Linda Community School
Linda Community School has been ranked among the best performing schools in Lusaka province for many years despite being one of the poorest compounds in Lusaka. This has been achieved despite limited facilities.
“I was asked what the school need and I said, ‘a science lab,’” explains Head Teacher Doreen Nzila. “We want to create doctors and economists in our community, and a science lab is the best way to do it.” It was difficult to teach science and so our students struggled when taking their Grade 9 exams.
What we did with your support:
With generous support from our corporate partner BGL Group we were able to build a science laboratory in 2016.
We trained 20 young unemployed men and women in basic building skills at Linda. The trainees learned on site while the new build was constructed and earned a nationally recognised building certificate.
An important aspect of Build It’s training programme is life-skills which helps to equip our trainees for the world of work. Graduates from Linda explained “we learnt how to work together as a team and how team members should communicate among each other.”
By the time the last nail had been hammered into the roof, Doreen had sorted out gas and chemicals for chemistry and the teaching materials for biology classes.
According to Linda’s head teacher, “These labs have increased motivation of our children to study and to be interested in science. It was very difficult before we had these labs as pupils´ absenteeism from science class was quite high. .”
From the time the laboratories were opened in Feb 2017, pupil enrollment rate has increased from 1,285 to 1,726 in 2018! Pass rates have also increased.
Before the school had its own laboratories, the pass rate for male pupils in grade nine was 67% and 62% for female pupils. After the construction of the laboratories, 96% of male pupils and 87% of female pupils have passed their exams.
“It’s so much easier to understand our work now, and much more interesting now that it feels more real,” says Manyale Banda, a Grade 9 pupil at the school. “We can see and feel what we’re learning, which we couldn’t before.” Inspired by her science lessons, Manyale now wants to study medicine and work in a children’s hospital.
Looking forward:
Thanks to the generosity of BGL and in the capable hands of Head teacher Doreen we are confident that the children of Linda will continue to thrive.
