Exciting Development for Beyond Ourselves!

Today is a very exciting day in the history of Beyond Ourselves, we are welcoming our very first Gap Year volunteers to Zambia!

So, who are they?

Alex Foster and Charlie La Fosse have both visited Zambia briefly before when they were students at Cranleigh School. This time the boys will be in Zambia for three months working alongside Dan, Melissa and our partner schools in Ndola and Kitwe.

And what will they do?

Their tasks will be many and varied. Some tasks Alex and Charlie will start and see finished during their time with us and others will be part of our ongoing work at the schools. Here are a few things they’ll be involved in:

• Assisting Dan in running ‘catch-up’ phonics classes

• Prepping for the UK school teams visiting in June and July

• Helping to build a perimeter wall

• Teaching playground games

• Coaching football

• Creating a media presentation

• And anything else that comes their way…

Underlying all the practical jobs that need to be achieved, it is our desire for Alex and Charlie to invest in the relationships we have at the schools, with the teachers, cooks and children.

These three months may well fly by for the boys but we are convinced that their contribution to our longer-term vision will be invaluable.

Welcome Alex and Charlie, we’re so pleased to have you join us!

Charlie

Alex

Five reasons to LOVE Beyond Ourselves

I posed this question to the UK based office of Beyond Ourselves and they instantly replied, “The team: Jodie, Karen, Dan, Melissa and Rebecca, that’s five!” - I think they’re slightly biased! Then again, it is a great team, what’s not to love?!

Just in case you don’t feel the same way about us as we do, here are five slightly less self-centred reasons to love Beyond Ourselves:

1. 100% of the child sponsorship money goes to our partner schools in Zambia. We don’t take a cut for the UK, for any admin or marketing.

2. Every child at our partner schools receives the benefit of the sponsorship. There’s no favouritism.

3. Local sustainability is key to the future of the schools, and that’s why we’re investing in social enterprises in each school community.

4. Partnership is something we believe in. We partner with three schools in Zambia and our partnerships in the UK with schools, churches and businesses help make that happen.

5. Today, as you read this, there are over 800 children, 28 teachers and 8 cooks who have a pretty good reason to love Beyond Ourselves too!

So please, do check us out today! 

Website: http://www.beyondourselves.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beyond-Ourselves/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BOZambia

Cranleigh School - A Key Beyond Ourselves Partner

As a team we are so aware that it takes more than just a few of us to truly make a difference and have an impact on the communities where we work. That’s why we are so thankful for those who partner with us in ways big and small.

One key partner of Beyond Ourselves is Cranleigh School in Surrey. Under the banner of ‘Beyond Cranleigh’ we have been working together since 2010, specifically investing in Kawama School and its surrounding community. Over the past four years we have seen much change at Kawama School; classrooms built, murals painted, teachers employed, children fed, toilet block built, social enterprise set up and much more. And there has been change at Cranleigh too as the ethos of ‘Beyond Cranleigh’ has become embedded in the school.

The partnership between Cranleigh and Kawama continues to deepen as students from Cranleigh visit Kawama twice a year. These times together are significant for both the Zambian and UK students. Here are some of the students’ reflections on trips gone by:

“Each family had a different story. Coming across children who were orphans suffering from HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases, but maintained high aspirations to be doctors, journalists, lawyers and more, proved to be an extremely harrowing and eye-opening experience for us all, and gave us a new perspective on the opportunities that we are offered every day.”

“We were astonished by the passion to learn which radiated from the children. It emphasised to us the value and importance of education and how it is totally underappreciated in the UK. This … specifically helped us to create long-lasting friendships with the teachers and children, especially when monitoring small reading groups.”

“Looking back, saying goodbye to the Kawama community had to be the most difficult part of the week for all of us. Every teacher, every child, everyone involved seemed so grateful for our time, but we felt we should have been thanking them. They have inspired each and every one of us, and some of the experiences we have had will stay with us forever.”

Cranleigh staff and students are currently preparing for the next trip to Kawama going out in July, when we know that yet again lives will be changed and communities transformed – and not just in Zambia!

Visit the 'Beyond Cranleigh' blog to read more on the wonderful experiences the students shared when visiting Zambia: 
https://www.cranleigh.org/news/category/beyond-cranleigh/

The 'Just One' Campaign - Get Involved!

When we started partnering with community schools in Zambia we knew that we wanted every child to receive the benefits of our partnership, no matter what. So we committed to treating every child, at every partner school, as though they were sponsored - even if they weren’t.

That means that for the 800 children at the 3 schools today; EVERY child receives an education, EVERY child receives a meal each school day and EVERY child has access to basic medical care.

The challenge for us is that we currently only have 500 children sponsored, and you don’t have to be a Maths genius to know those numbers don’t match!

