Zambia - Mission Direct

Fun and games for our School team with the pupils at Good Samaritan School ... and good progress with the toilet block building and classroom painting too!

Our School team have made excellent progress on the painting at Kiine School. Later, they received a rousing welcome from the pupils at Good Samaritan School, where they will be helping to build a toilet block.

No doubt many will remember Emmanuel 'Mannie' Banda who for many years helped out with the MD teams in Zambia. For the past 3 years, Mannie has been pursuing a nursing qualification in NW Province. He is currently home at Chamba Valley, and will be returning soon for the final year of his studies. He is seeking support for his final year from well-wishers. If you wish to help, please contact Geoff Spiller. Thank you

An interesting BBC article on Zambian schools:

Zambia education: Schooling was made free, now classrooms are crammed The government is boosting investment to try and ensure everyone can benefit from good schooling.

Timeless ...... sunset at the Victoria Falls. The team enjoyed the safari and sunset cruise too!

As their final task, the team made good progress painting one of the classroom blocks at Kiine School. Still plenty of work for the next team to do!

This morning, there was a celebration at Crown of Life School to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of the school. The school started in July 2004 with just 15 pupils and has grown to a school of over 670 pupils from nursery to Grade 12 with modern facilities on a large site. The celebration included performances from the school choir and other pupil groups. The still photo cannot do justice to the energy, joy and dancing of the choir! This was also 'careers day' at the school, with pupils showcasing various careers they hope to follow. The Mission Direct team was delighted to be invited to join the celebrations!

This morning, the team completed the foundation box of the Crown of Life classroom - under expert instruction from Edward's team of course, before visiting homes in the community in the afternoon.

The team helped to serve lunch to the pupils at Kumbaya School, before visiting homes in the community. There are over 850 pupils at the school, including over 200 in Grade 3! There are also tailoring, catering and night school classes.

Our first team arrived in Zambia on Sunday and after a couple of sessions have completed painting the toilet block at Crown of Life School! Tomorrow, work starts on the foundations of the classroom at the school.

A second water tank is being erected at Chamba Valley to help keep water running to the cottages, when the power is off for extended periods. We have also purchased a generator to keep the water pump running, and provide power to the sockets and lights in the dining room.

Work on the Crown of Life building projects is coming on well. The foundation footings to the new classroom have been completed, ready for our first team to start working there next week. Meanwhile, work on the Administration Building is nearing completion. The building will provide offices for headteachers, School Administrator and Coordinator, Reception staff as well as a Board Room

These are challenging times for Zambians. With food prices already high due to the poor harvest and high fuel costs, they are now being hit with power cuts of up to 20 hours a day. Over 80% of the power in Zambia is generated by hydro-electric, mostly at the Kariba Dam on the Zambia – Zimbabwe border. The rains this year were very poor and consequently the level in the lake is low. There will not be appreciable rains till November at the earliest, so the water is being severely rationed.

At Chamba Valley this means long periods without power – sometimes coming on for just a few hours in the middle of the night and no water too as the pumps cannot operate. We are looking at actions to mitigate the impact on our teams, but we are dealing with an unprecedented situation this year.

Edward and his team are making good progress on the foundations of the toilet block which we are building at Good Samaritan School. The second team will work on building up the walls.

Good progress on the science laboratories at Kiine School, Chamba Valley, funded by a trust fund.

This is where it begins! Back at Chamba Valley to start preparing for this year's teams, the first one arrives in just 2 weeks' time. We have two building projects planned - a toilet block at Good Samaritan School and a Classroom at Crown of Life School. We are still fundraising for the latter - please help if you can https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/zambiacrownoflife2024

Work has started on the foundations of a new toilet block at Good Samaritan School, which one of our teams will be working on this year. Good Samaritan is a primary school for 450 pupils, near Ng'ombe compound. Thanks to Edward for the photos.

Work has started on the science laboratories at Kiine School at Chamba Valley, with foundations complete and walls being constructed. The school has been awarded a grant from a trust fund to build these laboratories, which will further enhance the growing reputation of the school. Mission Direct teams will be working at the school this year to paint recently-finished classroom blocks. Thank you to headteacher Gloria for the photo.

Good progress from Edward and his team on the Administration Block at Crown of Life School with the roof now complete! Thanks to Dorothy and Edward for the photos.

You can support this year's project at Crown of Life School here. Help us provide the gift of education to aspiring doctors, teachers and lawyers. Every little really does help. THANK YOU!

Zambia Crown of Life School 2024 Mission Direct would like to help build a Classroom at Crown of Life School, to cater for increasing pupil numbers at the school.

Latest photos from Edward of the Crown of Life Admin building - walls complete to top-of-window and ring beam being constructed.

An investigative report on sticker, the drug which blights the lives of so many children living on the streets. Thanks to Vasco for the link.

UNMASKING STICKER: A Cruel Drug Destroying Zambia´s Street Children- Full Documentary Freelance Journalist, Annie Zulu, goes deep undercover to unmask the cruel drug "sticker" that is destroying the lives of vulnerable street children in Lusak...

Work is proceeding well on the Administration Building at Crown of Life school - the foundations and slab are complete, and now the walls are being built. Thank you to Dorothy and Edward for the photos.

Young people living on the street in Lusaka can become addicted to the harmful substances which are readily available. Recently, Vasco and the Footprints team have been able to take young people to a 4-week rehabilitation programme at a government hospital. In the past 18 months, over 50 boys and girls have asked to go on this programme, persuaded by the transformation they have seen in their friends. After the course, the vast majority have returned to their families or relatives, with just a handful going back to the street. It costs just £25 to cover the cost of the programme for an individual. Can you help support this life-changing work?

Thanks to a generous donation, work has started on the Administration Building at Crown of Life School, which will be used for the Headteachers and the Administration staff, and include visitor toilets. Thanks to Edward for the photos.

Aaron and Josephine Chilunjika from Chisomo have worked with children living on the street for over 30 years. Our teams regularly visit their drop-in centre, where children receive meals, and can shower and wash their clothes. They can access counselling and educational programmes. From the drop in, children return to sleep on the streets. However, those who show a regular commitment to come to the drop-in may be taken to Chisomo’s residential shelter, a step to attending school and importantly, a future away from the streets. Last year, Chisomo were given notice to leave the rented shelter but, in an answer to prayer, they have recently been able to purchase a new property, with sufficient buildings to house the children. There are extensive grounds for growing crops and for future development. There are now 20 children living at the centre, who attend local schools and a further 29 at boarding schools, who stay at the centre during the holidays.

We were delighted to meet with Dorothy and Michael at Crown of Life School today, to discuss plans for this year. We are raising funds to build a new classroom and have received generous donations which will help to build school offices and a meeting room.

Mark and Geoff at Good Samaritan Primary School today, with Vasco (Board Chair) and Timothy (Vice National Director). We will be building a toilet block at the school this year, to provide better sanitary facilities for the 400 pupils.

Work on completing the part-built 3 classroom block at Kiine School started just before Christmas, and now 2 months later, the classrooms are in use! We are grateful for the generous donation which has made this possible. This year's teams will be painting the classrooms.

The rainy season in Zambia should run till late March. We have been here for 5 days and there hasn't been a drop of rain. Indeed, it hasn't rained in Lusaka for almost a month. This morning in church, we prayed for rain. Please pray with the Zambian people that there can still be a reasonable harvest. With food prices already high from the weak kwacha, many are concerned about what the future holds.