Beyond Big & Red

Why does Big & Red support Beyond Ourselves? 

Beyond Ourselves do an amazing & inspiring job. From the moment I heard about what Beyond Ourselves was doing in Zambia & how they do it, I knew this was the charity for me & my business.

I visited 3 of the schools that Beyond Ourselves built & paid for in Zambia in 2010, I can honestly say,  it changed my life. It helped to see & understand what poverty really is. The children live in
compounds (townships), in makeshift homes, often sharing a room with the rest of their family or
someone else’s, as many of them have lost one or both of their parents to HIV, Malaria or some other preventable disease.

I am hugely grateful to Beyond Ourselves for doing what I would love to have done, for giving these
children an education, for giving them books, a school uniform, a hot meal every day, a monthly visit from a doctor & of course, for giving them hope! All for £12.50 per child per month!

Due to the generosity of people, the staffing of Beyond Ourselves is paid for separately so every
penny that is given through the sponsorship goes directly to the place you want it to go, to the children’s welfare, not to pay hefty administration fees.

Jodie, Karen and Diane do an amazing job running Beyond Ourselves here in the UK. Melissa, Dan
and Emily are on the ground in Zambia, their passion & drive is there for all to see. You couldn’t ask
for better, more passionate people to be running the charity.

Daniel, Gary & I support ten children through selling products we buy/blag or are donated, from our
customers. They are very generous & we thank them for their support. Please come & buy our products, we sell sweets, crisps, virgin olive oil to name but a few things on offer.

Please support Beyond Ourselves & look beyond yourself, £12.50 is a small sum to pay for the life changing affect you can have on the child you support!

Written by Andy Kelman, Director of Big & Red Storage  http://www.bigandred.co.uk

Meet the Grade 7’s!

Last week I sat down to have a chat with four of the Grade 7 students at Greater Joy School in Chimwemwe, Kitwe.

Meet Robert Nyrienda, Aaron Chomchoma, Salifyangi Nalumgwe and Natasha Kaoma. (From left to right in photo)

We giggled quite a lot but in between the laughter I asked them some questions about life at school and what it’s like being the eldest in the school…

When did you start here at Greater Joy School?

NK: in Grade 5
SN: also Grade 5
RN: I started in Grade 4
AC: me as well, Grade 4

How long does it take you to walk to school?

AC: I live quite far from school, 30 minutes
NK: just 10 minutes, I walk fast!
SN: I don’t live as far but it takes 30 minutes, I walk with my sister and she’s slow!
(JC: she’s in Reception class!)
RN: (smugly) 3 minutes!
(This was then debated but it turns out Robert really does live that close to school!)

You’ve all said you like school, what are some of the good things here at Greater Joy?

NK: They teach many things and I learn so much!

Are you feeling confident about your Grade 7 exams at the end of the year?

All: Yes!
(They’ve all chosen the Secondary Schools they hope to attend next year for Grade 8)

Why do you think education is important?

NK: You can learn to read and write
RN: And have a bright future
AC: A good future

What advice would you give to the current Grade 6’s as they prepare for Grade 7?

SN: Always come to school
NK: You should study hard and concentrate at school

And if someone was misbehaving at school what would you say to them?

AC: School is nice, why are you being like that?
RN: If you study you can have a future and be your own boss!

At the beginning of this year you went on a Grade 7 outing (the school’s first outing) and did some leadership training to become play leaders for the younger children.

What did you learn that day?

NK: To lead by example
RN: How to teach games

And if you could teach just one game what would it be? Which do you like best?

All: Grandmother’s Footsteps!
SN: oh and Fruit Salad!

What has been one of the funniest moments during your time at Greater Joy?

(A lot of discussion and giggling and then an agreement on the funniest moment.)
NK and SN: When Teacher Maureen said “if you don’t come to get your results she will kick you and you will find yourself on the roof!!!”
(Teacher Maureen was in the room as this story was told and was laughing as much as the students at this point!)

And finally, what will you remember from your time at Greater Joy?

NK: the best teachers
AC: best education
RN: best feeding programme
SN: the best school trip!

Thank you!

More than sorting beans...

Today was a good day.

Today I was in Zambia.

