Wash My Bikini

At the age of sixty, Anne Thomson applied to join the Voluntary Service Overseas as a mature volunteer, bringing her skills as a bank administrator and accountant. She was allocated a two year assignment in The Prison Fellowship Zambia office and travelled to Lusaka to begin work in their Ndola office.

What follows is a remarkable story of living and working in a community in one of the poorest countries of the world. Culture and climate were very different to the author's home in Edinburgh and VSO members have to adapt quickly to the basic living conditions, when everything is in short supply or unobtainable. The Author's detailed account, not only of the difficulties in dealing with officialdom, but also of sharing her skills with those in great need of support, underlines the raison d'etre of the Volunteer Service. This book will be an inspiration to all those contemplating joining the VSO.

Now available

Reviews received so far: "The book, features Anne's first hand experiences of living in Zambia and a gripping account of what life is like for prisoners behind bars" Laura Cummings, Edinburgh Evening News