The Tale of Two Villages

 In 2011 Bob and I visited the villages of Ikwele (pronounced e-quay-lay) and Kachere.  At the time Ikwele school served 230 students in grades 1 – 5 with two teachers. The community had made over 200,000 bricks to complete the school.  The source of water was this uncovered shallow well.  Below are some of the photos I took of the building and the community at that time. 

 

Community members sit proudly in front of their school in 2011

 

The open shallow well (2011)

I am happy to report that four years later they have not only completed the brick building but another larger building as well.  The old well is gone and a borehole is available for the community. 

The school serves 320 students in grade 1 – 7 with eight teachers making the class size average 40 students to one teacher rather than 115 students to one teacher.  The school reports they have a feeding program called Mary’s Meal for the children organized through an NGO. They also mentioned using a program called Teaching for Transformation introduced to them by the CCAP that emphasizes Bible study and prayer and the students and teachers are really enjoying it. 

The teachers with Mabuchi in front of their new school

Bob and I pose with members of the village and CCAP (2011)

The second village is Kachere (or Kachele since “r” and “l” are interchangeable)  In 2011 I noted that the building was comprised of several poles with some thatch on the top for a roof (see photo below). There were two teachers serving 98 three – six year olds for 3 hours each day.  They had no primary school at the time. Of course there were no materials to teach primary school such as books, paper or pencils if they had wanted.  The teachers at the time reported making home visits to encourage parents to send their children to school but many parents were discouraged by the extreme poverty and didn’t see how education would be helpful.  The women were walking several kilometers a day to get water.  I remember being grateful I was wearing sunglasses so the teachers weren’t able to see the tears welling up in my eyes when I looked around and saw what I viewed to be a bleak situation.  

School building in 2011 - note the little one in the foreground

In my principal's office at home I kept a copy of the 

The young one front and center - four years later

photo above to remind myself of how much we have and how grateful we should be.  I was happy to meet the little girl in the foreground in the purple and white dress when I visited this time.  She and her friends posed for this new picture.   

Mabuchi and the teachers at the borehole

Kachere is probably the most encouraging story I have seen thanks to this hard working community and some generous sponsors.  A church in New Jersey donated the borehole that was recently completed.  And a sponsor in California has helped with the beautiful school building. 

This woman now carries clean water only a short distance to her home

Teachers and students pose in front of their new building

The school has five teachers serving 120 students in grades 1 – 4.  They have some teaching materials and are anticipating furniture in the future.  They were proud to show us their school, their community, and the historic Kachere tree for which the village is named.

The Kachere tree

More School Visits in the Bush of Eastern Province

Our visits to schools continued with a visit to Molosi, Mtelwe, Donje and Kavinaka.  We were able to visit the first three villages in one day but due to the distance from Lundazi to Kavinaka we had to make a special trip taking the good part of another day to reach Kavinaka.

MOLOSI

I have visited Molosi a few times in the past.  I found out that Mr. Lungu, a long time teacher, had quit teaching, student enrollment had decreased, and only one government teacher remained.  After a conversation with the government teacher I asked if I could speak with Mr. Lungu.  Mr. Lungu came to the school and I encouraged him to start teaching again in the next term.  I am hoping he is able to do so.  He really loves the children and they love him.  I think he became discouraged with the lack of support from the community.

The government school teacher and Mr. Lungu pose with some of the students

MTELEWE 

Posing with the headman and several villagers

Although I know one of the teachers, Drackson Banda, I had never visited his village.  He was not around to meet us but the headman of the village greeted us enthusiastically. I was encouraged to find out the headman is a retired government-school teacher.  He supports education and is a positive influence on the village in this regard. 

Mabuchi with the volunteer teacher and his young friend

The other teacher is young and enthusiastic.  He seems to love children as evidenced by carrying this young one as we walked along. The school building is finished, complete with a floor and desks but little to no materials.  The school would also like their own borehole so they do not have to share with the village and the cattle.

Cattle line up to get a drink at the borehole

The village itself is clean and the villagers - very industrious.  They have made many blocks to use for constructing new buildings.  Their houses are beautifully well-maintained.  There is much pride in this village.

Some of the thousands of bricks the villagers have made.

DONJE

Mubuchi poses with some of the teachers including Mr. Zimba in the bright blue shirt

Our final stop for the day was Donje.  I was pleased to greet Chifubu Zimba, a teacher Bob and I have both trained.  He grasps concepts quickly and reports he still uses many of the instructional strategies he learned a couple years ago.  The school has 5 teachers, 2 whom I have trained in the past.  I was unable to observe any classes in session since we arrived late in the day.  The school appears to be growing in this supportive community.  The school however has no floor which become quite muddy in the rainy season and the villagers must walk 2 – 3 kilometers to the stream for water, as they have no borehole.  They are looking forward to continuing the development of their village.

