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.