December 2022
Child Care Centre/preschool St Mary’s and primary school St Margaret’s
STUDENTS
In Zambia the academic year ends in December.
Sister Florence has finished the enrolment process for each school for 2023. There are many applicants for both schools but we only take orphans and the most vulnerable children in the community and the number is limited due to costs.
St Mary’s CCC/preschool – In 2023 we will be educating about 60 children, divided between 2 classes, one ECE (early childhood education or preschool) class and an extra class for grade 1 primary (or elementary) school. These children will receive breakfast and lunch. An extra grade 1 class has been added for those children who live further away and are too young to undertake the walk to St Margaret’s. From grade 2 they will join St Margaret’s.
Primary school at St Margaret’s – There will be a total of 155 children divided among grades 1, 2 and 3. 90 of these children, the most vulnerable, will receive lunch. Every academic year a new grade will be added until we have a total of 7 grades for the primary school – in 2027.
The local education board has approved the opening of the new school in January 2023 but it could take up to 2 years for the school to officially become a grant aided school (a school owned and managed by church organizations in partnership with the government). The school needs to be up and running and a lot of bureaucracy is involved.
*In local government schools there can be 80, even 100 students in each class which has ONE teacher!
STAFF
Teachers
At the preschool at St Mary’s there are 2 paid teachers. In the future we will try to make the preschool a “community school” which means the government would provide and pay for one teacher.
At the primary school at St Margaret’s the government will provide and pay for the 3 teachers for grades 1, 2 and 3. The teachers for the future grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 will also be paid by the government.
Other staff members
These include: Sister Florence who manages the 2 schools and 2 farms and is also the accountant, a Sister who helps Sister Florence, 2 cooks, 2 farmers and general workers including a security guard at St Margaret’s (Nakonde is a border town and security is a big problem). Their salaries also include insurance and gratuity.
INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES
1) The 2 farms
In May 2022 we purchased 12.7 hectares of land, so together with the original 6 hectares we now have 18.7 hectares. It will take time and hard work to develop the new land. First it will need to be cleared as it has never been cultivated before.
Farm 1 – The Bridge of Friendship is building a new farmhouse and borehole in this area.
Farm 2 – We are building a second farmhouse and borehole on the new land. The borehole is already functioning (thank you Giovanni) and by the end of December the basic structure plus roof of the farmhouse should be completed. We will finish the construction when funds are available.
Food Production 2023
Maize, sweet potatoes, soya beans, sunflower, beans, onions, more timber trees and fruit trees will be planted at Mayembe.
2 more fishponds are planned at St Margaret’s and we will continue with the poultry farming and keeping goats.
Ideally the farms need to generate enough income to pay for the 2 farmers’ salaries, the workers’ salaries during harvesting, seeds, fertilizer, produce enough food for the children and a surplus to sell.
2) Sewing projects
We now have 2 industrial sewing machines. They are being used to make school uniforms which are compulsory in all schools. They will also be used to make sanitary kits for the Menstrual Hygiene programme.
FUNDING 2023
⦁ As it stands we need to contribute €12,000 to help run both schools, educate 215 children and feed 150 children during 2023.
⦁ If we have extra funds we can sponsor 22 children at high school – €80 each for the year. see photos news September 2022
⦁ We hope to finish building the second farmhouse at Mayembe. The costs to complete the building are being calculated.
If you would like to help us achieve these goals you can contact
Elizabeth – [email protected]
or
Caitriona – [email protected]
We will be sending funds directly to the CCC St Mary’s account in Nakonde towards the end of December.
Thanks!
The situation as seen by the Catholic Church in Zambia regarding the Free Education Policy recently introduced by the new government.
ZAMBIA CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS STATEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE NATION
https://www.lusakatimes.com/2022/11/18/catholic-bishops-label-free-education-as-problematic/
FREE EDUCATION POLICY
The Free Education Policy is a welcome idea. However, the Free Education Policy has proved to have a negative bearing on the management of schools in general and grant aided (mission) schools in particular. The following are some of the gaps and challenges regarding the implementation of the policy.
Its implementation was rushed without preparing much needed room and desk-space for the overwhelming newly enrolled pupils. The number of teachers in schools has not changed much while pupil population has doubled or tripled making teacher-learner ratio disproportional. The current teacher recruitment did not target secondary school teachers where the FEP was also implemented. This is forcing many schools (especially Grant Aided Schools) to continue employing teachers on contracts. This is a strain on the limited resources of the schools in which the remunerations were paid by Boards or the scrapped PTAs and most of the capital projects that were being undertaken by Grant Aided Schools are now failing. Subsidies from the government are not enough and are usually restrictive.
