Chimwemwe Trust School

Headmaster  Kasalika

On our last visit to Zambia with friends Rich and Alice Krahn from our home church in Saskatoon, we visited Chimwemwe Trust School in Lusaka.    MCC has provided funding and school kits to this school during the past few years through our Global Family program.  Since government schools are not offering enough spaces to accommodate children, parents have responded by organizing community schools like this one in their neighbourhoods.  The government provides no funding to these schools, so they rely only on school fees and some donations to survive. 

We squeezed into Headmaster Kasalika’s office and listened to his stories.  He told us how he tried to meet the challenge of paying his teachers with the little money he receives from school fees.  Most months he can only pay the teachers 300,000 Zambian Kwachas which will cover rent for a one-room house, but not much more.  Government paid teachers get 2,500,000 ZMK/month.  He says it makes his heart cry to torture them like this. 

Young girls have particular challenges since they need to sell charcoal and draw water before class.  If they don’t do the work first, there will be no food for them, so they often miss out of class.  Children from the village are sent to Lusaka to work, not to get an education so many don’t even get the chance to attend school.  Last February around Valentine’s Day, he noticed that many girls were missing from class.  When he checked in on their homes, he discovered that they had been forced to make extra money by prostituting themselves. 

When asked what motivates him to stay in this school, Mr. Kasalika said “My passion and love of children is where my heart is, not with money.  It is a joy to see someone happy in school.”  His friends overseas e-mail him and ask why is he “rotting” in Zambia.  He replies that there is little time to live on earth and so we must all do our best.  He concludes by saying that “God is sustaining us.  We are keeping on by God’s grace.”

Here is a man with a passion for the education of vulnerable children in Zambia, who is providing hope in a troubled world.