Tongabezi Trust School, Zambia Africa

From Oxted, England:
The Tongabezi Trust School in Zambia, Africa, of which I am a Trustee is always close to my heart as I have been able to observe the progress of this school from the very beginning when Vanessa Parker started the school back in 1996. Vanessa had gone to Zambia in as a VSO (voluntary service overseas) teacher to teach maths and english at the Livingstone Institute of Learning. She knew nobody there and even had to organize her own accommodation as no-one (in true African fashion) had prepared anything for her arrival. You have to imagine a town with dirt roads, no supermarket, no public transport and no hotel (at the time) and private housing without doors and windows.

Eventually, she met and married Ben Parker who had just established a Safari camp on the banks of the Zambezi, called Tongabezi. Vanessa, rather than work in and for the camp, saw the need for a school so that the children of the camp staff could be educated while their parents worked. She started with one classroom of first graders and taught and organized everything herself with no pay and a classroom which had been built by the camp with just a concrete floor and a thatched roof . It was a great success and became very quickly so popular, that the need to expand became obvious. So, one additional class was added each year until there are now some 120 students from grade 1 to grade 7.

All of this was achieved through the donations of guests at the camp, and friends at home and in 2003 the school was formed into a Charity: 'The Charitable Trust for The Tongabezi Trust School' and given the name 'Tujatane' which means: 'Let's all hold hands together'. It is a delight to observe the children's eagerness to learn. Many of them walk barefoot for hours to school and arrive without having had breakfast and no lunch. This necessitated the establishment of a food program so that all children now receive breakfast at school and are served the very basic mealy meal for lunch.

A basic learning course was also established for the childrens' parents and this is well and eagerly attended.

All in all, the school is a big success and has been recognized by the Zambian Government.

Donations and sponsorships are the lifeblood of the school and every penny donated goes directly to the school. Unfortunately, since the recent revaluation of the Kwacha, all funds have been almost halved in value and donations are constantly needed. Anyone who would like to contribute to the continuing success of the school can find information on our website: www.tujatane.com or by simply 'googling' The Tongabezi Trust School. You will find all necessary information on this website but if you need/want further information please email vanessa@tongabezi.com

Vanessa went through the Sunday School at Oxted church and her Mum and I are active in the Christian Science church in Oxted.

Silvia Harris
Oxted, England