• What is the Zambia Project ?

It is both an EEB1 school wide humanitarian project AND a Year 6 trip.

This project is an education oriented micro-project helping a school district in The Western Province of Zambia, which is the poorest located in the remote bush following the guidelines of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Zambia Project helps:

• 3 Main Schools (Sankandi, Kabula and Nakabunze Basic Schools)
• 1 High School (Sioma High School)
• 1 Special Needs School (Senanga).

The Zambia Project is part of the Zambezi Educational and Environmental Camps (ZEEC), a Zambian non-profit organization.

 

• What are its goals?

The goal is to raise money to develop a variety of local micro projects aiming at improving educational and sanitation conditions i.e. building classrooms, teachers’ housing, bringing teaching material… These micro-projects are dedicated to help this poorest region of Zambia improve its situation according to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

•  Who is involved?

The School as a whole participates, there are many initiatives in Kindergarden and Primary as well as in Secondary organized by both teachers and students.

A partnership with Eureka (Lost and found at EEB1) has been set up. Year 5 students have been regularly sorting lost and found, the goal is to send what is needed in Zambia.

 

• Who are the members of the Zambia Project?

Every year 22 students of Year 6 secondary join the Project.

They are running a large number of fundraising actions both within the school and outside of it.

They are the ones who go on the trip.

 

• Who can apply?

All Year 6 students can apply to join. There are two main requirements: to be able to speak English fairly well as Zambia is an English speaking country AND to be able to cope with the amount of work requested by the involvement in the Project as well as the academic requirements of EEB1.

If there are too many applicants there is a drawing done.

 

• What are the fundraising actions carried out by the students?

There are many fundraising actions done by the students thanks to the involvement of the EEB1 community (colleagues, parents and friends…)

At school:

• Spelling tests
• Cake, chocolate, tee-shirts, candles and notebook sales
• Art auction
• Sponsoring children
• February Disco
• EEB1 orchestra concert…

Outside school:

• Organisation of a concert
• Participation in a marathon
• Sales at students’ churches or sports clubs

 

What has been achieved so far by the Zambia Project?

Over the past 15 years, the Zambia Project has sponsored many other projects in different areas:

In Sankandi Basic School:

• 4 teachers’ houses built to accommodate appointed teachers
• 1 house built to accommodate the medical officer and his family appointed to the bush clinic located on school grounds
• Electricity for the bush clinic
• Running water, toilets and showers for the bush clinic
• A computer room enabling the school to be in compliance with the new Zambian curriculum which now includes computer sciences
• Computers for the IT room
• Chairs and desks for the classrooms
• School books for the curriculum
• Children’s book for the library
• Teaching material
• An extention of the maternity ward
• A shelter for expecting mothers and their young children

In Kabula Basic School:

• Tin roof for the 2-classroom building
• Window and door frames, doors and windows for the 2-classroom building
• Chairs and desks for the classrooms
• School books for the curriculum
• Children’s book for the library
• Teaching material

In Nakabunze Basic School:

• A computer room enabling the school to be in compliance with the new Zambian curriculum which now includes computer sciences
• Computers for the IT room
• Solar panels to power the computer room
• A new 2-classroom building
• New boards for a 2-classroom building
• Chairs and desks for the classrooms
• School books for the curriculum
• Children’s book for the library
• Teaching material

In Sioma High School:

• A refurbished dorm for girls (new tin roof, window and door frames, doors and windows, bed frames)
• Mattresses for girls and boys dorms
• A container to hold the power cells/batteries of the solar farm
• A pump connected to the solar farm enabling functioning showers
• School books for the curriculum
• Books for the library
• Teaching material
• Atlases for the Geography Department
• Maths tools for the Maths Department
• Computers for the Lab
• Chemicals and microscopes for the Chemistry Department
• Instruments for the Music Department
• Sponsoring for vulnerable students

 

• Who is our contact?

Our  contact and guide in Zambia is the manager of  ZEEC, Joe.

 

• What else needs to be done? What are the future projects?               

Highly motivated  group of students have helped gathering donations and launched a fundraising initiative to gather funds as the cost of shipping has increased with the current pandemic.

 

• Who are the other partners of the Zambia Project?

The Zambia Project originates from the Belgian branch of ZEEC.

A similar project is ran by the Swiss branch at the International School of Geneva.

 

There are other non-profit organizations working with ZEEC such as Empowered by Light. (http://empoweredbylight.org/http://empoweredbylight.org/)

Empowered by Light has provided, for instance, the solar farm to Sioma High School.

 

• How long has this Project been at EEB1?

The Zambia Project has been at EEB1 since 2001. It was started by Mrs Meyer who went on her first trip with 6 students.

Since 2010, the project is run by Mrs Thomas.

 

• What to know more, to be involved?

Contact Mrs Thomas and check the ZEEC website!

 

Email: agnes.thomas@teacher.eursc.eu