Books for Mshawa Basic School, Zambia

            Mshawa Basic School is located about 7 kilometers from my village along the dirt road leading into the sub-boma, Chiparamba. I remember passing the school on my first site visit and thinking, "Is that school actually functioning?" It looked like a ghost town. The classrooms were in bad repair and no movement could be seen in the vicinity. I came to find out later that it was a school holiday:hence the ghostly aspect, and since that time (April), one classroom building and one teacher house were renovated using government funds. Now, Mshawa looks a bit more like a school, despite still needing major repairs on other buildings.

            However, in my opinion, one of the more urgent problems is a lack of access to books. By books, I mean standard schoolbooks. There are 5 teachers at the school with about 560 students, 315 boys and 245 girls. In a class of about 50, the government only provides enough funds for approximately 20 (sometimes less) books. Some students can buy books, but 140 of the students are considered vulnerable after losing either one or both parents. These students' families struggle to afford food and uniforms; books are out of the question.

            So, I've decided to do a little fundraising to help buy more standard books for the school. I donated seed to the school to start a garden, and they will sell vegetables and maize to help raise money for this goal. In addition, they've started a msangu tree nursery. Msangu is an agroforestry tree that when planted in fields and full-grown provides enough fertilizer from its leaves to alleviate most dependence on chemical fertilizers. In the future, this will help cut back on costs for farming inputs and free up money for school development. Fertilizer is expensive.

            Now, I'm asking for your help. My goal is to raise $2000 to buy books and provide shelving to store the books. The school is currently building a storage room in which they can be housed. Funds leftover from buying books will be used to purchase sports equipment, improve sanitation with more toilets and renovate classrooms. The teachers and school administrators identified all needs. Every little bit counts. Please pass this link to other friends and family that may be interested in donating. If you donate, please send me an email at [email redacted] with your mailing address. We would like to send a small token of appreciation. Lastly, please check my blog (jbpaddle.blogspot.com) for pictures of Mshawa and some more description of projects:coming next week.