Welcome to the latest edition of the Heal Project newsletter

This edition focusses on a recent visit by two of the Trustees to the Orphanage and the School in Lusaka and the progress that has been made.                                                                       

The great news is that the The Heal Project School is going strong, educating 315 children who would otherwise not be in school. The teaching style is very traditional with desks in rows facing a blackboard, but the children are well disciplined and engaged. Although there is a state education system in Zambia there are many children that would fall outside this, a primary reason being the need to buy uniforms and books, the cost of which is way beyond the poorest families. The state system will not accept late starters – so if a child initially missed education there is no way for that child to later get enrolled in the state system. Zambian Special Needs provision is massively underfunded and so these pupils also tend to be excluded from the state system but are accepted at the Heal Project, where classes can include children of varying ages.

Four year groups attend in the morning and are then given lunch, with another four year groups then arriving, getting lunch and then having their classes. The fact that this works with only 5 teachers is a tribute to the dedication of the teachers, many of whom have worked with the school for many years.

The lunch is a crucial part of the offering – this is likely to be the only proper meal the children get all day – it is continued in the holidays to provide continuity of nutrition. It is very basic and virtually always the same – Nshima (the local maize dish, with a consistency like rubbery mashed potatoes but with less taste), soya chunks and greens grown at the school. But it ensures the children are fed and malnutrition is rare – an achievement given these are some of the most economically deprived children in Lusaka.

It is amazing what can be done with the tiny resources we send – £2,000 a month pays eight salaries (the teachers, the kitchen staff and the Headmistress), funds the food and pays other expenses.

The trustees asked the Headmistress what the current major challenges and needs are – these and the suggested solutions are listed below:

Issue

• Zambia is in the midst of severe electrical shortages which have lasted many months – power is on for about five hours a day, usually overnight. This has two major impacts on the school – firstly there is no electricity to pump water from the borehole into the tank – so toilets need to be manually flushed by buckets. In addition the limited IT equipment that the school owns (very dated and not connected to the internet) is of no use.

Solution

The ideal solution would be to install solar panels – obviously the sun shines a lot in Zambia (outside the rainy season), there is plenty of roof to install them on, and this is very familiar technology in the country – with the power shortages they are being installed all over the city. The panels would supply enough power to run the IT room and a water pump. There is of course a cost involved.

The IT room – currently unused  

Issue

Although the buildings are solid and adequate for the school’s needs there are some expensive maintenance issues – the school is built on a rise which falls away on one side – with the rains the ground here has been eroded and the end wall of the block facing the slope is showing a major crack, and could at some point collapse down the hill.

Furthermore since our visit a roof has blown off one of the buildings and this needs to be repaired.

Solution

A quote is being obtained for this work but again this is a cost that has to be met from the UK charity.

Issue

The school educates under the Zambian syllabus – this is changing so new books are required for the age groups impacted from 2026. This is key as the school does prepare pupils for the year 6 tests (at age 14, the Zambian School leaving age).  The headmistress again needs our help to foot the bill for these books.

Solution

These are books that need to be purchased in Zambia – again we need to raise funds to pay for these. We are getting a quote for this cost.

There are challenges of course as the school is operating on a shoestring budget, but the impression of the Trustees that visited was that it is a happy place, doing the best job it possible can do in almost impossible circumstances. For example, one problem is that the roads to get to the school are virtually impassable, even with a 4*4, being strewn with boulders and breeze blocks placed there to replace the dirt road that has been swept away during the rains. It is difficult to find, and it is unlikely that goods could be delivered there – the staff or supporters have to pick everything up.

But the overall impression was what a wonderful job is being done here – the money from the UK is being spent directly on the operation of the school – none wasted on administration or salaries for charity staff. If you are frustrated at seeing charities that raise so much money but spend it on advertising, CEO’s salaries, administration teams, people attending conferences then do give some thought to giving to the Heal Project – the amount needed to make a difference is so small.

The Heal Project Orphanage

Again there is great news here – the Orphanage, or more technically the Transit House, is thriving with 35 children, slightly more girls than boys, ranging in ages from 4-16. It was founded by Jeannie Muluenga, an HIV and TB survivor.

A generous donor from outside the Heal Project UK has paid for a major refurbishment of the buildings, as well as financing a wall around the compound so the physical buildings are in a good state. The wall was necessary as initially the home was outside Lusaka in the ‘bush’ but the city has expanded so significantly it is now in a housing area – a nicer and more prosperous area than that surrounding the school.

The Trustees were lucky to visit on a ‘Teachers Day’ when the children were off school, so they were all there to greet us. It is a happy place, operating as a large family, with the children taking turns on chores such as food preparation, and tending the chickens and pigs and the vegetable growing – these are important elements in the Home’s self-sufficiency – both for sale and for own consumption.

The Home has been fitted with solar panels so does have electricity. Everything seems to be in a good state of repair after the money spent and there is plenty of living and sleeping space. It was all very bare but that may be as it was just being painted.

Jeannie and her team ensure the children are well fed, are safe, attend school and attend medical visits – some are HIV positive but many have other health challenges arising from their upbringing before being accepted into the Home. They happily play outside in the fairly extensive grounds, football being a favourite.

We took with us games, jigsaws, some toy cars and books brought from the UK or bought locally – the children were delighted with these, devouring the books, playing the games (big versions of Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and Twister), and being so careful with the toy cars. Most were unfamiliar with jigsaws and we spent some time explain how to look for the straight edges first. Some of the children were very sharp – in the past children have gone on to university to study Veterinary Medicine and similar challenging subjects so the Home really does give them a great start in life.

Our conclusion was that the Orphanage was working very well – but we will endeavour to supply more books, games, toys and play equipment in future to enhance their childhood.

Who we are:

The Heal Project UK is a UK registered charity No 1120416. Its main purpose is to support the activities of the Heal Project Zambia, which runs the school and Orphanage in Lusaka as described above.

The charity has no employees and no admin costs – other than fees for transferring funds all monies are sent on a monthly basis to Zambia. At present a total of £3,500 (school and orphanage) is sent per month, with an extra amount at Christmas to provide for bonuses for the staff and some treats for the children.

The amount being sent can only be sustained by regular giving – what we need is regular income to pay recurring costs – not to say we would not welcome one-off donations to meet one-off costs such as described above. At the moment there is a significant shortfall between the monthly amount sent and our regular donations (about £1,500 a month) which has been met over the past year by a legacy and some significant donations but the position is always a little precarious. It would be heartrending and almost unthinkable for the two enterprises to fail now so we do beseech you to look at what you can give.

We are also looking for more trustees so if you have been a supporter that would like to take a more significant role or just feel this is a cause you would like to support please let us know.