Project Update - Report on the Tea Break held at Kwasha Mukwenu Community School Lusaka.

One of our Zambia based volunteers Mwate carried out a workshop at Kwasha Mukwenu Community School in July and sent us this report. 

“On the 11th of July I visited Kwasha Mukwenu Community School with knowledge of the headteacher Mr Christopher Lwele and we had a productive day. The following were the main focus of the event: 

1.Learning Purpose 

2.Social Development 

3.Recreation

4.Mental Recovery

5.Nutrition and Energy  

LEARNING PURPOSE 

We had a great time with the pupils from Grade 5-9 in one class as the lower Grades were in classes learning. We had a topic of discussion "TIME MANAGEMENT" where the pupils were taught how to manage time at school, home and personal level and interacted with them to get their view on why time management is important. The lesson was accompanied with visual aids and practical examples of our daily lives and this helped to sharpen the pupils understanding and they demonstrated understanding by answering questions and asking questions. The learning aids were later submitted to the school for pupil’s reference. 

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 

This time allowed pupils to bond and spend time together away from classes as the grades were combined during the tea break. The unstructured time allowed the pupils to build relationships, communication and resolve conflicts through play. 

RECREATION 

Taking this tea break was a perfect way to reset the pupils’ brains, lower stress levels, and boost their energy for the next lessons as the other pupils were going back to classes for extra lessons. 

MENTAL RECOVERY 

The tea break encouraged mental recovery for the pupils as it reduced stress levels and promoted rest away from desks and books. 

NUTRITION AND ENERGY 

The school provides a feeding program for the pupils from Monday-Thursday so Friday is not included because it is half day for most of the pupils but a full day for the pupils in upper Grades and those in examination classes, this means that the pupils staying in school full day have to carry packed lunch on Fridays and those who have nothing are left disadvantaged as they stay in school with empty stomachs which may lead to low concentration. In this regard, the tea break helped the pupils as we had buns, milk, tea, and fruit jam for the spread which made a balanced diet and provided nutrition and energy for the pupils especially those who were staying in school for a full day. 

CONCLUSION 

The tea break was a very big success and the pupils together with the teachers were really grateful. May God bless all who made this a success. The exposure outreach is the only pending activity on the list and we are just waiting for the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) to acknowledge and let us know when we can go and do the tour. Please see attached pictures and video for the tea break.” 

After observing how the pupils came together and bonded it is hoped that the Tea Break can continue at least once each term and be extended to primary school pupils too. 

Our Zambia based volunteers make a significant contribution to ZST’s work in Zambia and the Trustees are very grateful to them.