Kantolomba Community School, Ndola

How did it start?

Kantolomba is a small and desperately needy township of approximately 3,000 people on the outskirts of Ndola, a city in the Copperbelt region of Zambia. When we first started working with our Zambian partners in 2001, there were no existing services and there was a very high level of unemployment, sickness, malnutrition and the hopelessness that goes with these issues.

We held meetings with local people and it was decided to establish a school and community centre in a derelict tavern in the centre of the township. On the first day of the school, over 300 children enrolled and volunteer teachers were overwhelmed. The school continued to develop, with food being offered two days a week and later five days a week. Often, it is the only proper food the children have all week.

How has it progressed?

By the beginning of 2003, funds had been raised to start refurbishing the building, providing it with desks and chairs, books, wall charts and other classroom materials. It looks and feels like a proper school. The children and their families love it and it has become a focus for all sorts of community activities.

Around 250 children attend each day. Their health has much improved since they have received a meal each school day. They have also received gifts of clothes and shoes and this has boosted their confidence enormously.
The project is developing skills training courses in carpentry and tailoring, both of which will enable people in Kantolomba to learn valuable income-generating skills.

Keeping it going.

All of this requires a regular input of funds to pay the salaries of the staff, the upkeep of the school, food and clothes for the children and support for the most needy families. Meanwhile, the community is developing its own means of supporting itself and accessing funds from within Zambia.

The future?

One of the projects planned for the future in Kantolomba is the building of a skills training centre. This will help people develop the skills they need to support themselves financially. We are also keen to help the people of the compound develop a snack bar that sells food and drinks to passers-by on their way to the cemetery. The snack bar will also have a chicken run, so that chickens can be bred and be sold. We are also keen to help them buy a brick-making machine so that they are able to generate income by making and selling bricks for building houses.

Learn more about the people working on these projects or
find out about our fundraising activities.

If you are involved with a project in Zambia that helps children orphaned as a result of Aids, contact us at info@ffczambia.org.uk

See the OVC project and St Catherine's school

See the Umwana Kasembe project