SCALEAfrica

As our organization has seen amazing growth this year, our ability to have a real impact on the futures of the students at Chiutika School is tangible and exciting. With that, Guy and Erinn are happy to announce two great milestones. First is the completion of the library at Chiutika. The building is in full use, with plenty of room for books and students. Second is the approval of our teacher housing designs by the Zambian government. This means we can start building in the New Year!

If you've seen the current housing conditions on this website, you'll understand why this is a top priority. Every year, we lose fantastic teachers to the deplorable living conditions. This directly effects the quality of the education our students receive.

Our fundraiser in July raised enough for 1.5 teacher houses, and for that we're thrilled with the contribution you've made so far. We hope to raise the funds to complete the second house through your generous support. So, please consider a donation to SCALEAfrica! We absolutely need your help to keep this momentum going!

Welcome back and thanks for continuing to follow our progress! While there’s lots of exciting news to report, the first order of priority is to announce that we are hosting a fundraiser – SCALEAfrica 2010 Summer Benefit in NYC on Thursday, July 29th at Above Allen at the Thompson LES Hotel. This exciting event will feature an open bar, delicious food (by Susur Lee, currently on Top Chef Masters), and an array of amazing raffle prizes. But most importantly, we will be auctioning off a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. The park is adjacent to our school projects so the lucky winner will have an opportunity to visit the schools, see the work, and meet the kids. Once all that hard work is done, a sundowner on the Luangwa River while watching the elephants make their nightly crossing will be just the thing. We truly hope you’ll join us for this event. As we strive to complete the new library and life-skills workshop and begin much-needed teacher housing, we need your help. As we’ve said before, funding goes a long, long way in Zambia. So, come, enjoy the party, and be a part of our efforts at Chiutika!

Our second big announcement is the arrival of the outdoor tents in Mfuwe! Outdoor tents, you ask? Back in January, we got wind of a big technology company (who wishes to remain anonymous) that had miles and miles of canvas material from a large, national ad campaign. Being responsible citizens, they were looking to recycle this material for a greater good. We were happy to oblige. We worked with them and EZ-Up to create 16’ x 16’ outdoor tents to be distributed to five area schools in Mfuwe, Twenty-five tents were created, making for over 4000sf of temporary classroom space at five impoverished schools! As we seek to build more infrastructure, these tents will keep the kids out of the heat and the rain while we raise funds. Doesn’t mean the pressure is off, but it does mean the schools can continue to operate as the work is being done.

Put this in the fingers crossed category: the Chiutika School Project has been nominated for inclusion in the upcoming edition of Cameron Sinclair’s book, Design Like You Give A Damn II. This is a compendium of humanitarian projects around the globe and a follow-up book to a very successful first edition. While it’s an honor just to be nominated (wink*), we’re obviously hoping we make the cut. Final announcement is expected in August and the book is slated for launch at the end of the year. Keep you posted on this one!

So, once again, please join us for the benefit on July 29th! Pre-sale tickets are only $60, so buy early! It will be a great evening; there may even be a surprise or two. Of course, we need you to make this a successful event. As always, your continued support is instrumental to our efforts.

We are so proud to announce the completion of the four classroom block at Chiutika. The building is in use and the students and teachers are thrilled to have the additional space. Fewer students are sitting outside for their lessons, as we’ve effectively doubled the amount of classroom space at the school. The head teacher recently wrote to us to express his and the community’s gratitude for the new building and their wonderment that so many have donated to help a school in this remote area. We too are especially grateful for all the support we’ve received. We know it’s not easy these days, so we appreciate everything our supporters have done to help us.

The next priority is to furnish the classrooms to get the students off the floor and into proper desks. If you got our most recent appeal, then you know that $100 can buy one desk for three students. We need 20 desks per class, 80 desks total. If we have the funding, the desks will be fabricated by local artisans as soon as possible. This work helps not just the kids and teachers, but the community at large. Consider buying one, or join forces with a friend.

And, we are just as proud to say that we are moving on to Phase II of the project, the restoration of an existing building to house a library and life-skills workshop. Here, the students will learn valuable crafts and trades in order to support their school and education. Our fundraising goal for Phase II is $40,000. Given our success with the first phase, we truly hope people continue to pitch in. The funds go a long way in Zambia, every contribution really does make an impact. (Click Here to See Workshop Drawings)

Speaking of impact, we also want to give recognition to one of our most ardent supporters. Aimee Lanphere, who orchestrated a drive in Glenview, IL to gather school and sporting supplies for the students at Chiutika. She and her crew donated stationery, bookbags, soccer uniforms, and jerseys and raised the funds to send them to Zambia. Our project manager, Jeff, distributed these items to the school. Everyone at Chiutika was so excited to get the packages and the crisp uniforms did a lot to boost the soccer team’s confidence on the field. Chiutika Basic has always had a strong soccer team, but this year they finished tops.

Now that we are in Phase II, we promise to do more frequent updates. We had twins last year, so needless to say we’ve had our hands full. While we continued to work hard on SCALE’s mission, the updates definitely fell by the wayside. Thanks for hanging in there with us! Remember to check back for picture updates on Chiutika and for our next set of objectives at the school. As always, none of this would be possible without your generous support of SCALEAfrica.

Since the Summer, we have continued to forge ahead at the school, though progress has been slower than we hoped. A few periods of adverse weather and certain materials shortages led to a few temporary delays. In all, none of the challenges were more than a ‘speed bump’; though collectively they set back our timing somewhat.

We recently changed Project Managers and now have the fortune of engaging a construction veteran with extensive experience building schools and housing in the area. With a deep understanding of local conditions and challenges, we are excited with the new addition to the SCALEAfrica team and look forward to moving full steam ahead.

Good progress has been made at the school over the Fall. The restoration of half of the existing classroom block has been completed with two of the classrooms now as good as new and in full use. On the new 4 classroom block, all the brick and structural work is now also complete. Next, will be the roof structure and sheeting, followed by the final pouring of the floors and plastering of the walls. The majority of the materials are on site with the rest on the way. So, no more delays! Once complete, there will just be painting and furnishing.

With additional funding which we are now hoping to raise, we are aiming to have the building ready for the beginning of the next term in April 2009. We are very eager to complete the new classroom block, which together with the existing classrooms will form a courtyard and represent a dramatic upgrade of the school’s learning facilities.

We have also made progress with our objective of wiring the school for electricity. After extensive discussions and follow up with local power company officials, we are hopeful that they will soon begin the infrastructure work necessary (ie electricity poles and transformers). SCALEAfrica plans to fund the initial capital costs, with the school sustaining the low monthly service fee thereafter.

Remember to check back for picture updates of the completed building and for our next set of objectives at the school. As always, none of this would be possible without your generous support of SCALEAfrica.

Jotham has the honor of being our first “Student Success Story”, not only because he was the top student at the Chiutika Basic School, but because he is one of the sparks that keeps us forging ahead with this project. We met him on our second visit to the school. Mr. Lungu was eager to have us meet his best and brightest. When we remarked to Jotham that Mr. Lungu thinks he’s an excellent student, he smiled shyly while looking about the schoolyard and plainly stated, “I am good, but I could be even better…” He didn’t really need to end the sentence, but we saw the “if only” in his face. Since we last saw Jotham, he successfully passed the entrance exams and gained entry to the Chizongwe Secondary School in Chipata, the Eastern Province’s capital. Chizongwe is a highly selective boarding school, with a focus on technical skills. Jotham continues to inspire his headmaster, teachers and fellow students at Chiutika.