September 2022
New primary school at St Margaret’s (grades 1 -7)
As you can see from the photo above and photos below the new school is practically finished. The rainy season will start in November so it was important to complete the construction before then. The chosen yellow colour makes everything very bright and sunny.
The new teachers have already been selected by the local District Board of Education and they will start teaching at St Margaret’s in January, the beginning of the new academic year.
The children from the Early Childhood (pre-primary) class and grades 1 and 2 (primary) attending our CCC centre at St Mary’s this academic year (2022) will transfer to the new primary school at St Margaret’s and become grades 1, 2 and 3 (2023). The local Board of Education prefers to gradually add classes each year instead of all 7 classes at the same time.
The required furniture and equipment have been purchased however, we still need a few more desks.
Child Care Centre St Mary’s
The opening of the new primary school at St Margaret’s in January 2023 now means that from January 2023 the CCC at St Mary’s will only handle Early Childhood Education for children ages of 3 – 4 years and 5 – 6 years.
Teaching staff – Our teachers, Derrick and Jean, have been assigned government teaching posts. Even though we are happy for them we are very sorry to lose them. Sister Florence has chosen their replacements, Farlen and Joseph, and they started at the beginning of September.
Breakfast – During our visit to Nakonde in May we realised the importance of introducing the breakfast programme. Many of the children walk quite far to reach the centre and most of them haven’t eaten since the day before. Thanks to a group of friends in Birmingham UK, we have enough funds to feed all 84 children breakfast until the end of the academic year in December. The children are very happy now to have breakfast when they arrive in the morning. They get tea and a bread bun plus porridge when possible.
Supporting children at high school
We are supporting 22 children at high school: four in grade 8, six in grade 9, six in grade 10, and six in grade 11. High school ends in grade 12. It costs €85 to support one child for the whole academic year (January to December). They must have a uniform and they need shoes and books as well as a school bag, pens etc. Some of the children who live in far away villages need money for transport. Children often walk many kms to school but there’s a limit to how far they have to walk! Here are some of the children we support – with Sister Florence.
Sanitary Kits
After Caitriona’s presentation to 40 women in May, many of these women are now teaching others how to make the kits. This project will become even more important as there will be older girls at the new school at Margaret’s.
The Zambian government promotes Menstrual Hygiene Management which includes reproductive health education to empower girls with knowledge which is key to avoiding early pregnancies.
Food Production
We have a vegetable garden and chickens at St Mary’s and fishponds and vegetables at St Margaret’s but our main farmland is at Mayembe which is about 38 kms from Nakonde. There are 2 ways to get to the land, one is to drive 10 kms south of Nakonde then 20 kms into the bush but it’s impassable in the rainy season. The alternative is to drive 18 kms south of Nakonde and then a further 20 kms into the bush. This road, although longer, is more accessible.
The maize harvest this year was very succesful. In 2019 we produced 3,000 kgs of maize flour, this year 10,440 kgs – 87 bags, each bag 120 kgs. (see pictures below).
There will be 2 farms at Mayembe.
As mentioned in a previous update we bought 12.7 hectares of new land at Mayembe in May so we now have a total of 18.7 hectares.
Farm 1 – This is the original farm made up of 6 hectares purchased in 2017. The Bridge of Friendship, as well as building the new school at St Margaret’s, is also building a new farmhouse which will replace the old one, and a new borehole. Work has started recently – foundations are being dug.
Farm 2 – As we now have 18.7 hectares we need a second farmer and a second farmhouse and borehole. We have funds for the second borehole (see photos of drilling) and enough to start the basic structure of the farmhouse – walls and roof. We are anxious to get this done before the rainy season. They have started making the bricks – see photo below. We will complete the building as we can, when we have available funds.
With the opening of the new primary school in January we will have more children to feed. Efficient use of the new land is vital so we are planning to employ an agricultural expert to help us achieve this.
Future Funding
Towards the end of the year Sr Florence will calculate the budget for 2023. Incoming funds will be used for the following projects:
1) Management of the preschool at CCC St Mary’s. This includes the breakfast programme and the main meal at lunchtime. As always this is our number one priority.
2) Provide a meal for the most vulnerable children at St Margaret’s.
3) Continue supporting the 22 children at high school.
4) Finish the second farmhouse at Mayembe and continue clearing the land for cultivation.
