Sometimes it's hard not to feel overwhelmed at the journey ahead of us. Beyond Ourselves have been partnering with schools here in the Copperbelt of Zambia for the past 7 years and it can often feel like we've still got such a long way to go, so much 'room for improvement'.
This week I was invited along to visit another school to see what they are doing.
I was welcomed to a mud-brick church building in Kamatipa, a community close to our partner school in Kawama. The wooden doors opened and, without exception, everyone stared in my direction. 100 stoic eyes studied me before returning to their lessons. The dusty hall was partitioned by benches, with rows of children sat to face one of 6 dimly lit chalkboards around the hall - separated into their different grades. As I walked around, I was struck by how familiar a sight this was: Children leaning forward to write on the bench in front of them, the teacher using the only textbook they have as a 'teaching bible'. The six teachers, all volunteers, all unpaid, all unqualified. Our schools all started from similar beginnings.
I came away from my time at the school wondering what we could do to support this project (financially, we're not in a position to take on another school, another community, but there are still ways to honour the staff and their commitment to the children they teach, as well as help them to become more effective in their roles).
I also came away with a renewed perspective of just how far our schools have come and reminded that I need to be patient. We continue to dream big for our pupils, our schools, and the communities they are in, but it¹s also important to reflect on the journey we¹ve been on so far and the dreams we¹ve already seen fulfilled.
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