Having been in Mufulira for more than 27 years, worked for the Ministry of Education for 31 years and being the Board Chairperson of an NGO called Zambia Education Advocacy Organization (ZEDAO) for 12 years. I would like to give support and recommend Olive Tree International for proposing to open a school for the vulnerable children in Luansobe.
Mufulira is a mining town with a population of 125,336. After privatization and Structural Adjustment Plan (SAP) which took place starting 2001 a lot of parents lost employment in the mines. Almost the same time the government sold houses to all the sitting tenants.
Many families however failed to remain in those houses due to poverty. They went to stay in shanty compounds in the peri area of Mufulira after selling those houses. There are a good number of these shanty compounds around Mufulira town.
Most of the people in the shanty compounds are economically poor. Majority of them are even failing to send their children to school. There are also a good number of children who are orphaned. Majority of them have remained orphans after loosing their parents through HIV/AIDS. A good number or the orphans are being kept mostly by their elderly grandparents who cannot afford to send them to school, give them proper food and other basic necessities.
Parents or guardians in these areas are failing to send their children to schools because they cannot manage the school necessities like school fees, uniforms, books and pens/pencils. We also witness poor attendance by pupils because some abscond classes due to hunger. Others could not even come to school because they will not have energy to sit on the desk and learn because of hunger.
To hear of the plans by the Olive Tree International to build a school in Luansobe area has excited a lot of people in Mufulira. It is gratifying to note that, Olive Tree International has come up the program intended to promote children s’ education by sponsoring the education of the vulnerable children. Since they will have a feeding program in place, this shall encourage very much pupils attendance. It is good also to hear that Olive Tree International will come up with various business programs to try and empower the local community economically.
It is because of the fore- said that I can strongly recommend and support the beginning of the programs by the Olive Tree International.
Yours faithfully,
Mumbi Kashiwa
PRINCIPAL: MALDEC COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
BOARD CHAIRPERSON OF ZEDAO
FORMER HEAD OF KANTANSHI SECONDARY SCHOOL