Fund-Raising and Fresh Water Well

Fund-Raising

Over the past few weeks, three fund-raising events have taken place within Lusaka, Zambia for the Mushilila School Project. The first, was an awareness and fund raising event at the two Saturday Soccer League registration mornings at AISL (the American International School of Lusaka). Parents registering their children donated children’s clothes, shoes, and school supplies, and also donated their small change, generating close to Kw. 1,000,000 (US$ 180). This also proved to be a valuable ‘networking’ event, as many parents in attendance work within the donor community in Zambia.

The second event is on-going. This is a ‘Donation Drop-off’ at AISL where staff and the wider school community drop-off school supplies, clothing, and sports and play equipment that will be distributed to the school and children of Mushilila School. Many donations have been made, and more will continue to be dropped off until school closes on June 19th.

The third event was the “Absolutely Fabulous Ladies Fashion Sale”, which took place yesterday. Many contributors brought along “AB FAB” ladies clothes, shoes, handbags, jewellery, and perfume to sell in aid of the Mushilila School Project. The admission fee for the event, and a proportion of the sellers’ proceeds, were donated to the project. This fun event raised Kw. 2,393,000 (US$427), and many thanks go to the contributors, and my helpers: Alix, Sam, Andrew, and Burton.

These funds, and personal donations, have so far generated US$ 691. A great start, but we still have along way to go.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest thanks to everyone who has made donations, and particular thanks to the staff, students, and parents of the American International School of Lusaka. The school has been exceptionally supportive of the project; allowing the use of the school grounds, providing tables and display boards at events, assisting with setting up and security, and generally offering me a great deal of moral support!

The promotion of events, and awareness-raising, has not only been achieved through this site, but also through the Face Book Group “Mushilila School Project - Zambia”, and the Face Book Page “Mushilila School, Lower Luangwa”. Please join these Face Book groups if you can, and invite all your friends so that we can raise awareness and support further.

Providing Water Security

Mushilila School has a water well to provide fresh water, but it collapsed some time ago and needs to be either repaired or a new well created. The estimated cost of this project is between Kw 2 - 3 million (US$ 450 - 550). The proceeds from the events to date will be used to develop the well, and Andrew Baldry and Tom Younger will discuss the implementation of this project when they meet with members of the Nyimba District Council in Nyimba on Wednesday 22 April.  Last Thursday, they met with the Member of Parliament for the District,  Mr. Forrie Tembo, in Lusaka. Mr. Tembo was pleasantly surprised by the large amount of support that had been generated through the Mushilila School Project. 

Donating

The project has been experiencing some problems with PayPal donations as it has been difficult to establish its charity status. This issue should be resolved within the next couple of weeks, with the kind assistance of Tom Younger. 

Donations, Projects, and Fundraising Events

During the last week, offers to support, fund-raise or donate to the Mushilila School Project have come from around the globe... Canada, China, Norway, Singapore, USA, Germany, South Africa, UK and, of course, Zambia! This is very encouraging.

Natural Balance South Africa, spearheaded by Sarah Collins, has offered to assist with sustainable food and minimal-fuel cooking resources. We shall also be setting up one of their projects, the Earthworm Factory, at our home.

The Earthworm Factory Project propagates naturally occurring Earthworms by feeding them bio-matter, keeping the environment moist, and protecting the worms from predators such as, ants. The worms are then introduced to poor soil to aerate the soil, and to introduce vital microorganisms and nutrients to the ground that enable crops to thrive. By introducing the worms to vegetable gardens that will be established around the school, and providing seeds donated by Natural Balance SA, we hope to provide sustainable and healthy food crops for the children attending Mushilila School. 

My husband, Andrew, and I have been creating a list of fund-raising activities that we hope to pursue over the coming months. Future plans include children's survival weekends, and informative bush walks for families in the Chalimbana Forest Reserve.

The up-coming event is a Donation Drop-off at the American International School of Lusaka on Saturday 7th March, during the Saturday Soccer League Registration (9am-12pm). At the Drop-off, donations of items such as, school supplies, children's clothes and shoes, and play and sports equipment, will be accepted, as well as cash donations.

I also set up a Face Book group this week, Mushilila School Project, to raise awareness of the campaign. At the time of writing we have 104 members, Please join!

Thank you for your support for the children of Mushilila School.

Discovering Mushilila School

Mushilila School is situated in a remote region in Zambia's Lower Luangwa Valley. It is relatively close to Munyamadzi Game Ranch, whose shareholders have recently launched a pontoon across the Luangwa River and opened basic access roads. New access made it possible for a small group from Munyamadzi to visit the school late last year, and their visit brought to my attention the dire plight of the children. This is best expressed through the words of one of the visitors, Deborah.

"The school seems to have been cut off from the rest of the world.... The resident teacher, who has been there over 20 years, explained that 264 children attend school daily, many of them from a distance of 40km away. It takes them the whole morning to walk there, and as long to get back, many leaving and arriving home in the dark. Many are as young as 6 years old. Remember, this area is wild: A man-eating lion had attacked and killed a man while we were there, and a small boy had been mauled the day before we visited the school, his injured leg an open, fly-infested wound that had not been dressed due to lack of medical supplies.”

“When the children finally arrive at school there is no food for them. There is one classroom with makeshift desks, many children sitting on the floor to learn. A single room with a bare dirt floor serves as an overnight shelter for around 50 children who can’t make it home every day. Once a year, the children have to walk 90km to Nyimba to collect school supplies and text books – and they do!!”

“It seems that education is a top priority in Zambia and, as can be seen by the regular attendance of the children even from so far away, it is recognized as their only hope of self-betterment.”

The new owners of Munyamadzi have pledged to support the school, but the amount of upgrading and rehabilitation required is immense.
Mushilila School Project has identified initial main goals to assist the school:

1. To install a borehole to ensure a fresh water supply
2. To provide solar power
3. To build a new classroom block
4. To build and equip a new hostel to accommodate weekly boarders
5. To develop land around the school as a kitchen garden
6. To supply basic food on a regular basis
7. To provide basic school supplies, including stationary, desks, chalkboards, play equipment
8. To establish a school-based primary clinic equipped with medical supplies


Supporting Mushilila School

The school would greatly appreciate any support that you can make for it’s development. Let’s help this school work towards achieving the UN Millennium Goals for Universal Education!

To make a donation, please click on the PayPal icon.

Many thanks!