PROPOSAL FOR A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN LUMWANA WEST

NORTHWESTERN ZAMBIA
A partnership between: The Lumwana West Community, The Elizabeth Bowers Zambia Education
Fund, World Vision Zambia, The Zambia Ministry of Education, Engineers Without Borders

THE NEED
The community of Lumwana West in the Northwestern
Province of Zambia needs a secondary school. Together
with its international partners, it is seeking funding assis-
tance to transform the lives and future of their children and
their community.

The families of Lumwana West are among the 67 percent of

the Zambian population living in extreme poverty (less than
$1/day). The only opportunity for their children to complete
a secondary school education is at a boarding school 54 miles (86.9 km)
away in Mwinilunga. Tuition with boarding, school supplies, uniforms, and
exam fees brings the annual average cost for secondary school to $407,
more than most families total income in a year. Within a 25-mile (40.2-km)
radius of the Lumwana West community, there are currently 5,233 regis-
tered students in grades 1 through 9 in 16 primary schools. Due to their
isolation and the poor quality of educational resources available to these
children, the vast majority will not receive an education beyond grade 7,
the highest grade for a free education.

To complete construction of a secondary school in their own community that generations of chil-
dren could attend can be accomplished for under $1.8 million.

THE COMMUNITY
Lumwana West is 500 unpaved road miles (804.7 km) from
Lusaka, the capital of Zambia; 120 unpaved road miles (193.1
km) from Solwezi, the capital of the Northwestern Prov-
ince; and 54 unpaved road miles (86.9 km) from Mwinilun-
ga, the district capital and location of the secondary school
boarding facilities. Most families subsist on small-scale
farming, growing staple foods like maize, cassava, beans,
and cabbage, as well as their famous pineapples.

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The Lumwana West Basic School was established in 1951
to accommodate children through grade 9. In 2013,
there were over 680 students enrolled, with 10 simple
classrooms, 160 desks, and 11 teachers. This means that,
on average, there were 68 students in each classroom,
and 62 students per teacher. There is no public electrical
connection for the community, so there is no electricity
at the school or to support students to study after dark.

CHANGE IS HAPPENING WITH LOCAL SUPPORT

Mbongo (Larry) Njolomba, Lumwana West Basic School Headmaster, is a man on a mission.
He has tried every avenue to develop commitment to build a secondary school in Lumwana
West, advocating with the local chief, the Ministry of Education (MOE), local politicians, a lo-
cal mining company, and partners like the Elizabeth Bowers Zambia Education Fund (EBZEF)
and Engineers Without Borders (EWB). In Lumwana West, he worked with EBZEF to get a
library built and furnished, including shelves, furniture, 20,000 books, computers and solar
panels; to start a preschool; and to conduct life
skills training for women in the village. He is
working with EWB to construct a math/science lab.

The MOE has recently restructured the national

school system: Basic School is now preschool-
grade 7; Secondary School is grades 8-12. Larry
was recently appointed Headmaster of the Sec-
ondary School, with a new Secondary School Deputy Headmaster and a Basic School Deputy
Headmistress. He keeps the local PTA and Community Committee accountable and action
oriented. He knows that there is no real future for the people of Lumwana West without a
secondary school in their own community.

INVOLVEMENT BY EBZEF
The relationship between EBZEF and Lumwana West
was born of the tragic loss of Elizabeth Beth Bow-
ers, who shared her compassionate spirit with the
people of Lumwana West as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Beth died in a bicycle accident in 2002 during her
service. Her family and EBZEF supporters transformed
this tragedy into a scholarship opportunity for deserv-
ing young women of Lumwana West to strive for bet-
ter lives for themselves and their families.

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When EBZEF was founded in 2002, there were only four girls from the community attend-
ing grades 8 to 12. Since then, EBZEF has provided scholarships to over 315 individual girls in
the Lumwana West area, allowing them to attend secondary school and college, and open-
ing new possibilities for women of the village. EBZEF provides scholarships for village girls,
knowing that the opportunity can transform their lives, and their education can never be
taken from them. As Beths Girls graduate from secondary school, complete college or
trade school, and get good jobs, they become strong role models for other girls as well as
finding ways to give back to their community.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
A library and a science lab are two
prerequisites for having a secondary
school. These two buildings are in
place or underway, setting the stage
for the final phase of investment. It is
time to take the next steps toward a
sustainably transformed community:

1. Construct and equip classrooms

and teacher housing to support a
secondary school, grades 8 to 12, to
educate 1,110 students per year.
2. Construct and equip a computer lab.

Estimated costs to complete this program include:

1. Secondary School Construction $1,650,640

21 Classrooms (with built in desks/seats) $840,000 $40,000 ea
15 Teachers Houses $630,000 $42,000 ea
1 Office Block (3-room) $120,000 $40,000/room
Office Furniture $14,400
Sanitation Facilities (latrines x 32) $10,240 $320 ea
Water Facilities $12,000
Electrification (diesel generator; housing; installation) $24,000
2. Computer Lab Construction $63,000
Facility $48,000
25 Desk Top Computers $15,000 $600 ea
Internet Connection tbd
Total $1,713,640
Note: Costs include 10% World Vision Zambia project management fee, 5% for travel,
and 5% contingency.

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Once funded, school construction is expected to require three years from design through
equipment installation. All maintenance and operations costs, including teacher salaries, will
then be assumed by the Zambia Ministry of Education.
We are capable
Benchmarks: 1. Funding partner(s) identified of doing anything;
2. Signed Memoranda of Understanding with the MOE the power is in our
3. Construction contractor selected hands. Remember
4. School construction completed that, when you
5. Secondary school gazetted in MOE system educate a girl, you
6. Secondary school fully staffed educate the whole
world.
7. Computer lab networked
Beths Girl
Justina Salumawu

CONCLUSION
There is only one practical solution for the children and the future of this community: to
build their own secondary school. This investment represents the fulfillment of the basic
human right to education for the children of the greater Lumwana West community for the
foreseeable future. This generation of children can leap-frog decades of under-development
and poverty, and receive a contemporary quality education to improve their lives, their com-
munity, and their country.

WONT YOU HELP?

Primary partners to achieve the communitys goal have been identified and will be engaged
to make this dream a reality:

Partner Contributions
EBZEF Project direction; fundraising
EWB Architectural design; electrical system design; water system; latrines
World Vision Project management; construction contracting
Lumwana West Land; labor; building materials (sand, stone); village-level management
Ministry of Education School gazetting; teachers and staff; school finance and management;
long-term operations and maintenance
YOU Funds; materials and supplies; in-kind services

Wont you help now to transform the future for these children
and their community? To help, please contact:
Linda Bowers, Executive Director
Elizabeth Bowers Zambia Education Fund
P.O. Box 294, Salem, OR USA 97308-0294
Email: lbowers@willamette.edu
Telephone: (503) 585-4605 www.facebook.com/EBZEF
See more information on our website at www.ebzef.org/news/secondaryschool
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