Sr Madelaine Kelly RSC
Sisters of Charity
Coordinator of of Shimungalu village school, in
the Southern Province, Zambia
The
Sisters of Charity have been working in rural
areas of Zambia, especially here in Nakambala,
since the late 1960s. Over the years we have
seen how the influence of the Sisters working
with development projects in areas such as
Agriculture, Women’s Clubs, Basic Health and
Basic Education, has helped to better the lives
of local communities.
Within the past 10 years Shimungalu village
school has grown from a "hedge" school (it
started under a tree) to a well-built structure
of three classroom blocks and offices funded
though a partnership of misean cara, the Sisters
of Charity and the voluntary work of local
people. As our enrolment figure has increased,
so has the opportunity for education in a place
where none existed before. It is truly
significant even from a national point of view
and will lead to development on many fronts.
While the challenges of this project were many,
we saw them as just that: challenges which in
many ways called forth the best from so many.
The classrooms had to be adequately furnished.
Suitable text books needed to be found and
supplied. It can be difficult to keep up with
the changing demands of the curriculum as after
a few years, with the advent of a new donor, the
Ministry of Education has been obliged to change
the curriculum and enormous expense can be
incurred.
There is also the challenge of human personal
relationships. Some teachers have, as it were,
grown to maturity in our school system: they
began as pupils and taught in our Community
School after which they went to College. These
returned and have continued teaching with us.
The Ministry of Education and the Community
Schools of Zambia agreed that such teachers
would be put on the Government payroll and
deployed to the same Community School from which
they came. Sadly, this has not happened.
The greatest challenge is to remain steadfast in
supporting the rights of the children to a
rounded education, with good ethical and moral
values, underpinned by a non-denominational
spiritual training.
There has been the perennial challenge of the
rainy season compounded by extreme flooding. It
led to increased hardship; wading through the
waters and mud for several kilometres morning
and evening; at times falling and getting
clothes soaked.
The impact of the new school will be ongoing.
The project has greatly enhanced the self-image
of the community. They take pride in their
school. It has united sections and individuals
in a ways undreamt of previously. Men come in
groups of twelve or twenty to make blocks. The
women make chains to bring the water nearer. The
children are busy outside of class time,
watering plants and trees and cultivating their
plots of maize. They declared themselves
‘development has come to Shimungalu’.
What is even more important is that our project
has been a catalyst for other projects and a new
Medical Clinic has been started. The foundations
have begun. As a school with adequate space, we
are happy to allocate some of the land for the
clinic, being so aware of the vital role a
clinic will play in the welfare of the people.
The future holds the key to further projects,
but we can safely say that the community has
come alive, people are working together and the
children, especially the girls, are being
empowered through education to further future
development. It is heartening to see the local
people being empowered to take on responsibility
and put into action what they have learned in
developing this community.