Bringing vulnerable children back into education and away from child labour, child marriage and a life on the streets.
Father Katete, Director of the Anglican Street Children's Programme is hugely excited with progress on this new school for vulnerable girls and orphans in Tembwe, Chama District. This district is in a very remote, rural area of north-eastern Zambia, where there are over 53,000 women and girls, who have until now had little or no opportunity of a secondary education, but instead have looked forward to a future of child marriage and early pregnancies.
The new school we are building – St Mary's School for Girls Chama – will make a significant difference to the lives of girls in Chama District. It is expected to open in January 2021. with the first intake of Grade 8 pupils, and it will bring the opportunity for a better and brighter future for children in the area.
This short video about The Chama Project was created by The Livingstone Initiative.
The school has been given almost 1,000 hectares of agricultural land so that girls can study the national curriculum and also learn to how to grow and harvest crops, thus giving them a life skill when they graduate.
To make this project sustainable in the long-term, the ACP are matching overseas donations with funding and support from within Zambia.
With the help of The Livingstone Initiative – a UK based not-for-profit organisation – we have been incredibly fortunate to have received amazingly generous donations, volunteer visits and in-kind sponsorship from the UK, so far totalling over £55,000 (USD68,300).
ACP is partnered with the Canadian High Commission, the traditional leaders and the Zambian Government to raise awareness about the child marriage vice in Chama that has robbed girls and boys of their future development.
The Livingstone Anglican Children's Project was founded to reduce the impact of HIV / AIDS on vulnerable children and orphans. These are children who are either infected and affected by the virus and many of whom find themselves working on the streets at a very young age. We work for the benefit of everyone, irrespective of their beliefs, race, gender or faith. Our vision is to build communities in which families are free of HIV / AIDS and are able to sustain all children both economically and emotionally.
We are providing educational support to children, alongside a health programme. There are no volunteers yet so the project is currently being operated from Lusaka.
Adult literacy classes – 3 volunteers teachers
Computer Literacy Classes – 1 volunteer
Physiotherapy for different disabled children in partnership with Discare Awareness raising against child Marriages.
Educational support to children
HIV/AIDS programme
Four volunteers monitoring the activities as coordinators and field workers.
The ACP provides temporary accommodation to orphans and vulnerable children for a period not exceeding 30 days, subject to review by the management team. This accommodation is offered to the children before they are integrated back into the community. We avoid institutionalising children as much as possible, but support families who care for the orphans.
The Project provides recreational activities such as football, netball and volleyball among other sporting activities. These activities are very helpful for the health of the children and are used as a channel to counsel children. As care-givers play with the children, a child builds confidence to discuss what is affecting him/her. These activities also bring fun into the children's lives and they have a chance to laugh, smile, shout and play.
HIV/Aids has had a huge effect on the daily lives of Zambian people. More than one in seven Zambian adults is infected and the disease has claimed enough lives to leave many children orphaned or living with relations or a guardian. These adopted families often find it hard enough to feed themselves, let alone an extra mouth or two, so the children are sent out to work - perhaps selling nuts on street corners, perhaps breaking stones day after day in the quarry. These children very little to laugh about and their short lives are filled with sadness, anxiety, fear, instability and loss of confidence, interspersed with periods of hope and happiness.
'Street kids' deserve a chance...
We want them to be able to smile again!