The National Police Aid Convoys support many schools around
the world, but here I would like to focus on just two of them. On their recent
trip to Zambia NPAC visited schools that they have sponsored in the past
including Nyimba East Primary School. Nyimba District is situated in the
Eastern Province of Zambia. The headteacher of the school, Lita Zalimba has
been in contact with NPAC for 10 years. She was originally a teacher at Mwape
School, further west, but in 2010 she moved to the newly built Nyimba East
School. In the time she has been there the school has gone from strength to
strength, having been filled by generous donations to NPAC. The school is
equipped with all the desks, chairs, books and sports equipment they need, and
during their last visit the playing fields were levelled and kitted out with
netball hoops and goal posts. The playing fields are used by many schools in
the area for tournaments and the school choir is entering regional
competitions. Nyimba East is a success story for Lita and NPAC, and we hope
that they will continue to grow and develop talented and enthusiastic minds.
If you’d like to hear more about Nyimba East School, take a
look at Andrew Whittingham’s new book “Ninety Days in Nyimba”. Andrew grew up
in Nottinghamshire, and his book follows his time teaching alongside the
dedicated staff at Nyimba East.
Another school that NPAC supports is Mnyazi Primary School,
also situated in Nyimba District. Mnyazi is further outside the main town of
Nyimba, along roads which can barely be called such. A small group of us
travelled the 45 minutes to visit this school and what greeted us was something
quite different to Nyimba East. There are 422 pupils currently enrolled from
the ages of 6 to 22. They were very grateful for the equipment NPAC had already
sent, but it was clear to see that there was much more to be done. The older
children and teachers needed desks which were big enough for them, the children
needed uniforms, school bags, and in some cases shoes, and the school would
benefit from tools to cultivate a garden to grow food for the children.
One thing that we noticed wherever we went was the gratitude
and generosity of spirit which greeted us. Both Nyimba East and Mnyazi schools
insisted on their choirs performing for us, which prompted goosebumps and not a
few tears. These children who are so grateful for the simplest things wanted to
show us what they could do, and it was breathtaking. None of it would be
possible without desks, books and materials sent by NPAC. Without this basic
equipment the schools cannot retain either teachers or students and huge
districts are left without the basic right of access to education. Such a huge
problem is so easy to fix with excess and redundant stock from our local
schools which you give to NPAC. All we do is get it where it is needed.
If you’re interested in the work NPAC does, visit their website at www.npac.org.uk.
First published in Southwell Life, September 2014.
