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| Pupils at Buseko Basic School, near Kitwe |
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| Henry Mudolo, a grade 9 Cecily's Fund-supported pupil at Kafue Bridge School |
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| Peering out of the classroom window at Garneton Upper Basic School |
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Education for orphaned and vulnerable children
In February 2002, the Zambian government introduced a policy of free basic education, in an attempt to increase access for all children. However, it is only nominally free since there are still significant costs associated with attending school, including uniform requirements, user and exam fees, and other expected contributions. Often this means that the most vulnerable children are still not able to attend school. If they cannot meet these requirements, they face discrimination, stigma and the real threat of being excluded.
Many of the most vulnerable children are orphans. Zambia has nearly 1.2 million orphans - that is one child in every five - and this figure is expected to continue rising for the foreseeable future. The vast majority of these children - over 710,000 - are orphans due to their parents dying of AIDS-related illnesses. It is well documented that children whose parents have died, or those who live in families where the active adults are incapacitated due to illness or from having to care for relatives who are sick, face significantly increased financial and emotional hardship and greater poverty. They often have to work in order to support their families or are unable to access their right to education because of lack of finances.
Cecily's Fund believes that every child has the right to an education, so we are supporting the most disadvantaged orphaned and vulnerable children to access this right. Our programmes also aim to empower disadvantaged young people to access employment and vocational training and, through our peer education programme, we are undertaking HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness-raising work.
Primary & Secondary Education in Kitwe
We are currently supporting around 9,700 children to go to primary and secondary school in and around the town of Kitwe, in the northern Copperbelt region of Zambia. Since the beginning of 2007, we have been working in partnership with an organisation called Hodi. We are providing material assistance to disadvantaged children by paying their school and exam fees and providing uniforms, shoes, books, pens, calculators and other materials where needed.
In the case of primary-level children, all this adds up to an average of £25 for a whole year. At secondary school, the fees are higher and it costs about £50 for a year's education: still remarkably good value. If you would like to help a child go to school, you can donate to Cecily's Fund by clicking here.
Bwafwano Community School, Lusaka
Cecily's Fund also supports a community school called Bwafwano, just outside the capital Lusaka, where there are no uniform or fee requirements. We pay for the salaries of the teaching staff, the midday meal for all the 650 pupils, and some educational supplies.
The community school teaches grades 1 to 4 only and, due to high demand, is functioning at full capacity. Therefore, we are also funding children to study at nearby government schools, and assisted 590 children in this way in 2006. |
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