“Ensuring the people of the Luangwa Valley gain the

full benefit from tourism by investing in education and business development.”

Welcome to Project Luangwa

 We believe as a charity operating in Zambia that by developing and improving schools and creating training opportunities we can help families have the chance of a lasting and sustainable income. 100% of each and every donation is guaranteed to go directly to your nominated project.

Our aim is to create an effective, coordinated approach to helping local communities improve their long term economic prospects whilst avoiding a negative impact on the environment and wildlife. 

When we visited Kakumbi Basic School we asked some of the teachers to write to us and describe some of the problems they and the children face daily. Below are extracts from these letters.  

 

When we visited Kakumbi Basic School we asked some of the teachers to write to us and describe some of the problems they and the children face daily. Below are extracts from these letters. 

Kakumbi letters

Meet the teachers . . .. . . from Kakumbi Basic School

                      

Tasila Tonga Mwale"My name is Tasila Tonga and I am married with two sons and I am keeping two girls, who are orphans. Karen Beattie and David Hopson visited our school and we were really glad to see them. Children at our school face a lot of difficulties and they have to walk long distances.  Most of them have no uniforms or shoes for them to wear to school.  The school has over 400 pupils and only 5 rooms to accommodate them.  The pupils could double if we had enough classrooms and staff houses. We are forced to over-enroll each year because parents have realized the importance of education." 

Elijah Mwale"I am married to a beautiful lady known as Tasila Tonga [the headmistress] and we have two children named Rabin and Zachariah, aged 7 and 3 years. We have many challenges here in our profession. Due to poor infrastructure we teach pupils of different ages in the same class. Most classes are more than 60 pupils. Teachers face problems of over enrolment and this makes it difficult to teach the slow learners.Accommodation is another problem . . . many teachers have no house and have to rent [huts] in the villages. Many pupils are orphans and depend on donor meals. most come to school without eating anything."

Philimon Moses Mwale"About myself: I am a male Zambian teacher  . . .35 years old and married with three children, one girl and two boys. My friends, schools here are different from those you have in Europe.I teach grade 3 and have 72 children crowded in one classroom. Desks are not enough and there is no lighting system.  The ages of my pupils is 12 to 15 years. These children have difficulties in buying school essentials." 

Betty Kapensa"My name is Betty Kapensa and I am 30 years old. I don't have accommodation near the school, instead I am renting a house four kilometers away.I have 65 pupils in Grade 2 and find it difficult to concentrate on the slow learners.We don't have enough learning and teaching materials, e.g.. books reading books, charts, paints, crayons, water colors, or story books. About half my class are orphans, either double or one parent." 

 Anna Lubinga Chola"I am handling a class of 76 pupil, the learners cannot be divided because there is no other classroom. The pupils do not have enough textbook; they share 10 textbooks amongst 76 pupils.They have no uniform and no books because they have no parents. Since the classrooms are overcrowded the furniture we have is not enough; pupils have to sit on the floor. Children do not have enough pens, pencils, exercise and textbooks and we have no teaching aids . . . . no electricity. We use candles to write our lesson plans for the next day."

Cecilia Chulu Micheal"My name is Cecilia Chulu Micheal. I am single and 25 years old. Currently I am a teacher at Kakumbi school teaching Grade 1.  These are the difficulties and challenges I am facing in my career as a teacher:So many pupils in the class hence it is difficult to teach effectively. Pupils have no uniforms as most of them have no parents. I have problems of few teaching and learning materials such as exercise books, pencils, crayons, wall charts, and textbooks. Teachers' houses are not in good condition." 

Paul Mwembe"I am 29 years old  . . . currently a teacher [at Kakumbi]. I joined the career with the passion  of a Zambian child in the year 2005. Challenges faced in my career are teaching 72 children in one classroom, inadequate teaching and learning materials such as exercise books, wall charts, pencils and pens for the children and most of the children are orphaned.There are no extra evening lessons because the school is not powered  . . .so solar equipment would be of great help. Learning is made difficult due to the above named causes. It is my hope that one day these things can be ironed out."

2007: Building work continues onthe new classroom blocks

2010 - Two 1 x 3 classroom blocks giving six classrooms

The original building; one classroom is still in use

In spite of its condition and lack ofdesks this classroom is still used

Nsefu Middle Basic School

The 'naughty stump'?Grade 8 unpacks their textbooks

You need good eyesight to see the writing on this old blackboard Wednesday afternoon Chess Club

Nsefu Middle Basic School

Humble beginnings; Kapita School in 2006 2009 Work starts on making cement blocks for the classrooms

Slab level on the teacher's house Building the toilets

In Chief Nsefu's chiefdom, between the Msandile River and Nsefu Basic School lie many small villages. The nearest schools, Chiutika Basic to the south east and Nsefu Basic School to the north were too far for most of the children to reach easily and safely.

Kapita Kids

Kapita School

Katapila School

Katapila School

Every little helps There are many items that are small that you can bring out with you to donate to the local schools. These include:Pencils, Pens, Erasers, Solar Scientific Calculators (not ordinary Calculators), Rulers, Math sets, Boxes of Chalk, Lined A4 hardback exercise books for Secondary pupils and A5 soft back exercise books for Basic school pupils, Crayons, Coloured Pencils, Soccer Balls, Teaching Aids (Maps, Posters, Charts), Encyclopedias, simple or illustrated children's dictionaries, reference books and books suitable for kids in Africa.

Dorm Room and Sitting Area

Bathroom and Shower