Improve literacy and IT skills for young Zambians

In late September last year, all of us at the School Club Zambia were over the moon to be able to raise US $6,152 for a new library and e-learning centre at Siansowa Primary School. This money was raised (as many of you will know!) through our first ever GlobalGiving two week campaign and we couldn't have been more excited or thankful to have met our fundraising target. 

Over 55 people donated during the two weeks of the campaign and we were told by many of you that so generously conitibuted, that you did so because like us, you believe that every young person should have the right to learn to read and write as part of their education. In 2020 and 2021 Siansowa Primary School had the lowest litercy rates out of all 10 of the schools that the School Club Zambia has partnered with in rural Zambia. Less than 10% of all children at the school passed their end of primary school exam in both years and we felt that something needed to be urgently done to address the causes of this problem, which was deeply linked to not being literate.

Why will a library and e-learning centre improve literacy and numeracy skills at Siansowa Primary?

In 2015, the School Club Zambia built the same library and e-learning centre at neighbouring Kariba South Primary School. The project was a life-long dream of the head teacher Mrs Siatwiko, who believed that if the children at her school had a safe and engaging place to read for leisure, the love of reading would naturally grow! Aside from the library being stocked with a wide-range of books that could help fufill this dream, the library and e-learning centre was also used for children to study in and complete their homework after school. Many of the teachers also used one side of the room to plan their lessons for the next day and mark work, in the abscence of having a staff room. The e-learning technology was just as essential, as previously the school did not have a computer lab nor enough computers to teach even a small class of children.

In 2020 and 2021, Kariba South Primary had an end of primary school pass rate of over 90%. The library and e-learning centre was not the sole reason for this success but teachers and parents at the school have repeatedly told us that it's establishment was a turning point in providing qualitative education. Siansowa Primary School is less than 7 km from this school in a very similar socio-economic environment. We are therefore extremely opptermistic that this new project can have a similar effect on improving literacy and IT skills and in turn, ensuring that more and more children are able to finish at least their primary education.  

What has been achieved since the 30th September? 

It has been a buzz of activity in Zambia since we were able to tell the school and the community that we have been able to raise the money to start the project! The first thing that we did was gather everyone together for a community meeting and designate out different tasks to the teachers, parents, our partners at the Ministry of Education who oversee the qualtity of the building and our own team members. 

The community were excited to contribute to the project by bringing bricks, sand, gravel and crushed stone for the building, which began to arrive on ox carts at the school from November onwards. The total monetary value that the community is providing to the building exceeds over US $3,000 in resources and labour. 

We have now marked the layout for the building, interviewed and selected a building contractor and the community have dug the foundations, which was hard work in the 35 C + heat we experienced in the last few months of the year. School Club Zambia's Programme Manager Sunny has been busy organising the contracts with the builder and purchasing all of the materials for the first part of the build which needed to be delivered from our nearest town Choma (2 hour drive away). 

What is next? 

In January we will finish the foundation of the building once we have a break in the rains, as January and February are the peak rainy season months in our district. After the slab is complete we will begin to build to roofing level, at which point the Ministry of Education's Building Officer will check the quality of the structure.

Whilst we are so happy to have raised enough money for the building of the centre, we are still fundraising for the furnishing and equipment to finish the project. We expect that the majority of this money will be raised from small Trusts and Foundations that we already have a good relationship with but we are also keeping open this fundraising platform, as every donation continues to mean so much! 

Thank you so much again to everyone that has made this project possible! We look forwrad to continuing to update you and keep you part of the journey as we build this life-changing library and e-learning centre for the 600 children at Siansowa Primary.