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We have a way to make positive changes, but we know that we are only scratching the surface of what is needed in Zambia.

By 2021 we want to double our investment in Zambia to increase the number of young builders by 500% and transform the lives of 150,000 people.

Our vision is an Africa in which everyone has an opportunity to work and thrive. We know that this won’t happen unless people have the education, skills and support to create and take advantage of the opportunities that a growing continent provides.

Having laid the foundations for growth, we want to take a bold leap forward.

Our Building Brighter Futures Appeal (2017 – 2021) aims to achieve:

• 500% increase in the number of young builders we train: We want to expand our building skills training programme to reach 1,460 men and women in Zambia. This would mean supporting 460 young people per year, five times the number we supported in 2016.
• Completion of our training centre: Our new training facility in Lusaka, our Centre for Excellence, will help us to increase the number of trainees we can support, as well as the number of courses we can offer. It will become a hub for construction skills training and small business development helping to bring together graduates and employers.
• More community building projects: Our newly trained bricklayers, plasterers and carpenters will help us build schools and health centres in 13+ disadvantaged communities in Zambia with an estimated 130,000 people benefiting over the next 25 years.

 

After his parents died in 2005 Gosten moved with his young family to Lusaka, where Gosten looked for work as a construction worker. He worked in Lusaka’s building industry for 10 years, but without any building training or qualification, his earning potential remained limited. Gosten was one of the Build It trainees learning new skills while working on the construction of the science labs at Linda School.

“Best of all, by the end of my training I had a qualification on paper that I could show clients, so that they’d trust me with their houses” Gosten explains.

“I’m now able to take care of my family without worrying,” Gosten shares. “I’m saving for my own plot to build a big house for them. I love building houses!”

Photo credit: By Jennifer Bruce for Communication for Development Ltd