Zamcog Newsletter Autumn 2011

Its been over a year since we sent out our last newsletter, and things here at Zamcog have been rather busy! The growth and success at Shitima school has been unimaginable in the last year. We have really managed to secure our place in the Kabwe community and are now making people realise education really is the key to change in Zambia! Our school has now expanded to over 300 hundred boys and girls, who as you know have come from the poorest homes and the streets. My proudest moment so far however, has to be seeing 4 of our original intakes graduating and securing places at Zambian national universities, all with 100% government scholarships. Without your continued support, Zamcog would not have been able to see such achievements, something these children could never have dreamed of! We have recently received enough funding to embark on the completion of our grade 10-12 facility. This will allow all the students at Shitima to work towards a place at university or gain a secure and safe job. For this I would like to thank you all for giving and urge you not to stop! This newsletter is just a quick insight into the latest developments and upcoming projects here at Zamcog. I am so proud of all we have achieved and hope we can continue to grow stronger together! Julie-Anne Uggla. Founder and Director

www.zamcog.org.uk info@zamcog.org.uk twitter: @zamcog

The latest at Shitima

Shitima School is always busy and the classrooms are always filled with eager minds. Other than the general teaching, there are a number of updates from Shitima. There is a new Reading Program at Shitima School, another of the impressive programs that are in place at the school. Run by Br Silvio, along with his helpers, Justin (Muma) and Esther, this program works with grades 2 through 5 on a daily basis, giving lessons that introduce the students to basics and the joys of reading. In the future the school may want to explore getting the homeroom teacher involved in these classes, to allow them to coordinate the reading program with their own curriculum. As Shitima continues to grow, it is common to see contractors and outside workers engaged in their craft at the school. The sports field, the guardhouse, the outdoor kitchen, and the just begun new Dorm D, are all encouraging signs for a bright future at Shitima. The renovations in the sports area turned out to be more extensive than initially thought. However, the school will boast, in the very near future, a football pitch that will truly be the envy of Kabwe (rivaling even that of the professional team, the Kabwe Warriors). Likewise, the basketball court is looking splendid, and the netball court and beach volleyball court should be fine sporting facilities for the students. Furthermore, we purchased and planted 31 young banana trees, building a mini orchard behind the water tanks. Development of new types of crop in the garden facilitated by your money to purchase more seeds and young plants. The school has begun selling tomatoes and cabbage to local marketers and stands, and have sorted a deal to sell to Kabwe General Hospital. This is something that will require the co-operation of management and the garden staff to fully realise. It seems that the school is growing out of its infancy at a rapid pace and its developments are testament to how your help can kick-start an entire community! One of the other exciting projects that I had the chance to be involved in was the development of a microfinance initiative with the Assistant Carpenter at the school, Elias Banda. Thanks to the generous donation made by Finolas mother, Elias was handed the opportunity of a lifetime. The money was to be used to buy the tools that would allow Elias to develop as a professional. Together with Mr Mwelwe, Elias and Cluny set down the terms of what could be a model for other recipients in the future.

