Ng’ombe serves 256 children in the Ng’ombe compound of Lusaka, Zambia.
N’gombe is a high density, low-income neighborhood on the outskirts of Lusaka that is home to 150,000 people.
The compound formed during the Colonial Era, when African migrants seeking work could not live within the city limits. The land is prone to flooding and still lacks adequate electricity, water, sanitation, and waste management infrastructure.
As a result, the community experiences chronic groundwater contamination and waterborne illness including schistosomiasis, malaria, cholera, and diarrhea.
Since 2001, Ng’ombe has provided nutrition and education to thousands of young children who would otherwise miss out on school.
The children who attend Ng’ombe experience ‘social exclusion,’ defined by the UN as “a state in which individuals are unable to participate fully in economic, social, political and cultural life, as well as the process leading to and sustaining such a state.”
About Ng’ombe
Head teacher: Mrs. Mtonga
Number of students: 256
Grades: 1 to 7
Number of teachers: 9
Number of classrooms: 9
Number of toilets: 12
Number of taps: 3
Number of desks: 60
Ng’ombe’s Needs
Classroom construction
Current classroom repair of walls and floors
Borehole to provide running water for drinking, toilets, and hand washing
Textbooks for all grades
Additional desks
Livable wages for teachers
After-school soccer league
Pictured: the plot of land available for sale next to Ng’ombe. Purchase of this plot will allow us to build more classroom space to enroll more children and establish an examination centre that provides a local revenue stream.