Location	Makangwe, Kafue, Zambia
Project start	May 2010
Project finish	February 2011
Partners	Zambian Open Community Schools
Trainees	16
Beneficiaries	810
Key Details	Two classroom block community school plus teachers house

Full Project details

In February 2011, two new classrooms, an office and a teacher’s house were completed at this rural community school 25km south of Zambia’s capital Lusaka. The project took nine months to complete. It has allowed the school to offer 20 additional places and is still growing.

The school was opened with a spectacular ceremony on February 15^th 2011. The whole community turned out for the event, including all the project trainees and local dignitaries. The Ministry of Education has since confirmed a donation of 20 desks and is allocating two additional qualified teachers. Solar power has been fitted thanks to a donation from the Ellis Campbell Foundation.

We caught up with Head teacher Idah Muchinzi, who says the work has made a real difference and the school is now looking to expand to include grade 9 to 12. This will enable orphans and vulnerable children to complete their schooling.

Project Trainees

After project completion, 15 trainees passed their trades tests and have now formed their own building co-operative. The trainees were supplied with toolkits to give them a helping hand. They have been awarded a contract to build a new teacher’s house.

Sabron Mulimba, immediately found work locally making concrete blocks. We were impressed with Sabron’s dedication and hard work and he is now working with Build IT at our first Health Clinic at Nchute.

'The classroom design is really good…clearly an important contribution. The builders at Mikumbila were all very proud of what they were in the process of achieving and of the fact they had gained qualifications in the process. All in all, a great success story!’ Carolyn Davidson, British High Commissioner.