Finola McManus- visit to Shitima February 2011

I first wrote about the impact my first visit to Shitima in 2010. Some six months later and I returned for my second visit in early 2011. I was interested to see what had changed and if I would continue to feel that what we were doing to help the children at Shitima really was making a difference. What a difference 6 months makes ! As soon as I arrived I could see Maize growing tall in the gardens and ready to be used in the school kitchens. The children now had a basketball court to play on and the school was full of both our older children and a new intake of 7 year olds in desperate need and a thirst for learning. This time I had brought along my 8 year old son for the visit and must admit to being anxious with how he would cope. Within minutes, my son was making friends and playing. Of course, he couldnt understand why food was considered a luxury and was bemused at how all the children seemed eternally excited at the prospect of going to school and would happily spend two hours walking to school and arrive before 8am every morning ! A far cry from his own life where he chooses what to eat and has to be hauled out of bed every day to be driven to school on time! Five days later and it was time to leave. I was left in no doubt that every penny My son, Luke was really moved by his visit to Shitima, I think his interaction with children of his age, from an entirely different world had an unprecedented effect on him. He has written a small piece for this newsletter: In February half-term I went to visit the Shitima School with my mum. I was very nervous and didnt know what to expect, I had never been to Africa before. After 10 hours on the plane, we first went to the Brothers house, where I played basketball with the cook. It was very hot even though it was the rainy season. So....the answer is still yes- what we are all doing continues to make a very real and important difference to the lives of the children at Shitima. Our support is often the difference between life and death. raised is squeezed to get the most out of it ! Smiling faces waved us off and our departure felt bittersweet. We were sad to say goodbye but already looking forward to our next trip to see those children grow and develop into responsible young adults who will ultimately support themselves in adulthood. I really loved my trip and hope to go back and visit my friends one day The roads in Zambia are very bumpy and it took us nearly 3 hours to get to Kabwe in a truck. On the way I noticed people carried things on their head. There were lots of children playing by the road, many of them had no shoes and torn clothes. I also noticed their were not proper houses, just small huts. When we finally arrived at Shitima School I noticed that there were lots of happy children, they were very friendly to me. My friends were called Kasmir, Peter, Edgar, Ester and Lanson. We played basket ball. When we played they took their shoes off because they didnt want to get them dirty or damaged, they even did this when they walked to school. Some of my friends didnt leave the school because they have no family or homes. They had their own bed at the school and took lots of care to make their bed each morning. They didnt have many things, no toys or possessions. I gave them lollipops, and they were really happy.

This summer, Martin Rashdi, Principal Partner at St Jamess Place Wealth Management took on a mammoth challenge, rightly named the Iron Man. He did this in aid of Zamcog, raising nearly 13,000. He has written a short piece outlining the day: On Sunday 2nd July my morning alarm went off at 4am and butterflies started early. I forced down some toast before getting on the coach which was taking us to the lake - the coach was full but deadly silent.

The sound of the packed grandstand finish was incredible. The last 200m brought a great sense of relief, and joy and the words belted out by the announcer over the speakers Martin Rashdi - You are an Ironman were most welcome. The finish line was awesome. My total time was 13hrs 36mins (swim - 1hr 38mins, cycle 6hrs 44mins, marathon 4hrs 54mins) It was a great day and an amazing experience and even though I will not rush to do it again I would never say never again! As if this wasnt enough Martins wife, Anna completed the London Triathlon

The day started with a mass swim. 2800 bodies hit lake Worthersee, Klagenfurt, Austria at exactly 7.00am. After being kicked, punched and nearly drowned I found some Clearwater and settled in to a 1hr 38min 3.8km swim (my weakest event) but great experience all the same. The bike consisted of 2x 90km loops with total climbing of 1700m. The first loop felt good and went quite quickly but the second loop was tough with the heat of the day taking its toll, and I practically crawled up the last hill passing only a few people who had got off their bikes and were walking. Eating and drinking on the bike is crucial and every half an hour I was eating a gel or jam sandwich. I drank about 6l of water during the bike. The support on the hills was in the style of the Tour de France and the shouts of op oop oop and the sound of cow bells, which are still ringing in my head! Eventually T2 (transition from bike to run) came and I waddled out on to the start of the marathon. By the time I started the run the overall winner had finished (and broken the world record I was determined to not walk during the first half of the marathon which I somehow managed. The second half was pure pain but I often thought of the money I was raising and how my one day of hardship paled into insignificance compared to the children the money was going to support.

raising over 1500! We are so grateful for their efforts, both physical and financial. The money has indeed gone a long way to continue facilitating an education for the children of Shitima School.

