disperse fertilizers and seeds, working in the group’s fields, making clothes as the only tailor in the village, etc. on top of household duties.
Despite juggling multiple duties, she always pulled up a chair and welcomed us when we visited several times a week. We’d catch up with casual conversations while doing tasks like shelling maize and groundnuts, washing cassava to dry, or picking through beans. She taught us so many things about life in the village.
During PST, however, we did stay with a host family with whom we grew close in a short period. We often talked for hours into the night – being close to them was also helpful with our language learning. We felt welcomed and comfortable with them. They were veterans of hosting PCTs for several years, so they were accustomed to interacting with Americans.
I often wondered what our two-year service would have been like had we lived with a host family and what we missed out on, but our experience had its pros too. As they say, ‘every volunteer’s service is different.’
Surprises, Challenges, and Personal Growth
4. What has surprised you most (or least) about Zambia or its culture? How has it influenced your service?
During PST, something that surprised me was when our host father took us to a teacher’s house. We just walked up to their house, said “odi!” and were welcomed into their home. Just showing up at people’s homes unannounced is the norm in rural areas. Throughout service, we just showed up at people’s homes and vice versa. It is also normal for anyone to walk up to your house and ask for drinking water. I liked this sense of community and hospitality overall, but sometimes I was caught off-guard. Like when we received visitors when I was in the bathing shelter!
I went in without having many expectations, so I wouldn’t say many things were “surprising,” though. This phrase is trite but true: there are more cultural similarities than differences.
5. What challenges did you face while working with community members in Zambia, and how did you overcome them?
Being the female counterpart in a couple posed some challenges when first working with people. Sometimes people thought that Adam was the volunteer and I was there to support him (i.e., cooking, and providing his bath water). But, that perception dissolved after we explained our presence and they heard my language abilities and technical knowledge. People were generally respectful to me as a woman. Single female volunteers may have a different experience, though.
Another major challenge did not occur in our host community but in the provincial capital. As an East Asian American, I got a lot of unwanted attention. I could not go for a bike ride or walk without people yelling “China” at me or challenging me when I said I’m from the US. It wore on me after three years. Joining the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) PCV worldwide group chat was helpful to be able to share similar experiences and learn to cope with the attention.
6. Have you personally grown and developed during your time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia? If yes, how?
Of course! I don’t see how anyone can go through two years of Peace Corps service and not grow at all. It is difficult for me to articulate, but I gained new perspectives about life in general. I used to be an overachieving workaholic. My life now is nothing like what I envisioned when I was in college, but my priorities shifted. I realized that life is not all about achievement, status, and work for the sake of work. People in rural Zambia work diligently and their work is valuable. They may not have the ‘high status’ jobs that are respected in the West, but their lives and work are just as worthy and important. They are not “just” farmers. I am maintaining that perspective as I continue leading a very simple life post-Peace Corps.
Community Projects and Interactions
7. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved in while working with your community members?
We were involved in many secondary projects including:
- GLOW (Girls Leading the World) and BRAVE (Boys Respecting and Valuing Everyone) clubs at the secondary school and camps run by volunteers.
- Malaria and HIV/AIDS outreach – Grassroots Soccer, mass testing events, positive living support group, murals
- Repairing the community furrow so people have access to water year-round
- Some work of LIFE (Linking Food, Income, and Environment) PCVs – orange-fleshed sweet potato promotion, promotion of techniques such as cover-cropping, agroforestry, mulching, composting, fuel-efficient cookstoves, etc.
- Community clean-ups, making and building with eco-bricks from plastic trash
- Animal husbandry – A Peace Corps grant funded a project with a women’s group to start a chicken and egg business. A video overview of the project:
8. Can you tell us about any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had with community members that have left a lasting impact on you?
We became close with a kind elderly man in the community, Daniel. He spoke fluent English and agreed to be our Bemba language tutor. Peace Corps covers the cost of private language tutoring, so we were grateful to be able to compensate him for his time every week. We also worked with him in digging a fish pond on his farm. At 87 years old, he was still farming and doing manual labor every day. We brought our tools and dug alongside him, but he was stronger than us despite being nearly 90. He was a curious person and was so supportive of us and our work. His leg gave him pain sometimes, but he still took his time to attend our fish farming meetings. And he was a big source of encouragement for the younger attendees.