KAVINAKA

The following day we headed to a very rural village called Kavinaka.  On the way we stopped at this market where the woman pictured here extended her hand into the car and told me I need to buy "this."  I don’t know about you but it looked like some type on dung to me and I couldn’t understand why I would need to buy it.  Mabuchi explained it was floor wax to apply to cement floors.  I told the woman I was sorry but didn't need any wax at this time.  I’m happy to report by the time we returned to the market later that afternoon the woman had sold all her floor wax.

The new school building

We arrived in Kavinaka where  three school buildings and a fourth one is almost completed.  The village plans to tear one of the temporary buildings down when the new school is finished.  There are 3 teachers in the school, one whom I’ve trained in the past. 

The students have no furniture but learning appears to be taking place.  The villagers are grateful to the World Servants, a group from the Netherlands, who started building the school in August.  They also expressed the difference a borehole has made to their daily lives.

Mubuchi poses with the three teachers

CCAP Education Director, Rev Nehemiah Mukwayi

Mr. Moffit Zulu

As I completed the visits to schools in the bush, I have noticed some common themes.  Many communities are making progress regarding school buildings, teacher houses, and boreholes thanks to the tireless effort of the CCAP Education Department (Rev. Mukwayi and Mr. Zulu) and efforts to coordinate with partners in Europe, Canada and the US. The District Education Boards (DEBS) office seems to be responding to school needs with various materials and even some reading programs.  Many villages however still do not have a borehole, electricity, needed school materials or a way to compensate their volunteer teachers.  Much work and training is still needed.

Bringing light and life to those who do the same

I’m constantly reminded why I’m here when I see the faces of the children, witness the commitment of the volunteer teachers, experience the beautiful singing, and encounter the genuineness of the people.  An additional “perk” is running into others that come for various reasons to support the Zambians.  The past few days I had such an experience.

Karl Klontz, Shane and Rev. Zimba

About 6 or 7 months ago Dr. Karl Klontz, a physician, contacted Dr Chilenje to ask about installing solar panels in Malawi or Zambia.  It was decided that this would be an excellent opportunity for Chasefu Theological College to have power.  The seminary students are housed in a small hostel with only small individual solar lights.  Dr. Klontz and his recent college graduate friend Shane, spent several days along with Rev. Zimba completing the project. 

The solar panels were installed on the roof the first day. 

The wiring from the panels to the large batteries as well as light fixtures, took a few more days.  Finally the hostel has light and the students have the ability to charge their cell phones and lap tops. 

Mubuchi gets ready to switch on the lights

VIOLA!

There is a shortage of Presbyterian ministers here and the college is hoping to continue to grow and train more for ministry.  Projects like this one provide infrastructure to support this growth.

While visiting the hostel and witnessing “light” coming to the students, I was also able to visit the borehole financed by our family and friends; another project that provides infrastructure.  A few years ago our son Evan and daughter-in-law Sarah wanted to do something for Zambia in honor of their dad, Bob.  They had saved a large sum of money that started the project.  At the time of Bob’s mother’s death some friends and family donated funds in her honor.  It was her wish to bring water somewhere in Zambia. After consulting with mission co-worker Nancy about possible places for a borehole, we decided on Chasefu where seminary students are trained.  With the funds from our children, our friends, and the balance from us, the borehole project was purchased.  Chasefu not only trains Presbyterian ministers but is developing a demonstration farm that will generate income for the seminary.  The borehole will also bring water for irrigating the farm.  I was pleased to not only see the seminary students using the borehole but several women and children from the nearby village filling their containers.

Some of the seminary students posing with me.

Boreholes and solar projects can change lives.  Women no longer need to walk several kilometers to and from the stream each day for water.  A borehole can save hours of time and provide healthy water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.  Solar projects allow students to study longer and communicate more effectively through use of computers, cell phones, and other electronics.  Providing more light and life giving water to the seminary students seemed fitting since they bring spiritual light and life to those they serve.

Shane poses with seminary students

Dr. Klontz is thanked

Words of gratitude

If you are interested in donating to either a solar project or borehole let me know.

School in the Bush

During the 1920s the British government asked Victor Murray to go to Africa and visit various schools in the colonies.  He wrote a book called School in the Bush documenting his findings. While the British looked down on the Africans, thinking their vernacular was too simplistic to understand complex concepts and thus needed to learn English, Mr. Murray saw the complexities of their languages and culture and argued for allowing them to be taught in both English and the local language. The term “the bush” is sometimes still used today meaning the rural area or village.  Yesterday I began my visits to the CCAP community schools in Eastern Province out by the Malawi border.  As we bounced along dirt roads in our mini-van looking out at the brick and clay houses still made by hand, I thought about Victor Murray and how much has changed and how much looks much the same.  At times I feel a bit like Mr. Murray straddling my American culture while trying to understand the various nuances of the Zambian culture.

