Muumba School

HHI UK became involved with Muumba school in 2009 when representatives of the local community asked us if we could help do something more for their children, including those who were orphaned and vulnerable. They had a simple building, made from mud bricks and corrugated sheets. There were no windows in this makeshift school and no furniture. The children sat on the floor whilst a volunteer teacher used a homemade blackboard to conduct basic lessons.

The original school with approximately thirty children in 2009

As the school was expanding, a new building was desperately needed. Fundraising activities followed and a grant from the Waterloo Foundation provided further help. The new school was opened in 2015. It has a sturdy block with two bright and airy classrooms, an office and storage space. It has a boundary wall and ramps for disabled children. HHI UK provided the materials and many locals and parents helped to construct it. The Zambian Government agreed to fund qualified teaching staff, a headteacher was appointed and Muumba Primary school was in business.

Muumba Primary school opened in 2015

In 2017, HHI UK provided the funds to sink a borehole which provided the school with a reliable source of clean water and made possible the cultivation of a productive school garden.

The Zambian Government recognised what the school was achieving by making it an official examination centre. It had come a long way in two years. In the UK, our supporters, knitted grey school sweaters, provided outdoor equipment for the youngest children and stationery.
In 2020 the pit latrines were replaced with a new sanitary block for boys and girls with running water.

The growing school has had to recruit more staff, and the headteacher, Mr Bbilika, now leads a team of nine teachers. One disabled member of staff, Prisca Hatembo, who had years before been given a wheelchair by HHI, trained to be a teacher for three years using funds from HHI.
The school has gone through tough times. In November 2019, the community was struck down by a terrible drought and the harvests failed. So the school became a feeding centre with local parents helping to prepare the meals that HHI funded. And despite it all the children presented themselves for end of year examinations and did really well.

In 5 or so years, the original cohort of 40 children has grown to 330 pupils; half of them are girls, a few are disabled, some are orphans and all are vulnerable to the hardships of life in the regional economy.

The next chapter of the story is still to be written. The school wants to expand further to educate children of secondary school age. This will mean the construction of another classroom block, with three classrooms – an expensive undertaking. The Zambian Board of Education favours all-through schools and will help with staffing costs, but are unable to fund buildings and equipment. It’s a very big challenge but this small community is preparing to take it on. HHI is seeking to help and looking for ways to help raise the funding which is needed.