•HEADMAN Mwengelele Simulomba, Kamatanda Community Primary School founder and head teacher Annie Mukelabai and Friends of Zambia project manager Danielle Gusella during the ground breaking ceremony for the school.Picture by BRIAN HATYOKA

By BRIAN HATYOKA-

LATE political icon and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Nelson Mandela, inspired many people across the globe with his countless quotes that personified his spirit. One of the mostly admired quote was “education is the most powerful weapon a person can use to change the world”. Indeed education is the key for success and it is an important element that each citizen should treasure. By and large, every Zambian child is supposed to have access to education to enable the country meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number four on primary education for all by 2015. However, the mission of promoting access to educating in Kazungula District’s Kamatanda Village is a challenging one as the area has no nearby schools. Kamatanda has eight villages with the population of more than 800 people and yet the area has no school This state of affairs prompted a retired teacher, Annie Mukelabai, to start teaching pupils under a tree in 2012. According to Ms Mukelabai, she was touched when little boys and girls were going to her house to ask for work due to lack of schools and employment in the area. “I was very compassionate about orphans and other disadvantaged children who were coming to my home to ask for work. I then started teaching seven grade one pupils and eight grade two pupils under a tree,” Ms Mukelabai said. After some time in 2012, Ms Mukelabai moved her pupils to a church known as Later House of Glory which offered space for Kamatanda Community School. During the rainy season, the facility fell down and then moved the pupils to a nearby clinic but this could not last due to various challenges. Ms Mukelabai went to Fallsway Timbers Limited to ask for timber materials to build a makeshift school structure and the appropriate materials were provided. Currently, Kamatanda Community Primary School has more than 100 pupils at the makeshift school as well as at the nearby New Apostolic Church. An Italian national Danielle Gusella, who visited the area in 2012, was touched when he found pupils learning under a tree. Mr Gusella, who is Friends of Zambia project manager, promised to provide school materials and construct an appropriate infrastructure for the school. In 2013, Mr Danielle donated books as well as clothes and many other school items to the school. Mr Gusella later got a piece of land from headman Mwengelele Simulomba and immediately started mobilising funds in Italy for the construction of a school. Last week, Mr Gusella came back to Zambia and participated in the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a one by two classroom block for Kamatanda Community Primary School in Kazungula District. Speaking in an interview, Mr Gusella said he had managed to source US$35,000 funding from well-wishers in Italy. Mr Gusella, who is a Roman Catholic Christian, said the well-wishers touched by the story of pupils learning under a tree after they watched the videos and photos. “In 2012, I was brought here in Kamatanda by former Livingstone District Commissioner Paul Sensele where I found pupils being taught under a tree. In July last year, I sent a container containing many items for Kamatanda and other schools in Kazungula District,” Mr Gusella said. He said he agreed with the contractor, Marison Civil Contractors, to get best materials on the market for the project to enhance quality. According to Mr Gusella, the construction of the school was expected to be completed before the end of this year. In a separate interview, Ms Mukelabai commended Mr Gusella for making her dream come true. She urged other organisations to build more school facilities at the school and provide clothes as well as uniforms to pupils. “At some point, pupils were exchanging clothes in the bush so that the other one can come to school. We are appealing for donation of clothes and uniforms. Teachers here are not trained and they work on voluntary basis,” Ms Mukelabai said. She said there was also need to improve the water reticulation system as the area had one borehole for 650 families. Ms Mukelabai said most parents in the area were peasant farmers who only got an income after harvesting their crop. Kazungula District Education Secretary Samson Sakala commended Ms Mukelabai for the initiative to start a community school in an area that had no school facilities. Mr Sakala, who officially officiated at the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of Kamatanda Community Primary School, said he was excited to see members of the community supporting the education of their children. “It is everyone’s duty to educate our children because the task is so huge for Government to do alone. The Government has come up with a policy of partnering with churches, well-wishers, business community and individuals to develop the education sector,” Mr Sakala said. He urged members of the community to help the contractor with labour and other raw materials. “This school is being built by people who come from far away and we are seeing materials coming here. Let’s do something by bringing upfront materials like sand to support the ongoing construction works,” Mr Sakala said. He called for the construction of teachers’ houses alongside the construction of the school so that Government could send teachers to the area. “If you put houses for teachers, I will be the first one to bring teachers who are trained by the Government schools to this place. This school should not end at grade four because there is no grade five and other grades in the nearby areas,” Mr Sakala said. He also urged members of the community to avoid vandalising the school infrastructure that would be built. “There have been cases where members of the community steal building materials which is very sad. I just want to warn you because this has happened elsewhere. Let’s safeguard the materials to show that we appreciate what has been invested for us here,” Mr Sakala said. He also urged the contractor to erect a structure of high quality standards. Mr Sakala said he did not want to have a situation in the district where new schools start collapsing soon after being constructed as a result of poor workmanship. “I am urging Zambian contractors to do quality works so that the money spent to construct schools do not go to waste. We don’t want works which will collapse after building. A lot has been said about Zambian contractors and we demand quality works to be done in Kazungula district,” he said. Marison Civil Contractors, a Livingstone-based company which is currently constructing the school, pledged to erect a structure of high standards. Company director Kenneth Kapalu said his firm already built schools and other facilities of high esteem in Livingstone and Kazungula districts. “This is not the first school my company is building. I built Siambaula Community School and teachers’ houses in Kazungula district. We also built Simoonga Police Station in Livingstone and Chief Musokotwane Local Court. I want to show you that we will do our best job to put up the best structure so that we advertise ourselves for future jobs,” Mr Kapalu said. He said the works to construct the school were a three-months job if all the funds were made available to the contractor. Headman Mwengelele Simulomba, who provided land for the school and represented eight villages, said he was very happy that construction for the school had started. Headman Simulomba said he was hopeful that the project would help improve literate levels in the area. Livingstone Roman Catholic Bishop Raymond Mpezele, who blessed the school, urged the community to work together in realising the dream of having the first-ever school infrastructure. Indeed the construction of Kamatanda Community Primary School in Kazungula District of Southern Province would go a long way to improve literacy levels in an area that has no nearby schools.