Grace Academy involvement with Zambian Schools

During their trip to Zambia, Grace Academy spent several days with two Zambian schools.

Prior to the trip eight Grade 10 students from Christian Vision Academy had been asked to take part in paired activities. These involved face to face discussions where each student asked and answered questions about their life, interests and ambitions, using the opportunity to find out about life in a different culture.

For this activity they used the Bible College Chapel, which also serves as a school hall for assemblies:

While this was taking place, Sarah and Katie, the two English teachers accompanying the group took the remaining Grade 10 Class for a poetry lesson:

If you look closely at the table behind Sarah, you may notice that it is in fact a billiard table! Grade 10 have their lessons in the Bible College recreation room.

Katie and Sarah then took some other lessons in Grades 8 and 9, while the Grace students visited the homes of their Zambian paired student. Many of them live in simple African homes, sharing their bed with several siblings and having very few luxuries. This was an eye opener for the Grace students who realized that even the most humble of English dwellings are quite palace-like by comparison.

After lunch there was a cultural concert, with lots of Zambian and English singing and dancing:

The day spent with King's School in the nearby village of Mukobela was very different. The village has no mains water or electricity, so the students had another cultural experience - pumping water from the village well...

...and carrying it back to school:

We took a couple of assemblies at the school, and the teachers took some lessons:

But the main purpose of the visit to King's was to help paint their newly built secondary building.

Sue, the School Principal, and I had purchased the paint and rollers before Grace arrived in Zambia, so everyone soon got very busy:

Two coats to this main hallway were completed, plus painting a few greenboards (previously, blackboards).

The group photo at the end has some odd light splodges on it, which I think rather complement the many paint splodges on our clothes!

Sue is on the far left of this picture.

On Saturday 26th July, after Grace Academy had returned to England, the secondary building was officially opened, by a friend of Sue's from South Africa:

The guests were then invited to view the newly painted building:

Sue has involved her students and staff in every aspect of this project. They even made the college style chairs:

Of course, most of celebrations took place outside, with the students and their parents:

Grade 12 students wear suits and always look very smart despite the dusty conditions and limited laundry facilities:

I have enormous admiration for the work Sue is doing in Zambia. She has not only built two schools and three churches, she has ten Zambian children living in her home:

Her 87 year old mum was also visiting her - another amazing woman!

On top of the world!

One of the activities in the Grace Academy programme was a bush walk, which included climbing a local outcrop of iron ore, called Sanjay Hill:

It is a substantial pimple on the fairly flat landscape, but nevertheless, gives wonderful views in all directions.

The steep climb took a path covered with loose stones, but we all managed by holding onto overhanging branches for support and accompanied by several local kids from the farm site:

The top is made up of huge slabs of rock, which made a great place to sit, rest and take in the views:

On the hillside there are several interesting features.

A man who lives on the hillside, makes charcoal to sell locally:

However our guide, one of the Christian Vision guards, commented that this practise is gradually de-nuding the hill and making the paths unstable.

The hill's 'resident' sleeps in a natural cave, which provides some shelter from the cold winter nights at this time of year. Penny bravey posed at the entrance to the cave:

Another hole in the hill, is a mine shaft from some old workings. This time our guide refused to go into the entrance, warning us not to go in, as people have entered and not come back out!

We heard recently that Sanjay Hill may soon disappear from the landscape, as its heavy iron pyrite will soon be mined again. A steel works' is currently being built on the River Kafue. When it is complete the iron pyrite at Sanjay Hill will be 'harvested'. This project will have an enormous environmental and social impact on the area.

At present the route to Sanjay Hill is surrounded by small villages with traditional homes...

...and women carrying babies on their backs, gather sticks for burning on small fires:

I feel rather sad that this quiet way of life may go forever, to be replaced by heavy trucks thundering down the road which curently runs through the Christian Vision site.

As we were walking back a friend from a nearby village offered some of the kids a lift to the crossroads, on the back of her truck - it was another highlight and definitely not covered in the risk assessment!