In November we shared some photos of the new classroom block at Simakakata. Now we are really excited that we take you inside the classroom for the first time. See below.
Headmaster George teaching in the new classroom block.
The new block consists of three individual classrooms. A fourth classroom is currently being built. Please check back tomorrow for a progress report.
The current water pump is owned by the disabled community. It's only open a few hours per day and is over a mile from the new classrooms.
The dry season is now at an end, but the community school at Simakakata is going to stay thirsty for a while. The local authorities in nearby Kalomo paid to have a borehole sunk outside the new classrooms almost a year ago, but there’s still no pump mechanism to actually draw water from it.
Meanwhile the school continues to share a pump with the local disabled community. Water is scarse and the pump is closed to the children between 10am and 1pm to conserve supply. It’s also about a mile from the new classrooms.
“We’ve been told that the parts for the handpump have been delayed at sea,” says headmaster George, “And so we’ve been waiting for several months now to use the new pump. We were told it would be done by the end of August, but we haven’t heard anything recently.”
When it’s finished, the borehole will be the only source of water for the new school. Without it, the children and teachers have little to drink during the day, and nowhere to wash their hands or maintain basic hygiene. It’s no wonder so many are often off ill with abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Easily preventable water borne diseases kill 5000 children a day across the developing world.
We will keep you updated with progress on the borehole. Our focus will (for now) remain on fundraising for the final two classrooms.
The new 3 classroom block at Simakakata.
We have some great news to share. The first classroom block at Simakakata is now complete! The new buildings are quite a change from the old schoolhouse. There’s no running water yet, but what a start!
It was funded by Care International, with your funds being used to buy the raw materials for the fourth classroom. Work has begun on the foundations of the new classroom and we’re hoping to have some pictures to share later this month.
In the meantime here is a brief update from Simakakata. Words by Volunteer Adam, following a recent phone conversation with Headmaster George.
I’ll be visiting Simakakata again in January, to see what the new classrooms look like up close and find out more about how the community has changed over the last 18 months, but I couldn’t resist giving George a call beforehand to find out about the new building.
George told me that first classroom block has been finished and work is underway on the fourth classroom. He is hoping to get the roof completed on the second, smaller, building by the time the children return from their Christmas holidays. The school will be closed from 3rd December to 9th January 2011.
“I want to be able to teach children up to grade 8 by 2012,” says George, “So that they don’t have to travel 7km to Kalomo to finish their primary education. But to do that we’ll need two more classrooms. Six in total.”
When the children graduate George’s school, they currently have to go to the nearby town of Kalamo to finish their primary education, if they can afford it. The community has to rent rooms in the town for the children to live during term time. There are no adults living with them. At the moment, there are 230 children enrolled at Simakakata, and few of them will be able to go to Kalomo.
That’s why George has decided it’s so important to build six classrooms, rather than the five the community initially hoped for. Our goal is to help as many children complete their education as possible and will support George’s vision for Simakakata in every way we can.
And what about Saviour? She’s still regularly coming top of her class.
Check back in December for a progress report on the fourth classroom which was funded thanks to the generosity of our supporters.
The camera often struggles to show how dark it really is inside the classrooms at Simakakata. This shot was taken on a day when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
Image by Brenda Veldtman.
Meet Shabby and his children Holiness and Universe Wakinji.
There is a community of 10 disabled families who live in Simakakata. The school is their lifeline.
Learn more through the story of Shabby Aongola, an active member of the community and a key part of the Parent Teacher Association at the school.
Image by Brenda Veldtman.
In the farmhouse, any seat is a good seat. But with just one more classroom needed, photos like this will soon be a thing of the past.
Image by Brenda Veldtman.
If you don't have enough desks, sometimes you've just got to improvise.
Image by Brenda Veldtman.
We want to help the school children of Simakakata do more than just read and write. We want to help them to achieve their dreams.
Last week I was on holiday in sunny Dorset so I apologise for not posting a ‘Photo of the Week’. I’ll post two this week to make up for it.
The child in the photo above is called Sonet. Click here to learn about the dreams of her classmates.
Image by Brenda Veldtman.
When we arrived at Simakakata the community had already made over 60,000 bricks by hand. They are also happy to donate their labour for free to build the school. All they need is money to buy building materials such as cement, roofing sheets and windows.
Learn more about the community contribution and how they make the bricks they need to construct the school.
Image by Brenda Veldtman.
Sports and education go hand in hand.
The connection between football and the power of education to pull communities out of poverty may seem frivolous, but it’s at the heart of an important conference being held in South Africa today to tie-in with the last week of the World Cup.
The 1Goal campaign, co-ordinated by Global Campaign for Education, has been running all year with the specific aim of using the World Cup to raise awareness about the importance of education. Supporters include Mick Jagger, Bono, Clive Owen and just about every footballer on the planet, including Gary Lineker, Pele, Thierry Henry and more.
The objective of 1Goal is simple. It’s not a fundraising campaign, rather it’s just about getting the message across to world leaders about where to spend their money. If you want to get people out of poverty, give them an education. It’s the single most effective way of increasing wages, reducing maternal and infant mortality, improving agriculture and trade and giving people the chance to stand on their own two feet and not rely on food handouts for the rest of their lives.
The playing field at Simakakata.
It works both ways, too. Football isn’t just a tool for raising the profile of education, sports are a key part of the curriculum at Simakakata Community School in Zambia.
“Children who don’t perform well in class may be much better at sports,” says Edwin, the PE teacher, “It’s a great way of motivating them and increasing their confidence.”
Sports classes take place on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons in a field behind the school, and although they only have a few balls to play with and no kit, Edwin tries to organise football matches against other schools as often as he can.
“It’s very important for the children to be exposed to other communities through sport,” he says, “And when we don’t win, it teaches them to try harder and work together as a team to improve themselves.”
As well as keeping the children fit, Edwin explains, sports provides an outlet for later in life. As in most impoverished areas, alcoholism and drug abuse aren’t uncommon in rural Zambia.
It's not just about football, either.
Last week the children of Simakakata took part in a regional competition against 14 other schools from the Kalomo area. Headmaster George says that a farmer from his home in Good Hope lent them a truck to make the journey.
“We didn’t win anything,” he laughs, “But taking part was very exciting for the children. It gave us something to reflect upon in class.”
Our NGO partner in Zambia, Response Network, values sport as one of the most important methods of community cohesion.
“’Let`s start our own sports club’ was one of the first manuals we wrote,” says country director Håkon Spigseth, “We encourage communities to start sport clubs as it is both healthy and participants learn organisational skills. It’s also fun and for youth, a good alternative to drinking and more negative social hobbies.”
We’re currently raising funds for the final classroom block at Simakakata school, to help secure its future and make sure the children of the community have every opportunity possible. Giving a child an education is the single most important thing you can do to help. LearnAsOne is a unique charity that creates a transparent link between donors and those who need help. You can donate to LearnAsOne or get involved and help us fundraise through this site, and we’ll show you where every penny is spent.
Run. Walk. Jump. Bake. Set-up your fundraising page today.
Photos. Videos. Words. Help to tell stories from the schools.
