We are thrilled to share an update from our latest community build project at Malundu Community School in Zambia’s Chisamba District.

Over 300 students currently attend the school, but with only one functioning classroom, many lessons have to take place in a nearby church hall or under trees.

Construction of new facilities will completely transform this rural school. We were delighted to break ground on 9 June 2025, with the project set to be completed by December 2025.

The new block will include three classrooms, plus a fourth multi-functional room for a library and future ICT lessons. There will also be a staff room, and a head teacher’s office with a secure strong room for storing exam papers. Sanitation will be improved with the construction of a pupil latrine block and a smaller, separate block for teachers.

25 young people from the local area have enrolled onto the project as part of our Training into Work programme.

Our Malundu trainees: 8 women and 17 men are learning with us

The trainees are gaining new technical and life skills, plus valuable real life experience working on the build. This will help equip them with the skills and confidence to find work

Progress to date

Contractor McCoys Building Solutions won the tender to deliver the build. They are working under the supervision of our Project Managers Prisca Fumpa and Gideon Mbilima.

The trainees are being supported by our Training Team, and will work alongside the contractor to gain real life experience of working on a construction project.

Meeting with Malundu community representatives before work begins. All our build projects are driven by the local community. We work together to identify issues and solutions.

Introducing the contractor to our new trainees

The team has made good progress, with foundations for all three structures well under way:

Excavations for the classroom block, ready for casting of concrete footing 

With the foundation blockwork completed, the team moved onto filling and compacting the ground inside the structure

Marking out of the latrines

With the concrete footing completed, work has started the lower blockwork of the latrines

Sustainable construction

We have started the production of interlocking Stabilised Soil Blocks (SSBs) which will be used for all three structures. These eco-friendly blocks can be made onsite by mixing earth with a small amount of cement or lime. This is then compacted into blocks by a hand-powered press or a machine.

Community involvement is key part of this process. Local community members will help to us to prepare the earth, process the blocks and stack them to dry. SSBs are then cured in the sun. There is no need for wood-fired kilns, which helps to reduce deforestation. Involving local people in the build helps to strengthen their connection and ownership of the project.

Testing the SSB making machine

Production of the first trial SSBs for testing

Thank you

We will keep you updated as the build progresses.

Thank you for your support. Together we’re building opportunities and a brighter future for people across the Malundu community.