Previously:
Light of Hope School is in community of around 250 households, situated on the edge of the town of Livingstone. Recent crop failures have made rural life very difficult, and has seen more families moving into this semi-urban area.
The children urgently needed a local school as they were travelling long distances to Nyanzabili town. The community took matters into their own hands, building a basic classroom on land gifted to them by the local Headman.
Within two years, school enrolment had grown to nearly 200 children. The existing school structure was unstable and unsustainable.
The school had four volunteer teachers who were struggling to cope. Without a proper building and sanitation, the Ministry of Education would not send qualified teachers to educate the children. There were no latrines or appropriate hand washing facilities.
Old classroom at Light of Hope Community School
What we did with your support:
- Built a three-classroom school building, with office for the staff and a strong room to keep exam papers secure
- Built a latrine block to help improve the health of the children, and encourage more girls to stay in education as they grow up
- Built a hand wash station with space for 18 children to wash their hands all at the same time. This was delivered as part of our Safe Hands initiative – our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Built a teacher’s house, which has enabled the Government to send trained teacher Mr Setty Hakopa to the school. This will help improve the level of education delivered.
Due to the challenges caused by the pandemic, no new trainees were attached to this project. Instead a smaller team of more experienced graduates were employed to deliver this work, giving them further opportunities to develop their skills.
Celebrations at the official opening in June 2021
New teacher Mr Setty Hakopa in front of the teacher’s house
Qualified teachers means higher standard of education for the children
Enrolment at Light of Hope has continued to increase since the new facilities opened. In June 2022 enrolment was at 300 pupils (156 boys ad 144 girls).
The school has applied for support for an additional three-classroom block and further desks through the Constituency Development Fund. It is currently waiting to hear if the application has been successful.
Thank you for your support – together we are #BuildingBrighterFutures.
