Pilgrim - Salt in the Community – Project Update
Growing Communities have recently published their latest newsletter which is reproduced below.
“To all our wonderful supporters - without you all this would not have been achieved. We are so pleased with all the encouraging news we receive from the project. The school is continuing to grow, and there are 150 children enrolled, including 23 in the pre-grade class. Three teachers are now employed, Barry Chisala, Roster Mwanje and Florence Mambwe, and as at present there are only two classrooms, the older children have their classroom in the office. The building above will be the new pre-school classroom and below children wait in their assembly area before school begins in the morning. The classrooms have been painted in and out and children have been given health education regarding HIV/AIDS, STIs, malaria and Covid. The little ones are now weighed each month to check their health. All children receive a nutritious mid-day meal. An additional bore hole has been sunk for the school.
The next building project will be for good housing for the teachers and future health workers. The present houses are very small, especially if there are families living there. After that they plan to build another classroom and houses for weekly boarding, because the children have very far to walk to the school.
Grace Sholoma is in discussion with the Director of Serenje Health Authority and the local Chief to take the Health Post to the next level and have a Health Worker employed by the Government. This also means expanding the Health Post to include a maternity area and a special shelter for weighing activities, polio, COVID and other immunisations etc. A new incinerator will also be built.
Hope Church, Kalilanama is growing steadily and a choir has been formed. Jastin and Danny regularly visit the outlying settlements and give practical support.
Members of the local community have been helped to establish village banking schemes and farming cooperatives. In the fields the harvest is quite promising, with sugar cane planted for the first time. Another 5 hectares are due to be ‘stumped’ (trees cleared) soon for more crops and plans are being made for fish farming, bananas and a fruit nursery. A piggery has been established. “
This is the link to the Growing Communities website which has further interesting information on this project http://www.growingcommunitieszambia.com/