He had faced several challenges in life, but rarely complained and seemed to be resilient, cheerful, and grateful. Unfortunately, he passed away during our extension year. Thankful to have fond memories of sharing proverbs under his mango trees or spending hours talking on our porch. We will always remember him.
Advice and Support
9. What advice would you give to someone considering joining the Peace Corps and serving in Zambia in the RAP program?
It would be hard for me to give general advice, especially since I served together with Adam. So our experience is so different from most volunteers.
Serving with the Peace Corps can be a transformative experience, but it is not easy and not for everyone. People should do their research and reflect before committing. But at the same time be mindful of reading too many PCV stories, mine included! The ones who even take the time to write blogs and post in the Peace Corps subreddit are certain kinds of PCVs. You won’t hear the opinions or experiences of those who do not share anything online, which I think is the majority. That being said, I advise going in without too many expectations, being willing to adapt, and being equipped with coping skills that personally help you through stressful situations.
10. What skills or qualities do you think are most important for a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia serving in the RAP program?
You need all the basic qualities of all Peace Corps volunteers – openness, flexibility, patience, curiosity, humility. To be a RAP volunteer in Zambia, you should be okay with being outside a lot and getting dirty! To be honest, I was squeamish about holding fish with my hands at first, but I got used to it during PST and was able to adapt quickly without issue.
11. How has the Peace Corps provided support and resources to enhance your service experience in Zambia?
The RAP program team in Lusaka is knowledgeable and supportive. They are beloved among RAP PCVs. We had a WhatsApp group chat where RAPpers can reach out with questions and the trainers are easily accessible. Fellow PCVs can also be a great source of support.
I also liked that the Peace Corps covered the cost of private language tutoring. As mentioned earlier, we had a tutor who helped a lot with our continuing language skills and translating materials.
We also had multiple in-service trainings, but honestly, I don’t remember those being particularly useful. I did however enjoy and find value in other optional workshops like the RAP integration workshop and the PCV-led animal husbandry workshop.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
12. Anything yet that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Zambia volunteers?
This question will depend from person to person; I can only speak for myself. I think a good general guideline is to pack as lightly as possible. I found most things I need for daily survival in Zambia.
I left for service twice – in 2018 and again in 2022 as a reinstatement volunteer post-Covid evacuation. Having lived in Zambia for two years before, I knew how to pack better for our third year. I packed fewer clothes and more specialized Korean food ingredients and consumables (skincare) that are hard to get in Zambia and make me happy. Grateful to have brought bicycle panniers and certain seeds for gardening.
Non-negotiable: a good rain jacket, and sturdy shoes that you can get wet like Chacos and Tevas.
As of writing this, we’ve been traveling for 3 months post-COS. I’m glad I didn’t pack heavy things that I’d want to keep that would only weigh me down while moving.
13. How has learning the language been? Any advice to future volunteers?
I get a great deal of joy from learning new languages, so I took to it pretty well. The best way to improve language skills is to use it! Talk to people. If you don’t know the word, try your best to use whatever you know to get your point across. Make mistakes! Zambians appreciate your effort. Some people may not be as patient and make fun of you but try not to take it personally. The local languages there are not easy. Trying to speak is better than not making any effort.
Click here for a blog post where I talk more about the Bemba language!
Impact of Media
LinanneBronzo.com – A Korean-American Adoptee Abroad
I’m a Korean American adoptee who served as an aquaculture Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia from 2018-2020, and again 2022-2023. I share some stories, guides for alternative and budget travel, reflections through my adoptee and reunion experiences, musings on my goals of maintaining a simple and happy lifestyle of travel.
14. How do you think your blog and YouTube channel contributed to your overall mission as a Peace Corps volunteer? And what advice would you give to aspiring Peace Corps volunteers who are considering starting a blog or YouTube channel during their service?
I’ve kept a personal and travel blog since 2010, so I just viewed writing about my Peace Corps experience as an extension of what I had already been doing. I sought out several blogs and YouTube videos during the application process and in preparing for service and found them helpful, though I also see the importance of going in without too many expectations to form your own opinion.
