Annemarie:
Kapishya Hot Springs in Northern Zambia was an unlikely starting point for a set of school visits but after settling in to our campsite we ate supper around the table of the lodge, hosted by Mark Harvey who owns and runs this patch of local paradise within the Shiwa Ng’andu estate.
Also sharing supper were two brilliant guys from Samsung, Kafuta a ‘techy’ and Leonard a sustainability manager. I was very privileged to be invited by them a couple of days later to see the schools they were equipping.
Shwangandu Secondary and Primary school was being set up with a complete. solar powered ‘Internet School’ a prefabricated unit, fully kitted out with 24 laptops and a huge interactive screen for the teacher. The school is pretty typical in having too many pupils for the space available, few facilities other than a small supply of text books, chalk and a blackboard. The internet access will revolutionalise learning and the link here shows a pupil in another school talking about what it’s doing for her and her friends.
The headteacher Mr Kasongo Davies is doing everything he can for the school and his most recent wish is for a boarding facility for girls. The pupils travel huge distances to school and often stay in the town during the week and have to fend for themselves. There’s a high population of new young men in the district and sadly many of the young girls fall for their charms, get pregnant and this spells the end to their education. I am hoping a girl-focused charity may be able to help them if I put them in touch. Deputy Mr Mphande Pharaoh is keen to support the Primary school, which is his main focus and again, books and materials are an issue. He can be contacted here if anyone reading this has useful links.
As we left this school with the internet classroom finally ready, some really small and obviously poorer children were peering in at the big interactive screen, eager to see what was happening. A slightly taller lad was really curious; I was told he had been excluded for being completely unmanageable. There was a poignant moment as he exchanged a thumbs-up with me and finally cracked a smile. Perhaps the new facilities will inspire his focus and help turn things round.
At Philip Primary we arrived to find the pupils in state of high excitement but not actually in a classroom; boys and girls were wielding heavy mattocks and digging a ditch! This wasn’t child labour though, Samsung has set up a solar power centre for the school and the next day was the grand opening. The cable needed to be buried and out of sight and so, classes over, the pupils were taking on the task themselves. The head, Kapabula Osward, was thrilled with the development of finally having power and his enthusiasm was infectious. The staff and pupils were rounded up for the obligatory picture then I was given a tour of the classrooms and took some more candid shots of these amazing kids.
The teachers were keen to tell me more about what they need as we were walking back to our cars but then I was distracted by the sound of singing. A group of girls were arms linked across the road, skipping towards us singing the Lord’s prayer as a thank you.
Thank you to my new friends at Samsung for the experience and to the teachers and pupils for sharing their stories with me.