HomeBuild IT’s 7th Zambian school selected – Makangwe School
Makangwe Community School – Zambia
Makangwe is a community about 26kms south of Lusaka. Although it is a rural, subsistence farming based community, those lucky enough to have jobs will be working in Lusaka.
The school exists at present but is woefully inadequate for the number of children it serves. There are currently 274 pupils enrolled and yet the school has just 1 2-classroom block for teaching grades 1-7.
It is a community school, which means it is outside of the government system. This is because, despite a Government commitment to free primary education, there are not enough facilities for all children to attend government schools. In addition many cannot afford to, as despite the education being free the “hidden costs” of uniforms, additional tutoring and materials costs put government education out of the reach of many.
Like many Zambian communities, Makangwe’s response has been to set up a local “community school” – funded and run by the community themselves. Some, like Makangwe, are lucky enough to be supported by organisations such as ZOCS (Zambian Open Community Schools) a local NGO which supports Community schools with teacher training, school materials and income generation projects.
The Makangwe School council
The school is community run and has a strong committee driving it forward. It has a hammer-mill which generates some income by grinding maize for people, and is hoping to start a kitchen garden and piggery in the next few years as a further step on the road to self sufficiency
With the help of a very generous UK donor, we will:
Build 1 x 2-classroom block
Build 1 teachers houses (the government has given a commitment to install a teachers if these are built)
During the build process we will train up to 15 unskilled workers from the local community in basic building schools.
The scheduled plan of work is:
- Nov 09–Feb 10 community consultation on design, final designs, bill of quantities & costings
- Oct 09–March 10 collection of raw materials by community (around 900 metric tonnes of aggregate sand & rock)
- March 2010 – selection of trainees
- April 2010 (subject to rains ending) work starts
Month 1 – basic training (2 hours per day in classroom, rest of day on site)
Months 2, 3, 4 – on the job training as the building progresses
Month 5 – trainees assessed at Lusaka Trades Testing Centre
Months 5-8 building completed using selected trainees as hired labour
If everything goes according to plan the building will be completed by November, ready for the new school year in Jan 2011.