Community Conversation: ACE Zambia
Dear ACE Family, as many of you know, last month we started the Books and Bread campaign to better resource all 2,017 of our FaithWorks students in Lusaka. Many of you answered the call, and stepped up to provide food and resources for our FaithWorks students and we are so grateful! Thanks to your generosity, we were able to raise $6,392 for our students and staff in Lusaka!
As we close the campaign, we want to share an important update on our FaithWorks students, and how the school year is going since their start this semester. Last month, we invited you all to join ACE USA in a meeting with Robby Kangwa our Education Coordinator, and Pingiwe Nkandu our FaithWorks School Administrator and Librarian via Zoom to get a firsthand account of the recent challenges and successes of our students and staff in Lusaka.
Check out a condensed version of our interview below:
Maya: Pingiwe and Robby, thank you so much for meeting with us today. We are so excited to have you both. For those who don’t know you all, could you tell us a little bit about yourselves and your role at ACE?
Pingiwe: Of course Maya, we are happy to be here. My name is Pingiwe Nkandu and I am an Administrator and Librarian at ACE Zambia’s FaithWorks Schools. My role as an admin is to lay out our goals and visions for the school and for our students. As a librarian, I facilitate access to books and information to our students. I became involved with ACE in 2014 after studying at University of Zambia, and my dream for all my students is for them to pursue higher education if they want to.
Maya: Thank you, for that Pingiwe--Robby, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Robby: I would be happy to. My name is Robby Kangwa and I am the Education Coordinator at ACE Zambia. I joined ACE Zambia’s Education Department in 2008, and in my role is to help teachers improve their lesson delivery and correct interpretation of the National Syllabus. Before becoming the Education Coordinator I joined ACE Zambia as a full time worker, and worked voluntarily during the formative stages from 2000 to 2007. I graduated from the University of Zambia in 1993 , and have always been interested in the Children Ministry, preaching and entrepreneurship.
Maya: Thank you so much Robby and Pingiwe for those wonderful introductions. We are so happy to have you both as such well educated and passionate stewards of the community in Lusaka.
In the spirit of introductions, I will introduce myself as well for those who don’t know me. My name is Maya Scott and I am the International Programs and Development Coordinator at ACE USA. I joined the team in April of this year, and in my role I maintain relationships that sustain funding for our programs, and develop mass communication for fundraising campaigns. So again I’m just really happy to be joining you all and becoming more deeply engaged with the work we do.
Also joining us on today’s call we have Kimani Patrick our Creative Marketing and International Programs Intern. Kimani, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Kimani: Yes, thank you for the introduction, Maya. My name is Kimani Patrick and I started my role with ACE this past Summer. My role is to develop strategies to engage donors through social media, and other online platforms. I’m originally from Kenya, and growing up in an environment similar to that of the students we serve in our FaithWorks schools, and being able to overcome obstacles has allowed me to feel deeply connected to the work. Like others have stated, I’m really happy to be here, and get a live-time update on how our students are doing.
With that being said, let's jump right into our interview! Our first question for the team at ACE Zambia is How is the school year going for the students in our FaithWorks schools, and how have things evolved since the start of the pandemic?
Robby: The 2021 school year is going on fairly well despite abrupt closure from June 17 to August 23rd as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In all the FaithWorks schools and Helen Devos Christian School, teaching and learning has since been going on well.
The teachers and students are trying their best to catch up with various subjects' syllabi in readiness for the National Examinations (i.e. grade 7, 9 & 12) which begin in November, 2021.
Maya: That is great to hear, Robby. We are so glad that things are going on well despite the challenges. For our next question, we were curious about how access to education and nutrition can change the lives of students in the community of Lusaka?
Pingiwe: With access to education, our students become well informed and in turn they are able to make informed decisions in their lives. They have access to various opportunities such as admission to higher institutions of higher learning, such as colleges and universities. They are able to advise the families on hygiene and nutrition among other topics. They are also able to establish small businesses (HDCS, students learn commerce).
Robby: With access to nutrition, food provided at school motivates the students to attend school regularly--for some of the children this is the only meal they have.
Concentration on learning improves, when our students are well fed which leads to high performance in class, and improved overall health of the students.
Kimani: Thank you for sharing that with us Robby and Pingiwe. For our final question, we were wondering what you both are optimistic/most excited about for the future of education?
Robby: After ACEUSA’s Seven Schools campaign in the Fall, we are looking forward to having better learning and teaching facilities such as well furnished classrooms, practical rooms for survival skills training. We also will be happy to have adequate learning and teaching materials.
Pingiwe: I agree--I will also be looking forward to having some infrastructure support in the future along with adequate learning and teaching materials for both teachers and students. In some cases teachers are sharing one book with an entire class. In addition to better school resourcing, I also look forward to helping our students work through survival skills training. These trainings are undertaken from grade 3 to grade 12 and help our students learn skills such as first aid, how to build a shelter, and how to secure food and water. We are also looking forward to continuing to collaborate with very motivated and committed teachers and parents, who are role models for many of our students.
Maya: So many wonderful things are happening around the clock at our FaithWorks schools and it couldn’t be possible without you both! Thank you so much for joining us and giving us an update on our students, and we are mindful, prayerful and thankful for both of you all’s dedication to the community of Lusaka. There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast go alone; If you want to go far, go together.” Thank you for going on this journey with our students, and we look forward to chatting with you again soon.
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