I try to be objective and informative in what I share. The ‘Third Goal’ of sharing Zambian culture with Americans is a major portion of the Peace Corps goals and blogging is the best way for me to share that. I try to stray away from saying anything too controversial on public platforms. I have certain opinions I’d rather keep in private conversation. Sometimes I am conflicted about whether to be truthful with everything publicly as I do not like engaging in dramatic discourse on the internet, so I tend to keep things light.
I wrote more and shared on social media during 2018-2020, but was less active in sharing online during my third year. During the pandemic, I reflected a lot on the Peace Corps as an organization and my role. I wondered if I was doing more harm than good and if I was perpetuating white saviorism. I went back and forth on this and whether or not I should even return. Ultimately, I did return, and every person we met in the community was more than delighted to have us back. I chose to just do the work and share less on social media and blogging.
As far as the videos, the first few videos we made were probably more about us and our service. We intentionally shifted the focus to highlight community members and their work to not center ourselves. There is value in both though.
Third Year as a Volunteer in Zambia
15. Why did you opt for a 3rd year? What were you able to accomplish with this extra time? Would you recommend other volunteers consider a 3rd year?
Most Peace Corps volunteers would agree that two years feels like a long period, and yet it goes by quickly and feels short. Integration, language skills, building trust, and understanding the community’s needs take a lot of time.
In our case, we were on a roll for the first two years and wanted to continue that momentum. We did consider applying to some other extension positions but ultimately decided that we would be most effective continuing our work in the community with which we were familiar. If it takes several months to integrate, I wondered how much we could accomplish in a new project and in another region that spoke a different language.
Throughout service, I had been interested in working with the women’s group. They were already established for over 10 years and highly organized. I offered to attend meetings and be of assistance with what they wanted, but they seemed hesitant. I did not want to force myself on them, so I just let it be. I think they just didn’t want to ask for help and liked being independent, so I respected that.
Almost at the two-year mark, however, the group approached us with interest in starting a chicken and egg business. They had thought about it for a long time and knew it would be a viable business. They just needed some training and start-up capital. Having just attended the Peace Corps animal husbandry workshop and with connections to people who could train the women, we agreed to assist them with a Peace Corps grant. This was my main project for the third extension year.
We were almost ready to submit the grant application until suddenly, the Peace Corps was evacuating volunteers worldwide due to COVID-19. Everyone was disappointed, but I told them I intended to come back whenever possible. We maintained contact for two years and luckily, we were able to come back. Zambia was the first country for Peace Corps volunteers to return after evacuation.
Going back after two years away was an interesting experience. Things seemed the same, but the kids grew taller. We got to see the fish ponds that we helped build in 2018 not only still operating, but thriving, providing food and income four years later; that was certainly special. The women’s group was enthusiastic about us coming back and wanted to get working right away.
Within a month of returning, we drafted and submitted the grant application. Over a year, the women built their chicken house and their new egg business was profitable. In July 2023, we left after proper goodbyes and could feel a sense of closure as opposed to how the 2020 evacuation unfolded.
Given our unique situation, it is difficult to recommend a 3rd year extension outright. It certainly was worth it for us. A prospective volunteer in Zambia should evaluate that potential with their community when the time comes.
Click here to discover all you need to know about Peace Corps Zambia! History, culture, languages, volunteer experiences, safety, and connecting with RPCVs. So much information all in one place.
16. Any last comments or observations you’d like to pass on to future Zambia volunteers?
Zambia is a unique Peace Corps post in many ways. I can’t compare it with other countries, but I feel honored to have been able to live in beautiful Zambia.
The are some aspects that would be much more difficult for certain volunteers, like from the LGBTQ community, so those are important factors to consider. I am not the person to speak to about this issue, but I would recommend prospective PC Zambia volunteers reach out to RPCVs from the LGBTQ community if applicable.
Continue the Conversation
I want to thank Lianne for answering these questions, but if you have more, just drop some comments on her blog, LianneBronzo.com – A Korean-American Adoptee Abroad
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Zambia Government.
