Education is a privilege

As in many places throughout Africa, education is a privilege - only one in four Zambians finish secondary school. When children can go to school, the average class size is over sixty pupils.

Grinding poverty and the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic mean sending children to school is out of reach of most families, who are struggling to survive.

Literacy rate lower than the national average

The Damview Basic School for primary children is on the edge of land where a new SOS Village has been created at Chipata, near the Malawian border. In Chipata, the adult literacy rate is 48%, compared to the national average of 71%.

After nursery school in the SOS Village, SOS children will go to Damview Basic – along with hundreds of other children from the local community. But, at present, Damview Basic has no plumbing and no electricity. This means children have to draw water from a well and can only be taught in the hours of daylight.

There are very few books and not enough desks. With class sizes of up to 80 pupils, many children have to sit on the floor.

Apart from building the new village at Chipata on land donated by Zambia’s Eastern Province government, SOS Children is paying for the school to be upgraded. It will have electricity, plumbing and new toilet blocks – and hopefully there will be enough funds for more school books, desks and teacher salaries.

Reaching vulnerable children

More than 3,000 community schools across Zambia, such as Damview Basic, provide an education for one-quarter of primary school children in the country. Community schools specialise in reaching vulnerable children.

SOS Children ensures that all the children in its care go to school. Where there are no schools, it builds them. These facilities also give children in the community a chance to learn and develop.