Education is the foundation of a brighter future, yet for many children in rural Zambia access to quality learning remains a challenge. Malundu Community School provides essential education to children across five villages in Chisamba District in the Central Province of Zambia. Around 2,000 people live in these communities, with children and young people making up an estimated 60% of the population.

Despite the school’s vital role, the school faced critical infrastructure shortages that hindered learning and limited opportunities.

The challenges

Malundu School was established in 2002. The school had only one classroom, after the second was deemed unsafe and taken down.

Despite this, over 300 students continued to attend the school. They were taught by just three dedicated teachers. With just one classroom in operation, some lessons were held in the nearby church hall. Other children learnt underneath the trees that formed the boundary of the school grounds.

Children at Malundu crowd around the Build It team as they scoped out new facilities for the school

In the background is the classroom that supported the youngest pupils. In the foreground is what remained of the old classroom that had to be taken down.

PTA Committee Member Patricia Chikankata shared: “With the construction of a new classroom block, I’m certain our children will begin to perform better. As it is at the moment, when they approach examination classes they are transferred to another school that is far. Many drop out. The few that continue, find it difficult to adapt to the distance and environment which results in low grades. So if they can be here for their exam classes, I believe they will do better.”

Inadequate facilities and no secure examination room means Malundu Community School could only accommodate students from Grade One to Grade Five. Some students continued their studies at Malombe Primary School, located about a 90-minute walk away or Luamabwe School, a 2-hour walk away. Pupils who moved to other schools often found it hard to continue because of the longer distance they had to cover cover. As a result, many children only attended classes from Monday to Wednesday.

The school had only a single pit latrine shared by all students and staff. Improving sanitation was a vital issue.

What we did with your support

• Constructed three new classrooms to improve the learning environment for the pupils
• Plus one room to establish a library to help improve literacy, with options for holding ICT lessons in the future
• Built a staff room, to support lesson planning and marking, and also a Head Teacher’s office with a secure strong room to store exam papers

• Constructed a latrine block for the pupils, and a separate smaller one for the teachers

• Trained 17 young people from the local area in construction skills, equipping them with opportunities for future employment.

PTA Committee Member Patricia Chikankata with her daughter Exhildah, who trained with us on the project, and daughter Mweene in Grade 6.