Kawama Village

In the two years that Mike and I have been involved with Kawama School we have spent time, not only talking to Mary, the Headteacher but also many members of the wonderful community, about the development of the village and how it is to live there. Undoubtedly, the school and the community are linked, and often as one develops, so does the other.

New Kawama looking towards the "Old" area. Kawama School is the silver "cross" just right of centre 

So first a little of the history. Up until 1995, the area was simply ‘bush’ but as the nearby city of Kitwe started to grow, people began to look for more affordable housing around Kawama. Some people bought land to build their family home, while others saw a business opportunity to build houses to rent. There are still two distinct parts to Kawama, the old and the new. The “old” area is slightly more prosperous, with more 3-roomed houses, some with electricity and water and a tarmac road. Kawama School is situated in the new part, where most houses still have only one or two rooms, few people have electricity and water is still collected daily from a bore hole or well in the village. As you drive through the village, women and children are seen sweeping the area around their houses, keeping them as clean as they can. However, rubbish is often swept into the streets., rather than being burned. This can make the area appear more neglected to us than it is in reality.

An older home falling down but still lived in

A much newer and more modern home

Washing is often just hung over the shrubs by the street

There has been very little investment in the infrastructure in the area, which means that roads are extremely badly maintained and the drainage system is virtually non-existent. This is a huge problem in the rainy season as it often becomes impossible to walk around. We have heard recently that the council have plans to improve the roads and drainage system, which would make a huge difference to the area. 

Although houses are kept clean the rubbish is just thrown into the street

Cars use the roads in the wet season with difficulty

This is the "main" road into New Kawama with the Government School in the background

There are very few jobs around Kawama, apart from the local market where people have small stalls selling a range of goods from fruit and vegetables to second hand clothes. Some of the community have started up small shops perhaps doing tailoring or barbers and hairdressers. One or two of the younger people have also started computer or internet places that may offer photocopying or printing but of course these depend on the erratic electricity supply. There is an area on the road into Kawama that has timber yards and a newly built Zambeef factory. It can be very hard to find regular work in the area. Although some people commute to Kitwe, these tend to be the professional people, like teachers who have decided to rent in Kawama to save money.

Timber yards on the road into Kawama

The new Zambeef factory giving some employment

Most of the "shops" are this style

Shops and stalls sell many things

Vegetable sellers, mostly home grown

There are many bars and this is the local beer delivery

The area is developing quite quickly, with more people building slightly larger houses. However, as a consequence, the more vulnerable families were finding it harder to find a place to rent. Some families were moving out to a nearby village called Kamatipa, which is less developed and so more affordable. Mary has recently been asked to support the community school at Kamatipa, sharing her years of knowledge with less experienced colleagues. At the moment there are still many vulnerable children at the school, but with the developments that are happening, the time may come when more families have to move away. Both the schools and Beyond Ourselves monitor carefully the number of vulnerable children in our schools since these are the families we are committed to support.

Most children now attend school, but parents still do not always value education. Too many young children are kept at home to work, or sent to market to sell vegetables rather than going to school. Older boys often drop out of school as they start to roam streets, enjoying being with their friends rather than in school. Kawama school and church are doing a fantastic job within the community in trying to support these young people by running a youth group as well as a Boys Brigade group. There is no doubt that life is hard in Kawama village, but with the help of our school, there is hope for the future.