Thank you so much to those of you who have joined our cause or one of our groups on Facebook and for helping us in our project to build and sustain a school in Zambia. Please keep on inviting (and reminding) all your friends to join so that our 'cause' continues to go from strength to strength.
Breaking News: I will be travelling to Zambia during the Easter holidays. During my trip I will be working hard to ensure that we can start building our school in the near future. We have thus far secured a prime piece of land on which to build our school on the banks of the Zambezi and we potentially may have secured additional land on which to develop aspects of our outreach and community projects. We are very grateful to Constance who is working so hard on our behalf in Zambia.
Breaking News: We have been in regular touch with the Charity Commission and fingers crossed we should be a registered charity within the next week or so. Gaining the status of a registered charity will open up several additional channels of funding so the sooner we are offiicially recognised as a charity the better!
Breaking News: You can follow the progress of our project through Twitter www.twitter.com/thembinkosi
We will be back in touch as soon as we have anymore significant news to report. In the meantime please feel free to utilise our discussion boards, sign our guestbook on our website, add us on twitter and plurk and keep spreading the news about our project by inviting everyone you've ever met to do the same.
Showing posts with label zambezi international school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zambezi international school. Show all posts
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Building a school in Zambia - we've secured land!
Things are moving on apace in Zambia in regard to our project to build and sustain a school. Constance has had several meeting with the Chief and his Headmen and reached an arrangement whereby we will be given 30 hectares of land, on the banks of the Zambezi, on which to build the Zambezi International School. All of us involved in the Thembinkosi Foundation are understandably delighted!
We first approached the Chief about the possibility of acquiring land in his Chiefdom, for the purpose of building a school, in August. Our progress was somewhat hindered by the untimely death of President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa and then by the subsequent Presidential by election but throughout this time remained in regular contact with the Chief . He has been very enthusiastic toward our project ever since we first approached him. He shares our vision of empowering his people and he is convinced that our project will be of great benefit to his subjects.
During our negotiations with the Chief and his Headmen it became increasingly apparent that our project has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of the people within the surrounding district. The land that we have been given is adjacent to a village which has its place on the banks of the river. The villagers live simply - sustaining themselves through fishing and by exchanging their surplus for mealie meal. The village lacks any form of infrastructure and the people are not only some of the poorest in Zambia but are among the poorest in the world. The Headman of the village sees the potential benefits to his people that will come through the building of our school adjacent to the village.
ZIS will of course be a fee paying institution. This is to ensure the financial sustainability of the project. However, part of the raison d’être of our project is the empowerment not only of the students who attend ZIS, but also the empowerment of the community of which we will be a part. In the first instance we have promised the community that we will provide electricity and running water to the villagers and subsequently we will bring the gift of education to the children of the village through our supporting of the building and sustaining of a local village school. Not only will we support the building of the village school but we will also share the facilities of ZIS with our neighbours. Thus as ZIS grows and develops the communities we are working with develop. And this development is multifaceted. The development will be tangible in terms of the infrastructure, water, electricity and roads but will also bring about employment opportunities for the villagers. Furthermore, as part of our commitment to our Outreach Projects our teachers, and older students, at ZIS will work with the children at the village school and beyond.
We envisage being a self sufficient institution within three to five years of opening our doors to our first student. Beyond this stage we would hope that any fundraising will be done with the aim of supporting our outreach projects rather than contributing to the sustaining of the school. By this stage we would also hope to have develop our land in order to have cultivated our land and introduced livestock in order to ensure that ZIS becomes a self sufficient institution. Now that we have land on which to build we are along way to fulfilling our dreams but there is still along way to go. The next stage of the project involves the legal process of the transfer of the land rights from the Chief to ZIS and then the employing surveyors and architects to plan for the physical aspects of the school.
The success of the project to date would not be possible without all the people who have supported us thus far. Everyone who has offered us words of encouragement, kept our project in their prayers, joined our Facebook group or visited our website has kept us going. When we reflect on the scale of the project we have undertaken and the difference that we have the potential to make it can sometimes be overwhelming but knowing that we have so many people who believe in what we are doing is so inspiring.
We first approached the Chief about the possibility of acquiring land in his Chiefdom, for the purpose of building a school, in August. Our progress was somewhat hindered by the untimely death of President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa and then by the subsequent Presidential by election but throughout this time remained in regular contact with the Chief . He has been very enthusiastic toward our project ever since we first approached him. He shares our vision of empowering his people and he is convinced that our project will be of great benefit to his subjects.
During our negotiations with the Chief and his Headmen it became increasingly apparent that our project has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of the people within the surrounding district. The land that we have been given is adjacent to a village which has its place on the banks of the river. The villagers live simply - sustaining themselves through fishing and by exchanging their surplus for mealie meal. The village lacks any form of infrastructure and the people are not only some of the poorest in Zambia but are among the poorest in the world. The Headman of the village sees the potential benefits to his people that will come through the building of our school adjacent to the village.
