Janna School has one such person.
Her name is Gertrude.
In 1995 Gertrude sadly became a widow with 4 children to care for. Life was not easy.
Before she started work at Janna 7 years ago she had no employment, so when she was asked by Festus to help at the school she jumped at the chance, even though at that time the ‘pay’ was just a donation from the church.
When I asked her why she wanted to work at Janna School, she simply answered she has a heart for the children here in the community, and she knows what a struggle it can be for families to provide education for their children.
When Gertrude thinks back to the changes at Janna and in her own life over the past 7 years she is full of smiles and stories.
Gertrude has loved seeing the development of Janna and how “so many good things have happened since she started”. From the classroom blocks being built and creating good learning environments to seeing the children going from having no food to eating every day!
As for her personally, she says she now has food on the table because of Janna, she’s made home improvements and most importantly since receiving a salary she doesn’t have to worry now. She knows the last Friday of every month she’ll get paid.
I asked her what she did with that very first pay she received, she said “I gave some money to the church and then I went shopping!”.
Gertrude’s 4 children are all doing well:
Her 1st born – is working near to Janna School, making blocks
Her 2nd born – got married in 2013 and has given Gertrude her first Grandchild
Her 3rd born - is at college in Lusaka, training to be a Lab Technician (because of her job, Gertrude is able to help support him)
Her 4th born – finished Grade 12 in 2013 and will turn 21 this year!
Gertrude’s job is full and varied. When I asked her what she did, she answered “so many works!”. Her job title is ‘School Administrator’ but she is so much more than that.
On the admin side, she updates the number of children in each class, noting who has transferred (a regular occurrence in Zambia) and who has reported. She checks the number of books for each subject, for each Grade, seeing if any are missing and if there needs to be any more ordered. She handles all the enquiries and new admissions to Janna School, meeting with parents and dealing with all the paperwork. Alongside all the day to day admin, she also creates the regular reports required by the Ministry of Education about Janna School.
And because Gertrude knows all the families and children so well (she’s always our first port of call when we have any questions about a child!) she acts as liaison in to the wider community, helping us to identify needs and distribute much needed care like food parcels.
Gertrude’s heart for the community is clear and when asked about her dreams for Janna she says she would love to see the school expanded in the years to come to older Grades too. She also sees the need for businesses to be created so that every family in the area can have employment like she does and no longer have to worry about the roof over their head or the food on their table.
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