Today was a full day that amongst other things included, a staff meeting at Janna School, going to the Immigration office to finally pick up my work permit (hooray!), and submitting our tax returns to the Zambia Revenue Authority (not so fun!).

Yet, in the midst of all that I got to do one of my favourite things.

I sat with the cooks at Janna School and sorted the beans that need to be soaked overnight ready to cook for tomorrow’s lunch.

It’ a simple task, first you throw out any of the dirt, stones, grass or leaves that have got in to the beans, then you sort through the beans for any dud ones and discard those so you’re only left with the good beans.  And as satisfying as that is (honestly, it is!), that’s not why it’s one of my favourite things.

I love it because I get to sit with Evelyn, Blackson, Mary and Catherine and chat. Chat about everything and anything. We caught up on each other’s lives, our families, our friends, our homes. We talked about the school. We discussed politics. And we shared our thoughts on development for this community and what the future might look like for them.

Over the years people have asked me “Why Zambia?” and originally the answer was because we had made a connection here and we believed in the vision the local church had to see their communities transformed and so we offered to partner with them to see that happen.

But the answer has changed…

When Catherine greeted me this morning she said “Welcome Home!”. I laughed and said thank you. But then as I sat with Evelyn, Blackson, Mary and Catherine sorting the beans we talked about the saying “home is where the heart is” and I thought that perhaps Catherine was speaking  more truth than I had realised when she welcomed me ‘home’.

So now my answer to the “Why?” is simple. Because this is a home to me and these are my friends.

Who of us wouldn’t want to see our home and friends flourish? To run alongside and support our friends and cheer them on, to want the best for them…?

That’s “Why".

So yes, today was a good day. I got to sort beans!

Beyond The Bike 'The Next Revolution'

You may remember back in 2011/12, our friend and city economist turned teacher, Stuart Block, cycled a tandem from South Africa to London. Crazy but true! The epic journey raised over £120,000 for Beyond Ourselves as well as other projects en route.

After three years back in full time employment, the three-four months per year of school holidays haven't been enough for Stuart so its time for some more adventures…

Setting off in September, Stuart plans to cycle to China on the same tandem (our beloved ‘Thandie'), following ancient and new ‘silk routes’ with his girlfriend and fellow teacher, Claire Le Hur, a cycling novice but languages expert!

Keeping the back seat of the tandem free for those they meet en route, Claire will be riding a bamboo bike, built by the African social enterprise that Stuart helped to set up during his original trip. Starting in Africa, they will follow the journey of key natural resources, such as Copper and Gold, along their supply chains to resource- hungry Asia and back to Europe, exploring their uses in the new economic super-powers; India and China.

There are a couple of group rides along the way for the adventurous amongst us; a ‘warm-up’ ride to Amsterdam at the beginning of September and then a 300km ride through Cambodia in 2016! Go to www.beyondthebike.org to find out more.

In case you’ve forgotten who Stuart is:

Stuart worked for eight years as an economist in the City, initially at Schroders before covering global themes at Citigroup. In 2009 he transitioned into teaching at Cranleigh School. The original ‘Beyond the Bike' helped to build and consolidate links for Cranleigh with Beyond Ourselves and Kawama Community School in Zambia.

And introducing Claire:

Claire teaches Classics at Colfe’s School and co-ordinates their outreach work. Claire speaks French, Spanish and Italian and is learning Mandarin whilst planning for the ‘Silk Road’ adventure. (I did say she was a languages expert!). Before meeting Stuart, Claire's experience of cycling was based on rushing to lectures at University. Her debut on a road bike was up the famous Col de la Colombière in the snow!

In partnership with Tutor2U, one of the world’s leading educational websites, and working with the British Council’s connecting classrooms programme, they will produce blogs, videos, skype lessons and other educational resources examining themes that have helped shape economic development over the centuries, including trade, technology and education.

The ride isn’t just because they are both teachers who have a passion for education through adventure.

The aim is to raise another £100,000 for Beyond Ourselves (the original partner for Beyond the Bike) and United World Schools, a similar educational charity focused in Asia, as well as some other potential projects along the route.

So let’s cheer them on, support them, maybe even ride with them?!