My sister Rhi has been volunteering at Kapumpe for three months now. I asked her to tell you a bit more about things from her point of view...
When I arrive at Kapumpe Christian Primary School I can’t
help but smile. It is like an oasis in the desert after seeing the schools and
community in the local area. The excitement and joy shown by the children when
they return from their school holidays is evidence of how much they enjoy
attending. The staff at Kapumpe are a group of inspiring individuals, a mixture of
Zambian and British, who each bring their own skills and passion to the school.
They work hard and meet every day to pray for the school as well as for
individual children. It has been a privilege for me to be able to work
alongside them over the last three months and I wanted to give you an insight
into the people who run Kapumpe and the difference they are making to the lives
of the children here.
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| Siblings at Kapumpe |
Josephine is the pre-school teacher at Kapumpe. She lives
on the same compound as us so we also get to see her outside of school.
Josephine is experienced in early years teaching and has a remarkable ability
to be very caring of the children whilst remaining incredibly professional. She
always shows such positivity, respect and gratitude in conversations and I
can’t think of a better influence for the young children in the pre-school
class.
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| Josephine outside with the pre-school class |
Rosie teaches the Grade 1 class consisting of 25 children
ranging from ages 4–9, most of who do not yet speak English. Rosie is great at
picking up on behavioural and emotional needs within her class, and I am
constantly surprised by how well she knows each of them individually. She is expanding the school's support for emotional and developmental needs by
introducing ‘nurture groups’ starting with children from her class.
These groups are designed to allow some of the more deprived children to
experience the kind of basic play that most children experience at a young age.
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| Rosie in Grade 1 |
Lorraine is the teaching assistant for Grade 1 and has recently
become more involved in teaching the class which she seems to have taken in her
stride. As Lorraine is Zambian, she teaches the children in Bemba (the local
language) to help them understand, whilst still incorporating English to make
sure they are learning the language. Lorraine’s straight-talking nature and
creative ideas for bringing the Zambian culture into the curriculum means she
is a real asset to the school.
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Lorraine
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Fatima is the Grade 2 teacher. Last year she shared the
teaching with Ellie, so this is her first year with responsibility for her own
class. Fatima is a true Arise success story. She was previously sponsored by
Arise, has gained a qualification in teaching and has been a part of Kapumpe
since it started. Fatima is an inspiration to the people in the local area as
she does not allow physical disability to limit her career progression and
education. She supports many children in the community by helping them with
their homework and tutoring those who are struggling.
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Fatima with Charlie who visited Kapumpe recently
(where she taught the first class in 2014) |
Naomi shares the teaching of Grade 3 with Bright. Naomi
plays a key role in implementing the Zambian curriculum and establishing the
syllabus for Grade 3, which is a new class for Kapumpe this year. Anyone who
meets Naomi can see her passion for teaching. She shows such dedication to
teaching the children and introducing them to topics they wouldn’t usually get
to learn about. Naomi’s positivity and enthusiasm is infectious and is one of
the reasons for Kapumpe’s unique culture.
Bright is a recently qualified teacher who is being mentored by Naomi. He has a calm and caring manner and is a great example for many of the boys at the school who lack good male role models. Bright’s passion for learning and care for the children is evident to all who work with him. His positive and gentle attitude has already been a great benefit to the school.
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Naomi and Bright teaching Grade 3
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Two other staff that help to keep Kapumpe running so well
are Doris and John. Doris is an Arise guardian who is employed at the school as
cook and cleaner. She is a diligent and willing worker, arriving early every
morning to cook porridge for the children and always doing any extra jobs that
are asked of her. John is the gardener who spends many hours slashing grass and
doing caretaking jobs. He always smiles and particularly enjoys helping to look
after the Arise farming project.
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| Doris |
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John
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Ellie is now the head teacher of Kapumpe. Whilst it is new
for me to see my sister in such a position of responsibility firsthand, it is
exciting to see her skills and experience utilised in such an effective way. She
has a gentle and non-assuming approach to management that empowers the rest of
the teaching staff. Her willingness to take responsibility and make decisions
means that she is a reliable and approachable head teacher. She faces the
challenge of leading the staff in developing the school so that it can serve
the community for many years to come.
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| Ellie leading assembly |
The main thing that stands out for me when I think about
Kapumpe is the difference it makes to the children who attend the school.
Because many of them come from orphaned or abandoned backgrounds, the staff need
to support them emotionally and spiritually as well as academically. In other local
schools here, the lack of resources, unrealistic testing system and huge class
sizes (70+ children to a class) results in limited prospects for the majority
of pupils. We recently discovered that one of the boys supported by Arise is in
Grade 5 at the local community school, is still unable to write his own name. Sadly
this is not uncommon and means that very few children are able to break out of
the cycle of poverty and unemployment as they grow older.
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| Girls in Arise who attend the local government primary school |
It’s become clear to me that Kapumpe is a beacon of hope in
the local community. However, limited resources still have an impact. Many of
the children at Kapumpe will leave school with a better education than those in
their communities, but this does not necessarily mean they will be able to
afford the training it requires to progress further with education or a career.
One of the challenges that Arise faces is the number of young adults who have
been sponsored through the school system but now can’t afford to attend higher
education. We have therefore decided to
set up a scholarship system to help some of these people who are unable to
afford the training they require to seek skilled employment. Applicants to this
scheme will be required to complete an application form, attend an interview
and contribute towards their tuition fees.
We have recently met with a number of young adults who have
been offered places on vocational courses to become nurses, teachers and
mechanics but lack the funds to be able to attend the relevant vocational training.
It is our hope that later in the year through the new scholarship scheme, we
will be able to offer support to some of these motivated and proactive young
people. If you would like further information on how you can support us in this,
please contact us at arise@kaniki.dk or
through the Arise
Facebook page.
The pre-school class at Kapumpe recently performed a short
poem in assembly. The poem includes a line that says “I am a future leader”. It
is our hope and prayer here in Kaniki that the children of Kapumpe will be able
to shatter the glass ceilings that have been put over them and defy the
expectations that the world places on them. We believe that they have the
potential to change their communities, city and nation.
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Current pre-school children and future leaders
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