March 2022
VIRTUAL WALK FROM LUSAKA TO NAKONDE
Tom and Caitriona have completed the 1,016 kms walk in Northern Ireland and Elizabeth has completed the 1,016 kms walk in Italy.
We are very grateful to our sponsors and those who encouraged us along the way.
DESKS
66 more desks have been made which takes the total to 126 desks for the new school at St Margaret’s.
FARM
Plenty of rain has allowed our crops to flourish. Here are pictures of our maize and soyabeans.
NEW UNIFORMS
Our 80 children are very happy and proud to have their new uniforms.
OUR WALKERS AND SUPPORTERS IN N. IRELAND
THANK YOU to an enthusiastic cycling group of retired GPs from Mullahead, headed by Anna Louise!
A very big THANK YOU to the children and teachers at St Patrick’s school, Magheralin.
Here they are, in their green uniforms, handing over a cheque to Tom and Caitriona. Children helping children.
A big THANK YOU to Tom and Caitriona’s local GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) who did a 5 mile walk to raise funds for the new school at St Margaret’s.
One photo is of the walkers and the other of Billy Drake, GAA treasurer, handing Caitriona a cheque.
February 2022
FUNDRAISER – VIRTUAL WALK FROM LUSAKA TO NAKONDE 1,016 KMS
So far the walk has been very successful. Some of our walkers have even completed the full distance – for example the US team, made up of Joan and Vicky from New Jersey and Helen who lives in Modena, Italy. Eileen from Northern Ireland has also completed the full 1,016 kms.
A very, very big thank you to all our sponsors and supporters.
Here are some photos of our walkers: Tom and Caitriona, Marguerite, Eileen and Suzy, Elizabeth and Imbwa, Vicky, Joan and Helen.
CONTAINER FROM GERMANY TO MPIKA DIOCESE
18 boxes were filled with clothes, shoes, exercise books and pencils and pens.
THANK YOU to all who contributed. The boxes have left Modena, Italy and are on their way to Germany where they will be loaded on to the container heading for Zambia. A very big thank you to Lynne and Nanni for helping in the organisation.
Here they are:
BUILDING OF NEW SCHOOL COMPLEX AT ST MARGARET’S
Roofing has started and so far the admin block has been covered.
Window frames and door frames have been fitted.
January 2022
- CCC St Mary’s
The centre should have opened on 12th January but the government has postponed the date until 24th January due to an increase in covid cases.
The budget for 2022 has been prepared and we are happy to say we will have enough funds to feed and educate the children in 2022.
There will be a total of 80 children, 50 in grade 1 and 30 in grade 2. There are fewer children in grade 2 because during 2021 many children dropped out as the centre was closed for periods due to covid restrictions. The guardians took them to villages to work and some never came back.
Food production
The start of the rainy season – from November to April – was delayed this year. Crop production in Zambia is rain dependent so the delay caused some anxiety. Fortunately the rains have now come.
We hope to boost our food production this year and 5 hectares have been cultivated so far – maize, groundnuts, soyabeans, wheat and rice.
Unfortunately the collapse of a bridge near St Margaret’s meant that we had to relocate 3 fishponds and harvest the fish in advance.
We are about to plant as many trees as possible, depending on funds. Fruit trees should provide fruit both for consumption and generate income. These will include bananas, avocados, pawpaws (papayas), guavas, oranges, passion fruit etc.
Trees for timber and shade will also be planted.
Sewing machine
We have purchased a new industrial sewing machine. This will be used to make uniforms for the children and will be essential in the future project of making sanitary protection kits for the girls at St Margaret’s.
Teacher training
Thanks to the help of the Bridge of Friendship we have been able to sponsor two people – Sr Nebian and John Malama – in their studies to become qualified preschool/primary teachers.
Their studies will last 3 years and at the end they will come back and teach at the centre for at least 3 years. They continue to help at the centre when their studies permit.
- New school St Margaret’s
Construction work
Many of the structures are up. The next stage, which is roofing, will start soon.
See the latest pictures below.
When the construction work is finished at St Margaret’s the construction company will start building the farmhouse at the new farm at IWULA.
In 2021 the security wall was completed and extra land behind the school was purchased for sports activities.
Fundraising for the new school
We are very satisfied with our fundraising so far and are confident that we will be able to purchase all the necessary furnishings and equipment for the 7 classrooms and other facilities.
As soon as the roofing is completed the registration of the new school as a grant aided school will begin. From the beginning, the local education authorities have always been included in the development of the project.
In 2021 we managed to complete 66 desks and funds are now available to make 60 more.
