Through Build A Classroom campaign we will focus on rehabilitation of classroom infrastructure in order to not only improve the quality of the learning environment but increase capacity to increase school attendance. Classroom rehabilitation will include increasing desk capacity, installation of windows, doors, writing boards and other learning infrastructure requirements.
Classroom Block at Kamwala Magodi in Lundazi caters to 306 primary school learners
Based on one of the schools rehabilitation budget estimates, it costs between K88,000 to K120,000 per school that caters for as many as 250 – 400 learners.
Every Child Deserves A Chance, It Begins With One Book
It’s estimated that nearly 25 percent of Zambian children attend overcrowded community schools which are plagued with poor infrastructure and limited learning tools. On October 14th we launched our Book Fund campaign through which we intend to improve the learning conditions for over 20,000 children in community schools mostly located in the rural areas. Through the support of our partners we have so far been able to provide textbooks and Teacher’s guides that will benefit 2,689 children in 11 community schools mostly in rural areas with a few schools located in poor neighbourhoods in Lusaka. Even though it only costs about ZMW56.64 (US$3.20) per child sharing, children in most of these schools have to learn without the required textbooks or often have to share a book amongst many children. The community schools unlike public schools are severely underfunded as they rely on limited contributions from poor communities. Based on UNICEF Zambia 2018 report 60 percent of Zambia’s children live in poverty with most of the children in community schools coming from these poor households. While around 740,000 school aged children in Zambia are not in school and only about 30 percent of Zambian adolescents will attain a high school education.
As much as 23% of children in rural areas fail to attend school because of limited learning resources, this is why we will continue to focus on schools in the rural areas because the depravity of the learning conditions is much more than urban areas. ‘’ At Simpact Foundation we believe no child should be deprived of an education nor have to learn in such a difficult learning environment.’’ said Banja Mkwanazi Kayumba, Executive Director of Simpact foundation at the launch of the campaign. ‘Through the book fund campaign we will help transform the lives of over 20,000 vulnerable children through better quality education that will help them reach their full potential. In the words of Nelson Mandela – ‘Education is the most powerful thing we can use to change the world.’And we are doing that One Book at a time!’’ she added.
Through Our Book Fund Campaign we are providing essential textbooks and Teacher’s guides required for learning in community schools. While it only costs about ZMW56 (US$3.20) per child sharing, children learn without the necessary textbooks or often have to share a book amongst many other children.
Learners and Teachers at Katondo Community School in Lundazi Rural that have benefitted from The Book Fund Campaign.
By Partnering with us you can help us provide much needed basic textbooks required to improve the quality of education for many vulnerable children.
Godfrey Simfukwe, the principal and founder of Chitulikwa Community School
was born in a rural remote farm settlement of Kawambwa district in Zambia. He started his 1st Grade at 7yrs old and like many children in his village he had to walk over 15kms for 3hours to get to school. Unfortunately, this is the reality of many school going children in rural Zambia. Godfrey recalls that he often had to carry farm produce to the market before proceeding to school on an empty stomach and would often only have his one meal when he returned home from school. Evan as a boy he believed that he could have a better life through acquiring an education and so he endured the long walks hoping for a brighter future. Upon graduating from High School, Godfrey moved to the capital city in Lusaka and acquired an artisan certificate and managed to find work in construction. Moved by a deep need to help others, Godfrey noticed that in the poor community of Kabanana where he settled in Lusaka there were many vulnerable children from extremely poor families who were unable to attend school.
Despite his limited resources, Godfrey worked hard to provide for his family and not only build a home, but he also put aside some of his family savings to set up a Community School in his neighbourhood. After 18 years of striving to make his dream a reality, Godfrey was able to establish Chitulikwa Community School that allows over 160 children from Early Years to 9th Grade to attend school. The school like most community schools is severely underfunded with poor infrastructure and relies on the school children’s parents’ contributions which are hardly sufficient to run the school. Unfortunately, most of the parents can hardly afford to put food on the table let alone afford the monthly school contributions which are supposed to be used for running of the school.
According to Godfrey, ‘it doesn’t matter how much or how little you have, what matters is that we can each in our own way make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.’’ ‘’We are grateful for Simpact Foundation’s Support to Chitulikwa Community School, it gives us hope that together we can really make a difference in the lives of many vulnerable children in Kabanana.’’
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