KASANKA TRUST PROFILE
Kasanka Trust
actively seeks support from the local community to secure the long term
future of Kasanka National Park. By using education as a basic tool,
Kasanka Trust is trying to increase the community’s awareness of
conservation and promote economic development.
With
the support of The Ministry of Education, Kasanka Trust has set up a
project to aid education in Kafinda Game Management Area (GMA).
The
project is funded by external donations from various trusts and
charities as well as individual sponsors.
A YOUNG LEARNER AT MULEMBO PRE-SCHOOL
EDUCATION
IN ZAMBIA
Schools
throughout the country fall into two different categories –
Government schools and Community schools:
Government
Schools fall under the Ministry of Education whilst Community
Schools are independent entities started by parents in villages.
More and more community schools are being established due to the
increase in pupil populations as well as the great distances between
government schools.
Government
Schools employ trained teachers from teacher training colleges
whilst Community Schools recruit untrained teachers who work on a
voluntary basis and have no formal training. Trained teachers are
paid by the Ministry of Education and earn around K700,000 (US$210)
a month . Untrained teachers are meant to receive 1 gallon of
groundnuts or mealie meal from each child per month, but they often
have shortages.
CHITAMBO
EDUCATION PROJECT PROFILE
The
Education Project was started in the year 2000 and over a period of
6 years, the Trust has sponsored 50 pupils (13 girls and 37 boys)
through secondary school and 9 untrained teachers (1 female and 8
males) to teach in Community Schools. The Trust has also
rehabilitated the classroom blocks and teachers’ houses of 3 local
Government Schools.
The Education
Project expanded considerably at the beginning of 2006 with an
increase in the number of students being sponsored and the
introduction of a number of new initiatives. With the number of
visitors to the park on the increase, the Project has also gained a
lot more exposure and we are hoping to take on even more
sponsorships per academic year.
PROJECT
ACTIVITIES
-
We would
like to make helping community schools a priority as they
are started by local initiative and survive on so little.
Assistance from the Trust includes giving advice and support
wherever needed, paying untrained teachers’ salaries and sending
them on training workshops, as well as donating teaching
resources and building materials.
-
Due to the
expense of secondary school education in the country, the
Education Project is committed to sponsoring students
from the surrounding area to high school. Children from higher
income families are often the only ones who progress on to
secondary school with boys usually given preference. We are most
interested in helping students who show initiative and who are
enthusiastic and determined.
Sponsorships of
pupils and untrained teachers by individual donors have become
increasingly popular due to the project being on a small-scale with
low administrative costs. Therefore all monies go directly towards
the sponsorships and if desired, sponsors and candidates can make
contact.
SPONSORED
FEMALE STUDENTS AT FIBWE HIDE
·
The
rehabilitation of school buildings and teachers’ accommodation
around Kasanka is also high on our list of priorities. Most school
buildings are in a deplorable state with roofs being held down with
scraps of wire and children being taught on cold cement floors.
Often teachers reside in neighbouring villages and have to walk
kilometres to school every day. Having accommodation at schools is
extremely beneficial as classes start on time and school possessions
are better cared for. Most teachers and parents are very willing to
do the building themselves, but they require assistance with
building materials.
·
Conservation
education
is seen as
vital to the long term future of Kasanka National Park. The
Education Project co-ordinates and facilitates school park visits to
promote conservation education in the area, and is currently
constructing an Interpretation Centre at Kasanka’s new Conservation
Centre near the park gate.
We are also
encouraging more and more schools to sign up for membership with the
Wildlife and Environmental Society of Zambia. A key element of the
Society’s Environmental Education Programme is the production of
environmental education material such as the Chongololo and
Chipembele magazines, which are distributed free of charge to
community-based Chongololo Conservation clubs throughout the
country. Chongololo Club of the Air, a weekly Sunday lunch-time
radio programme, is also very much a utilised initiative.
CONSERVATION EDUCATION STUDIES INSIDE THE PARK
-
Affiliating
local schools near Kasanka with schools abroad
is one of
the newer ventures of 2006. Through ‘Ecokids,’ a school-swapping
initiative based in Holland, we connected a Dutch school with a
Zambian school over a three month period from September to
November. The schools exchanged educational material such as
drawings, poetry and essays along a theme of conservation, and
it turned out to be a very successful affiliation. The first of
its kind in Zambia, and one which we hope to see more of in the
future.
If you have
any queries or would like to get involved in the Project in any
way, please feel free to contact Leigh Chaloner, Education
Co-ordinator, Kasanka National Park
Contact us
TWO KABWE STUDENTS SEEKING SPONSORSHIP
FOR 2007
The following
two students are Grade 9 pupils at St Paul’s Secondary School in
Kabwe, one of the best boarding schools in the country. Both boys
started being sponsored by Kasanka Trust in 2005, and are looking
for sponsorship for next year.
Frank
Chisenga is 16 years old and has 4 sisters and 4 brothers. His
top 2 subjects are English and Computers, and he enjoys reading and
studying. Frank has visited Kasanka National Park 4 times – twice as
a sponsored student and twice as a Chongololo Club member. In the
June holidays of this year, he came to work in the garden at
Mulaushi Research Centre. He is an enthusiastic, well-mannered young
man who shows great initiative for his age.
School
results (40% a pass)
Grade
9 Term 2
Civics 59%
(Credit)
Environmental Science 61% (Merit)
Religious
Education 56% (Credit)
History 47%
(Pass)
Geography
63% (Merit)
Mathematics 29% (Fail)
Agriculture 60%
(Merit)
English 63%
(Merit)
Office
Practice 65% (Merit)
Computers 69%
(Merit)
After completing
his schooling, Frank would like to start a small business to
fundraise for his tertiary education, and go on to study law at The
University of Zambia (UNZA).
Frederick
Museka is 15 years old and is one of 6 children. He enjoys
reading and studying, and likes visiting interesting places such as
Kasanka National Park. Frederick has visited the park 5 times –
twice as a sponsored student, twice as a Chongololo Club member, and
once on a Darwin Initiative tour.
School
results
Grade
9 Term 2
Civics 58% (Credit)
Environmental Science 65% (Merit)
Religious
Education 64% (Merit)
History
53% (Credit)
Geography 63% (Merit)
Mathematics 31% (Fail)
Agriculture 72% (Honours)
English 63% (Merit)
Office
Practice 60% (Merit)
Computers 68% (Merit)
Overall result –
437/600
Frederick has a
keen interest in conservation and the environment, and he is one of
a few students who have shown extraordinary interest in the park.
After completing his Grade 12, Frederick plans to study nature
conservation at The University of Zambia (UNZA) and hopes to work in
Kasanka National Park one day.
The amount
needed to sponsor these boys for the year is £350 each. This amount
will cover boarding school fees, transport, tuition fees,
examination fees, a uniform, and school requirements.
AN UNTRAINED TEACHER SEEKING
SPONSORSHIP
Wesley
Luchele
has been working
as an untrained teacher at Chititima Community School and is now in
his third year of service. He was the only teacher at the school for
two years, teaching and co-ordinating five grades until March this
year when we placed another teacher at the school to help him. We
would really like to be able to pay Wesley a salary and send him for
teacher training as he has shown such determination and dedication.
The amount
needed to sponsor Wesley for the year is US$1200. This money will go
towards paying him a monthly contribution and sending him on teacher
training workshops.
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Contact
us
Click here for
information on the
Kapepa Community Centre
Kasanka
Trust 
