School Children Move from Floors to Desks in Shifwankula, Zambia

By Elder George Humbert

Africa South Area Senior Missionary

A donation from the Church provides the school with nine new classrooms, 500 school desks and eight new flushing latrines.

Shifwankula Primary School is located on the edge of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. As the only primary school in the area, it provides education for some 4,600 young people. Shifwankula is challenged every day by inadequate classroom space, few desks for students, and limited toilet facilities. Because of these challenges, the teachers run three shifts of school each day. Students receive only three hours of classroom time per day and are often forced to sit on the floor.

Recently, a donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped to ease conditions at Shifwankula Primary School and remove some of its education barriers. The donation funded nine new classrooms and also paid for the refurbishment of the 18 existing classrooms. In addition, 500 new school desks were donated and eight new flushing latrines were installed.

At the handover ceremony, held in May, Blessings Mushala, president of the Lusaka Zambia Stake, described the anticipated impact of the donation.

“What does this mean for our children?

“It means that 500 students who previously sat on the ground will now be able to learn comfortably at a school desk. It means that students who previously were only able to learn for three hours a day will now enjoy more contact time with their teachers and have a greater chance at academic success. It means the quality of education in Shifwankula will be elevated.”

The project was made possible by a contribution of over $257,000 USD (more than 5 million Zambian Kwacha) by the Church. Donations are collected from members worldwide.

President Mushala said that the Church was “honoured to work alongside the Zambian Ministry of Education and the noble educators here at Shifwankula Primary School” and added that, “just as Jesus Christ uplifted and healed wherever He went, so we strive to do the same . . . our donation is our way of saying that we love you as Jesus Christ does.”