Transformation Through Education - Zambia

Transformation For Education was registered as a charity in July 2023 to raise funds to support the children attending PIZZ School, Monze, Zambia. PIZZ School is a project founded by Mrs. Sianga. Mrs. Sianga was a Home Based Care Nurse in the early 2000s when there were no antiviral drugs available to treat AIDS. Her clients were all dying leaving orphaned children. She established the school primarily to provide a safe place for the children who otherwise were likely to be found on the streets.

Although Primary Education has been free in Zambia in recent years, children are expected to have shoes and a uniform in order to attend school. There are also often other requirements which for many families are unaffordable. The families of the most vulnerable children, including those orphaned, need additional support to enable them to continue in school. It is for this reason that Mrs. Sianga believed that a private school, outside the Government system, was needed and continues to be essential if the most vulnerable children are to have a chance to escape the cycle of poverty.

PIZZ School will not turn any student away because they cannot afford to buy shoes or a uniform or pay school fees. The school tries to provide free uniforms and shoes to those who cannot buy them. One of the most important benefits of the school is the provision of free school meals to all of the children. Without school meals many of the children would find it very hard to concentrate on their lessons. It also provides a big incentive for the children to keep attending school.

Over nearly 20 years the project has developed, and the school now has more than 500 children from pre-school to grade 9. Some of the children have been supported after leaving PIZZ school to enable them to complete their Secondary Education and some have been funded to take up university courses or vocational studies such as nursing. Past students have been employed in teaching, nursing and veterinary services as well as the building trade, transport and entertainment.

Transformation Through Education was established because the school's major funding source was stopped at the end of 2022.

PIZZ School initiated discussions in 2024 with the Education Department with the intention of becoming a Primary and Secondary School. PIZZ School was originally set up as a Basic School which caters for children from grade 1 to grade 9. This matched the Government system at the time which was to have a Basic and Secondary system. The current Government system has Primary Schools from grade 1 to 6 and Secondary Schools from grade 7 to 12. PIZZ will match the Government system which will make it much easier to support the children to the end of their secondary education, if all goes well. PIZZ hopes to begin the building of a science laboratory during 2025. The science laboratory and extra classrooms are required in order to become a secondary school. The buildings will be dependant on Transformation Through Education finding funds of about £30,000 for the science laboratory and a further £20,000 for a threeclassroom block.

Transformation Through Education runs on a budget of less than £38,000 a year, all going to support PIZZ School and the over 500 children that attend. Additionally, the extra support that the project provides for the families in the community helps many of the children persevere with their education. With no extra room in the budget to make these necessary changes to continue to educate these hundreds of children, Let Yourself Trust felt it urgent to team up with Transformation Through Education over the next 6 months, to try to help them move toward their goal.

Please visit https://www.transformationthrougheducation.org.uk to learn more about their vital work.