 

Dr. Chilenje and Nancy Collins

Wednesday morning we left Lusaka around 6 am and started off for Lundazi in Eastern Province.  The trip takes all day (12+ hours).  We were able to watch the sun rise and set in the same day while traveling in the car. My traveling companions included Nancy, the PCUSA Mission Co-worker whom Bob and I have known since 2011, Dr. Chilenje, professor, minister, and Synod of Zambia moderator, Dr. Karl Klontz and soon to be med student, Shane.  Karl and Shane are here to install a solar system at Chesefu Seminary. 

The solar instillation team: Karl, Shane and Rev. Zimba

The education team

My friend and recently appointed coordinator of the community schools for CCAP, Mabuchi, is also here from Lusaka.  She and I are visiting schools and reporting to the Synod.  While the rest of the group from Lusaka headed to Chesefu (about 45 minutes from here) Mabuchi and I met our hosts, Rev. Nehemiah and Moffat Zulu and started off visiting schools.  Each school has at least one teacher that has had training from me while the rest of the teachers are new.  Some of the teachers are government school teachers assigned to community schools as a way to support learning in rural Zambia.  Like their counterparts in Lusaka, the community schools in Eastern Province struggle to find adequate supplies, pay their teachers, and encourage the children to attend school regularly. Unlike Lusaka, the schools here receive more help from the government and thus have more resources.  There is also an acceptance of the practice of marrying off ones young teenage daughter in exchange for a cow or other payment, known as “early marriage.”  Some girls as young as 13 or 14 are married off, get pregnant, and never return to school.  In many villages this is an accepted practice.

 

Mr. Nyirenda models using a 100s chart for double digit addition

During the past two days we visited seven schools. Six of the schools have had training from me (and my colleagues) in the past.  At least one teacher at each school still remains from 2013.  As is the case in Lusaka, many of the strongest teachers have moved on and are no longer teaching.  Only a few teachers are continuing the practices they were taught.  There is much work to be done.

Children wanting a closer look at the "mazungu" who is visiting their village

These teachers practice multi-grade teaching quite effectively

Log entry from Rebecca and my visit in 2013 - Rebecca, did you write this?

Mabuchi points out her 7th grade classroom

School Visits in Lusaka

The CCAP community schools, like most community schools throughout Africa serve the neediest children, many are orphaned and living with relatives. Parents and guardians are asked to pay a small fee to help with teacher salaries and materials.  Most of the 8 schools in Lusaka receive little to no payment from parents yet continue to allow students to attend the school.  This means the schools are serving the needs of children but teachers are working without compensation, making it difficult to retain trained teachers. 

One of the new teachers who teachers because he cares about the children

Of the 30 teachers only 13 have remained since the training in April.  The other 17 are either new or have never attended training in the past. This is the case at Mandevu where all but one teacher I’ve trained in the past has left and the children have followed them to their new schools.  School enrollment is quite small compared to what it was previously. The school must work to build their program back again.
 

Teacher Fanley has remained at Matero

The teachers at Matero however have been there many years.  The school is growing in numbers and highly regarded in the community. The school serves children in pre-school through grade 4.  They would like to add teachers and grade levels but finding enough teachers is a challenge.  The pre-school and kindergarten program serves 70 children with two teachers! 

Teacher Rebecca with her 70 pre-school and kindergartners

As I visit classrooms I am encouraged by engagement strategies I see implemented.  Some of the teachers who have attended the trainings have passed these strategies on to the new teachers.  In the classrooms where teachers have received training I see students discussing and comparing answers, sometimes using math manipulatives, acting concepts out, teachers pausing before calling on students, checking for understanding and teachers teaching two grade levels at once.  

Students discuss with their partner and must agree before they raise their hands - Think Pair Share

In one school the seventh grade passing rate has been 100% for two years now.  The teacher believes her instruction methods have greatly improved from the training and coaching – thus learning has increased. 

Students work together to solve 2 X 7 using their 2 sets of fingers

Working together using stones as counter

A little more work is needed here on student engagement 

The increase in new untrained teachers however means that many of the teaching methods and strategies demonstrated in the CCAP schools are very traditional and not best practice.  This means starting at the beginning with most of the teachers. 

This week I have realized that even though the focus of this project is training teachers to build capacity and increase student learning, the need to retain teachers is also important.  Training might increase teacher effectiveness but if the trained teachers are no longer at the school then our students cannot benefit from the training.  This project should also include ideas for self-sustaining income generation to retain teachers. More posts on that later. 

A younger brother brings lunch to school for his older sister

Wifi has been quite a challenge this week making blogging difficult.  Hopefully I can find some solutions.  In the meantime I am not too concerned since technology challenges are all part of being in Africa.

One of the perks of this work -- cute children!

The cuteness overwhelms me sometimes!

The students at Linda wave good-bye