ZIS will of course be a fee paying institution. This is to ensure the financial sustainability of the project. However, part of the raison d’être of our project is the empowerment not only of the students who attend ZIS, but also the empowerment of the community of which we will be a part. In the first instance we have promised the community that we will provide electricity and running water to the villagers and subsequently we will bring the gift of education to the children of the village through our supporting of the building and sustaining of a local village school. Not only will we support the building of the village school but we will also share the facilities of ZIS with our neighbours. Thus as ZIS grows and develops the communities we are working with develop. And this development is multifaceted. The development will be tangible in terms of the infrastructure, water, electricity and roads but will also bring about employment opportunities for the villagers. Furthermore, as part of our commitment to our Outreach Projects our teachers, and older students, at ZIS will work with the children at the village school and beyond.
We envisage being a self sufficient institution within three to five years of opening our doors to our first student. Beyond this stage we would hope that any fundraising will be done with the aim of supporting our outreach projects rather than contributing to the sustaining of the school. By this stage we would also hope to have develop our land in order to have cultivated our land and introduced livestock in order to ensure that ZIS becomes a self sufficient institution. Now that we have land on which to build we are along way to fulfilling our dreams but there is still along way to go. The next stage of the project involves the legal process of the transfer of the land rights from the Chief to ZIS and then the employing surveyors and architects to plan for the physical aspects of the school.
The success of the project to date would not be possible without all the people who have supported us thus far. Everyone who has offered us words of encouragement, kept our project in their prayers, joined our Facebook group or visited our website has kept us going. When we reflect on the scale of the project we have undertaken and the difference that we have the potential to make it can sometimes be overwhelming but knowing that we have so many people who believe in what we are doing is so inspiring.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Monthly Update - January 2009
Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that 2009 brings you great happiness. Thank you for supporting the Thembinkosi Foundation and our project to Build a school in Africa. The project has really taken off over the past few month.... but there is so much more to do....
We have now registered our charity with the Charity Commission and as a result we will shortly be an official charity! We're just waiting on being awarded a 'charity number.' Once we have this status it should give our fundraising a real boost - especially as we'll be able to get tax relief on all donations that we receive!
Meanwhile things have been moving along nicely in Zambia. Constance, the driving force behind the project in Zambia, has had several meetings with the powers that be in the Kazagula District and as a result we have been promised a large piece of land on the banks of the Zambezi.
We would like to contine to spread the gospel about our project and reach over 1000 members of our Facebook group in the next few months. We need your help to do this.....Please would you also invite all your friends to join our Facebook group - it will only take you a few moments to do so. You might also tell your classmates/workmates about this project? Perhaps your school/company might be able to support the Thembinkosi Foundation during 2009?
Please contact any of the group admins if you have any questions about our project or ideas on how to raise funds. We are always delighted to hear from people who share in our passion for empowering young people in Zambia through this project.
We really want to help bring about a real change in Zambia and with your help we can do so...
Thank you so much....
We have now registered our charity with the Charity Commission and as a result we will shortly be an official charity! We're just waiting on being awarded a 'charity number.' Once we have this status it should give our fundraising a real boost - especially as we'll be able to get tax relief on all donations that we receive!
Meanwhile things have been moving along nicely in Zambia. Constance, the driving force behind the project in Zambia, has had several meetings with the powers that be in the Kazagula District and as a result we have been promised a large piece of land on the banks of the Zambezi.
We would like to contine to spread the gospel about our project and reach over 1000 members of our Facebook group in the next few months. We need your help to do this.....Please would you also invite all your friends to join our Facebook group - it will only take you a few moments to do so. You might also tell your classmates/workmates about this project? Perhaps your school/company might be able to support the Thembinkosi Foundation during 2009?
Please contact any of the group admins if you have any questions about our project or ideas on how to raise funds. We are always delighted to hear from people who share in our passion for empowering young people in Zambia through this project.
We really want to help bring about a real change in Zambia and with your help we can do so...
Thank you so much....
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Sustainable development, bio-diversity and environmental awareness in Zambia
Humankind has a duty to analyse and act upon environmental issues. The generations of the future have to be environmentally aware if we are to survive. It is vital that concepts such as sustainable development, bio-diversity and how to achieve environmental awareness whilst retaining a sense of environmental integrity are grasped. The Zambezi International School will be a truly unique, co-educational institution, based on the banks of the Zambezi River in the heart of the most important safari area in the whole of Southern Africa
ZIS will see the birth of a revolutionary educational ethos; through the medium of the natural environment, pupils can be exposed to issues of multiculturalism and the challenges of the environment itself, where they test themselves in a different context within a variety of appropriate activities so promoting a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.
ZIS will be the first school of its type in Southern Africa and possibly the world. A school with an environmental philosophy, a thirst for social justice and a determination to make a difference. Based in the Kazangula District of Southern Province on the shores of the mighty Zambezi River, with a strong commitment towards community upliftment, outreach projects and the empowerment of local people.
ZIS will see the birth of a revolutionary educational ethos; through the medium of the natural environment, pupils can be exposed to issues of multiculturalism and the challenges of the environment itself, where they test themselves in a different context within a variety of appropriate activities so promoting a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.
