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Welcome to a new Malimba School Newsletter. It has been a bit of a struggle to find time to put the latest news together as the start of this year was so hectic!

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Sarah Solomon at the end of last year. She has 'migrated' south and is presently using her project management skills to build her own home near the Kruger National Park! We wish her all the very best and thank her for all the amazing work she has done over the years.

My name is Kate Shand and I have now joined the team and look forward to updating you throughout the year about the progress made on the Malimba School Project.

We have had a very positive start to 2008. Thanks to Gordon Fulcher's generous donation we have been able to establish a 'health corner' at the school. This is an incredibly valuable resource for a rural community such as Malimba where there is sometimes a lack of understanding or access to information about heath, hygiene and nutrition. Equipping people with basic knowledge about health matters empowers them to make good decisions about their families well being.

With Gordon's money we have purchased books, leaflets and posters about all sorts of health issues plus tables and chairs and a TV and DVD player, running on solar battery power. Solar power is a must have as the school has no electricity.

It is well know that the audio/visual impact of film is a hugely effective tool for education. Not only will the DVD player and TV be used to show films about health issues but also will be a vital educational tool for the pupils.

Whilst various NGO's have very kindly given the school a number of health related DVD's in addition to the ones purchased with Gordon's donation we would welcome donations of any educational DVD's as well as children's entertainment (preferably with an educational slant!)

Furthermore, ZANARA (the Zambian National Response to HIV/AIDS organization) has enabled us to bring in 250 insecticide treated mosquito nets. meaning every child at the school will get their own net. These nets are being distributed at the moment. Mosquito nets play a huge part in lowering the cases of malarial infection - one of the biggest killers in this area.

Naturally it is crucial to keep momentum up with ongoing initiatives in place thus enabling the school to run as effectively as possible from day to day. So to update you…

On-going Teacher Training and staff support - we continue to sponsor new teachers and hope to continue and possibly increase this. Most of the Malimba teachers are in fact unqualified volunteers with ambitions to become teachers. As well as paying these volunteers a small allowance we have made a commitment to acknowledge and thank them for their efforts by raising money to pay for their teacher training courses. Andrew, pictured here with some of his pupils, is presently doing very well on this course.

The 'Feeding Programme', funded by the World Food Programme, has meant the pupils get one wholesome, high protein, meal a day. This has increased attendance at school and the Headmaster says it has hugely improved concentration levels. The project is still community led as adult volunteers collect the firewood and prepare and cook the food. Of course there is still a need for fund raising as, whilst the pupils benefit enormously from their one meal a day, they still sit under a makeshift mud roof to eat and their food has to be stored in their classrooms.

We are aiming to raise funds to work in conjunction with the World Food Programme to build a basic kitchen, dining area and storeroom and we are also hoping to use Solar energy for cooking lessening any impact on the surrounding environment.

We'll follow this update with more details about what we need in order to achieve this next project.

ZNAN (Zambia National Aids Network) sponsored the building of a new Head teacher's house. This frees up the house that TTC built and will enable us to have another fully qualified teacher paid for by the Government at the school. This is a huge step towards self sufficiency.

School Sports sponsorship - thanks to a generous donation from Working Hand in Hand we have been able, once again, to sponsor Malimba's Interschool Sports programme this season. We're very happy to report that the Malimba Football and Netball teams are wining many of their matches and doing really well even against much bigger schools! Being able to participate in the School Sports days gives the pupils and teachers an enormous feeling of pride and achievement as well as being just plain FUN!

There continues to be much positive action and steady development at the Malimba Community School and we are looking forward to continuing to work with the Malimba Committee, ZNAN and other NGO's, the community and all our great donors putting any funds gained this year towards improving the teaching environment and education system within the school.

Please accept our thanks on behalf of all the children at the school and the Malimba community for your support and generous donations. They are making a hugely positive and direct impact on the Malimba School pupils' lives and futures.

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