Malimba Community School
Kukhala ndi kupunzira pamodzi - Living and Learning Together
Malimba is a rural village within the Mfuwe area on the edge of South Luangwa National Park in Eastern Zambia. There were, until recently, no schools in this area and children were having to walk up to 6km a day to attend classes – and even then often there were no places available for them when they got there.
In mid 2001 the community decided to start a school and with no outside assistance or funds they built a mud and thatch classroom and the school was opened! For many children this was the first time they had the opportunity to attend classes and learn their ‘A,B,Cs’. The teachers were dedicated volunteers but not formally qualified at that stage.
Very soon they outgrew their small 'classroom' as nearly 100 children would regularly attend these basic lessons! The children had no desks, chairs, pens or paper; they sat on bricks and took turns writing with chalk on a homemade blackboard.
The community soon realised they needed help to make their dream of education for their children a reality and came to Tribal Textiles for assistance and the Malimba Community School Fund was created.
The community made over 20,000 mud bricks by hand, and with the limited funds available timber, basic roofing material and cement were purchased and transported to the village; a local builder hired and soon a large class-room was constructed, and desks and chairs for 45 pupils were purchased.
The school was again quickly oversubscribed and classes are run throughout the day with grades 1-3 in the morning and 4-5 in the afternoon - and there are now 3 volunteer teachers.
The next big project was to provide water for the school and neighbouring villages. This was completed in 2004 and the water-well with hand-pump was generously donated and installed by Rural Water Supply Eastern Province -KFW/DWA Project. Without this vital input no further progress on the development of the school would have been possible.The main project in 2005 was to build a house for the teachers - and this is now complete! The school was very fortunate in securing the financial support of the Zambian National Aids Network who donated substantial funds to build the government specification classroom block.
This block has now been built and has 3 classrooms and a teacher’s office; it goes a very long way to providing the much needed extra space and facilities for the children. We now focus on continuing to better equip these classrooms.
It is also the fund’s aim to support the volunteer teachers in their quest to gain a formal teaching qualification and return to the area to continue the education of the Malimba Community School children. Malimba School now has 4 fully trained teachers, including their head master, and 5 volunteer teachers who are still hoping to gain their qualification.
Before the local education authority can formalize a community school the community has to provide a classroom block built to the government specification and standard, a latrine block and teacher's accommodation.
Only then will they adopt the school into the education system and offer support and assistance with the day to day running of the school.
Once this is done the community fund will be able to concentrate on:
- extra activities such as sport, art & literature
- providing supplementary teaching aids
- helping to maintain & improve the facilities
- and source books, pens, paper .....and everything that children in the developed world so take for granted!
The Malimba Community School’s motto is “Education for Success” and they need your help to achieve this for the children.
The first step for offering a better life for the next generation is the opportunity of a good education. The Malimba community rely mostly on subsistence farming and many families simply do not have the resources to formally educate their children. The voluntary efforts of Malimba residents together with assistance from their supporters is helping to give children access to that vital first step.
The school now has over 160 pupils - all eager to learn. The children range in ages from as young as 5 up to 17 years of age. As many as 38% of these children are orphans and have no chance for a better future without the start in life that Malimba Community School can offer.The Malimba school project is run by a small committee made up of local parents wanting the best for their children. The fund has received donations in cash and kind from many generous patrons and the school would not be where it is today with out this support.
The fund is managed and supported by: Tribal Textiles, Adrian & Christina Carr and the Zambian National Aids Network.
Contact us at sales@tribaltextiles.co.zm to find out how you can help, and to subscribe to our newsletters.