ZIS will be the first school of its type in Southern Africa and possibly the world. A school with an environmental philosophy, a thirst for social justice and a determination to make a difference. Based in the Kazangula District of Southern Province on the shores of the mighty Zambezi River, with a strong commitment towards community upliftment, outreach projects and the empowerment of local people. Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Monthly Update - November 2008
Thanks to all who joined our Facegroup 'Build a school in Africa'! Your support is greatly appreciated and will make a real difference in the lives of many young people in the developing world.
The first thing we want to do is thank the students at St Benedict's Catholic College for their tremendous fundraising efforts. Will Doran is keeping me up to date with your efforts. You guys are amazing!
We are currently in negociations with one of the Chiefs in the Kazangula District about securing land for the development of the Zambezi International School and we are making progress! The Chief is very impressed with our plans and believes that we will make a real difference in the lives of his 'subjects.' All being well we should be applying for planning permission within the next couple of months or so. Constance is doing an amazing job from her base in Livingstone and is working closely with local officials to ensure that everything runs smoothly. We have now set up an account for the Thembinkosi Foundation.
We will shortly be updating our website with details of how our supporters can contribute to our fundraisng effort. Every little helps and ever pound will go towards the betterment of people's lives in Zambia! As soon as we have £5000 in our account we can apply for charitable status through the Charity Commission. Hopefully we will have filed our application before the next newsletter!
We have written a letter to many prominent politicians, celebrities and sports stars. It would be great to have some famous people backing our project! I have posted a copy of the letter I sent on the discussion board on Facebook. Please feel free to send it on our behalf. You might be a friend or relative of an England international, best mates with someone of Hollyoaks or have a rich uncle/aunt!!! Please ask them to support the Thembinkosi Foundation in our quest to Build a school in Africa! At this stage of the project we are still very much about raising awareness and drumming up support for our venture.
The first thing we want to do is thank the students at St Benedict's Catholic College for their tremendous fundraising efforts. Will Doran is keeping me up to date with your efforts. You guys are amazing!
We are currently in negociations with one of the Chiefs in the Kazangula District about securing land for the development of the Zambezi International School and we are making progress! The Chief is very impressed with our plans and believes that we will make a real difference in the lives of his 'subjects.' All being well we should be applying for planning permission within the next couple of months or so. Constance is doing an amazing job from her base in Livingstone and is working closely with local officials to ensure that everything runs smoothly. We have now set up an account for the Thembinkosi Foundation.
We will shortly be updating our website with details of how our supporters can contribute to our fundraisng effort. Every little helps and ever pound will go towards the betterment of people's lives in Zambia! As soon as we have £5000 in our account we can apply for charitable status through the Charity Commission. Hopefully we will have filed our application before the next newsletter!
We have written a letter to many prominent politicians, celebrities and sports stars. It would be great to have some famous people backing our project! I have posted a copy of the letter I sent on the discussion board on Facebook. Please feel free to send it on our behalf. You might be a friend or relative of an England international, best mates with someone of Hollyoaks or have a rich uncle/aunt!!! Please ask them to support the Thembinkosi Foundation in our quest to Build a school in Africa! At this stage of the project we are still very much about raising awareness and drumming up support for our venture.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Living Simply, West Papua & ZIS
In recent times I have been reflecting a great deal on the themes of living simply and of sustainable development. Yesterday at the J & P day Serile from West Papua gave an amazing account of fishing in his country. He told us that in West Papua there is a consensus among the people that when one goes fishing one only uses a simple fishing line. He said that fishing nets were available in West Papua but in order to ensure that people only fished to an extent whereby they could feed their own family all agreed to only fish in order to feed themselves and their families. If only this philosophy could be adopted across the world. Imagine a world where people only sort enough?!? There is so much that the world can learn from its poorest and most marginalised people. And yet it's the 'Western' countries that are called 'developed!'
This is this sort of community that we seek to create at the Zambezi International School. We envisage a school where all live in solidarity, with one another and the wider community. We envisage a school which is self sufficient and at one with its environment. We envisage a school which sustainable in its mission to empower its students and the people of its wider community through a range of outreach projects.
This is this sort of community that we seek to create at the Zambezi International School. We envisage a school where all live in solidarity, with one another and the wider community. We envisage a school which is self sufficient and at one with its environment. We envisage a school which sustainable in its mission to empower its students and the people of its wider community through a range of outreach projects.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Zambezi International School
Thembinkosi Foundation has been developed and has taken on an added dimension. It is no longer merely a blog about my experiences of living and working in Botswana and Zambia and my thoughts about life and religion in Sub Saharan Africa. Thembinkosi Foundation now has a mission to bring high quality education to Zambia. The Thembinkosi Foundation will seek to raise the required funds to build and sustain the Zambezi International School on the shores of the Zambezi River in the Kazangula District of Southern Province, Zambia. The project we invisage is tremendously exciting and we are sure can have a real impact in developing and sustaining education across the region.
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