And so our challenge to you is can you get JUST ONE child sponsored? If you already sponsor a child with us, thank you, your partnership is invaluable. Perhaps you could take on JUST ONE more child, or perhaps you could encourage JUST ONE friend to sponsor a child with us?

As Mother Teresa said:

“If you can't feed a hundred people, feed JUST ONE.” 

http://www.beyondourselves.co.uk/sponsor-a-child/

How has the partnership changed lives in Zambia?

How has life changed for the children since Beyond Ourselves partnered with the schools in Zambia? Well... 

Before the partnership with Beyond Ourselves, each school was doing what they could to provide an education for the children in their communities. They often relied on volunteer teachers as there was not enough money for salaries. There were no classrooms so the children would all learn in the same room. This meant that each Grade was in a different part of the SAME room – imagine the noise! 

There was also no provision for food for the children, so often they were hungry as many of them were not receiving a meal at home either. The lack of food and basic medical care also meant that a lot of the children were frequently unwell. It is amazing now to see that the children are so much stronger and healthier and how this impacts their learning and life.

Zambia - An insight into a beautiful culture

Usually, when people in the UK think about what life must be like in Zambia they tend to focus on the obvious differences; the warmer climate(!), the languages, the food, some of the traditions and aspects of the Zambian life.

One of my favourite things is when teams come with us over to Zambia and experience the culture for the first time - the sights, smells and sounds can give them sensory overload at first… The sound of many voices singing together in an incredible harmony, the wide smile of an old lady welcoming you to her community, the orange dust on your feet, the cheeky grin of a small child, the texture of Nshima in your mouth as you eat it for the first time, a game of football out in the hot sun and the list goes on…

And yet, even with all these differences I’m struck time and time again by our common loves and surprising similarities. The climate, language and food might be different from ours but we really are more similar than we are different.

Meet the Beyond Ourselves team!

It’s been a while since we wrote a blog but here’s to a brand new ‘regular blog’ era! In fact it’s been so long that we thought it best to start with introductions and a quick “Who’s Who?” at Beyond Ourselves…

Our team in the UK:

Jodie
Jodie has the privilege of overseeing Beyond Ourselves. She took over the initial connection with Zambia from her brother, Ben, back in 2009. Jodie spends most of her time dreaming of ways to make a difference in the communities they are connected to and inspiring others to get involved to make it happen. And if she has to stare at spreadsheets for too long she goes a little crazy!

Karen
Karen was there right at the very beginning of the Zambia connection, so when Beyond Ourselves was born in 2009 it was natural that Karen would be a part of the team. Officially, Karen is in charge of the day-to-day finances, fundraising and events. Unofficially, she provides much needed entertainment and laughter to the team, not to mention the odd song or two…

Rebecca
Rebecca is the new kid on the block, having joined the team earlier this year. She has fit right in and is doing a great job working on our spreadsheets and database system and taking on the Child Sponsorship admin. Jodie and Karen are both very thankful that Rebecca has joined the office team.

Our team in Zambia:

Melissa
Melissa has been an integral part of the Beyond Ourselves team since 2009. She and Dan moved to Zambia in September 2013 to be our hearts, hands and feet over there. Melissa has overseen the Child Sponsorship Programme since it began, as well as be in charge of our creative design and publicity over the years, not to mention a hundred other things she does. She is probably one of the best people to be on team with ever!

Dan
Dan is married to Melissa and has spent the past decade or so being a Primary School teacher in the UK. Since moving to Zambia his official title has become ‘Education Development Advisor’ which means he’s generally doing an incredible job with our partner schools and staff improving the quality of teaching and learning!

Jacob (almost two years old) and Benjamin (just two weeks old!)
Melissa and Dan’s awesome sons! 

Our friends and partners in Zambia:

Enocent and Jennipher
Enocent is a wonderful man and a great friend, and the original contact for us in Zambia. He oversees the Pentecostal Holiness Church in in Zambia. Janna, Greater Joy and Kawama are a part of this church. He is married to Jennipher and we are thrilled to be partnering with them.

Festus and Mercy
Festus has been a friend of ours for over five years now. Janna School in Ndola was the first school Beyond Ourselves partnered with and where we built the first block of classrooms back in 2008. Festus is married to Mercy, the Head Teacher of Janna School.

Ospeck and Angelina
We have known Ospeck since our first visit to Zambia. Ospeck and his wife Angelina are the Directors of Greater Joy School in Kitwe. They have been great partners and we shared their excitement last year when their classroom block was completed, a much needed bore hole was drilled, and Angelina came to visit the UK!

Caphas and Annie
Caphas is the Pastor and Director at Kawama Church and School in Kitwe. After we first met in 2010, things at Kawama have developed quickly and Caphas has taken it all in his stride. He is married to Annie. Oh and he has a great smile!