Volunteer update: Cluny MacPhearson

At first there were nerves and apprehension, fear of a land so completely unknown, and the negative impressions left on me from a lifetime of seeing the African continent through the Western, disaster-ridden, medias lens. I had no idea what to pack, no idea what I would eat and, most disconcerting of all, not a clue what kind of reception I would receive from the Zambian people. I was committed to working at Shitima Community School for six months, but knew very little of what awaited me. Would I feel safe, would I be safe? I had been vaccinated against illnesses that I had not known existed a few months earlier? It was not without reservation that I stepped off the plane in Lusaka and inhaled my first breath of African air, as we embarked on the two hour drive up the Great Northern Road, to Kabwe. A few months later, I would look back on these moments of doubt and laugh to myself. At Shitima School, and in Zambia, I found much more than I had hoped for and very little of what I had feared. From the quaint streets of Kabwe to the funfilled, full of activity, schoolyard at Shitima, I was continually aware of the beauty and warmth of my surroundings. Living with the resident students gave me the opportunity to share in their lives for some time, to get to know them as a people and as individuals. Visiting the homes of some of the other students introduced me to the typical lifestyle of the local community. Zambia seemed to embrace me with open arms. Everywhere I went; people would approach me, shake my hand and ask me where I was from. Did I like Zambia? I certainly did. What was it like in Canada? Cold, was my usual response. And it is. Returning to the Western world came with its share of culture shock.

People ignoring each other in the street, yelling or honking at some perceived offense, and eyeing each other with a suspicion stemming from a material world that sometimes gets the best of us. I am now preparing to return to Kabwe, to continue working at the school, and it is, in part, the warmth of the culture that draws me. People who do not have much sometimes enough, sometimes not who will invite one to join them for a meal, and song or a story. There is an understanding of life in that place that seems lacking here, an inherent connection to community and family that teaches and comforts as much as it feeds and clothes. However, the economic reality of the region places an enormous burden on the people of Zambia, and it is as much as most families can do to get by, with not much surplus to invest in education and its accompanying costs. This is where Shitima School plays such an important role in the local community, offering a free education to those most vulnerable. I feel fortunate to have spent time at the project and to have the chance to return. As much as we have a role to play in helping to educate these children in Kabwe, we have also the opportunity to learn lessons that have long been forgotten in parts of our own world. By getting involved one has the chance to teach, but perhaps more significant is the unbelievable chance to learn.

Shitimas First Alumnus at University

Jackson Limande was one of the original group of children who joined the Shitima Street Kids Project when it was launched back in 2002. Over the years Jackson persevered in his studies and successfully completed the Zambian equivalent of GCSEs at Kabwe High School in 2009. Thanks to a generous sponsor in the UK, he then undertook sixth-form studies at Hillcrest Technical High School in Livingstone. In February 2011 Jackson was delighted to learn that his A-level results in physics, chemistry and maths placed him third in his year group at Hillcrest. On the basis of those outstanding results, he was accepted to the University of Zambia where he began studies in engineering on 13th July. Best of all, Jacksons academic record and his background of poverty made him eligible for a government bursary for 100% of fees! Zamcog, however, continues to support his education by funding his basic living expenses and incidental educational costs. Jackson is now happily established with three roommates on the Universitys main campus in Lusaka. He writes, Words alone cannot adequately express how grateful I am! Words also cannot express the pride that we feel in Jackson, the first member of the Shitima family to enter university! It is Jacksons success that has pushed us to commission the building of a grade 1012 facility at Shitima School we want all of our kids to have the same opportunity to further education! This year, Zamcog is very lucky to be the chosen charity of the DONT WALK fashion show at the University of St Andrews. The show, that will take place in March, is a student run fashion show that is the highlight of the student calendar. The show was brought to the medias attention when, the now Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton was found out to have modelled in the show. Each year the show aims to raise a significant sum for its chosen charity, and at the same time raising awareness to the charity in the media and to the shows corporate sponsors. In depth meetings between Zamcog and the shows organisation committee have already begun and we hope, here at Zamcog, that we will form an invaluable bond between the show and the kids at Shitima.

Dont Walk, 10th March 2012

Zamcog events calendar

Bonhams, London, 21st September 2011 Christmas Auction, 7th November 24th December 2011 Enduro Africa Challenge, January 2012 Dont Walk Fashion Show, 10th March 2012