Shitima School, Kabwe



  • achievements
  • 2011-2013 projects
  • fundraising
  • leadership


Since Zamcog’s founding with twelve street kids in a small room at their home, over £1 million has been raised and a school/dormitory compound has been built.

Our achievements to date:

- Purchase of 25 acres on the outskirts of Kabwe
- Construction of security wall
- Construction of two separate school blocks (grades 1 -9)
- Construction of two boys dormitories accommodating 70 students
- Construction of one girl’s dormitory accommodating 30 girls
- Construction of a dining hall, seating up to 300 students
- Construction of a kitchen
- Construction of a science lab and a computer room/library
- Construction of ablution block for day students
- Construction of sewing and tailors rooms
- Construction of sports playing field, football pitch, netball court, basketball court, young children’s playground (swings, slides, climbing frame etc)
- Purchase of one school pick up truck
- Purchase of school bus
- Building student enrollment from twelve to over two hundred and forty
- Creating 42 jobs to run the school
- Achieving some of the highest pass rates in the district for our students sitting for Gr 7 and Gr 9 exams.
- Obtaining access to medical care
- Our first student has graduated from grade twelve and is applying to university
- Winning awards in cultural dance and poetry
- Participating in sports competitions locally and nationally
- Planting of our maize field
- Planting of our garden that feeds entire school fresh vegetables every day
- Implementation of counselling and AIDS prevention programmes


And most importantly, we have over 250 poor and vulnerable children who are happy, healthy, positive and well on the way to realising their full potential!




Over the next 3 years, Zamcog would like to complete:

- the expansion through to Grade 12. This will allow for a further 60-70 children
- skills training for our students eg. carpentry, mechanics, upholstery, milling, cobbler, seamstress/tailor
- expansion of our remedial education program
- expansion of our housing options including some transitional living arrangements for our older students as they transition into a work environment
- implemention of micro-financing primarily focused on opportunities with our students who have completed job skills training, in partnership with an established micro-financing NGO in Zambia

and to acquire:

- science lab equipment
- a new school vehicle as it is becoming increasingly expensive to try to keep the old vehicle running
- a larger generator

We would like to broaden the scope of our activities at Shitima, which makes enormous sense as the students who started with us 8 years ago mature, graduate and need help transitioning to supporting themselves in a very tough economy. By expanding our gardens for instance, we will not only be making the school more self sufficient, but we will be providing farming jobs and sales jobs (taking the excess fruits and vegetables to market) for some in our community.

Zamcog is fortunate to have benefited from numerous in kind donations such as school uniforms, beds, bedding, desks, computers, ovens, sports equipment, and sewing machines.

Click here to see the various ways you can get involved, from annual appeals to organising and hosting gala events


The Zamcog Leadership on the ground in Zambia includes:

Brother George Poirier
Brother George was appointed Director of Shitima in December, 2009. A native of the United States, Br George has lived his entire adult life in Zambia as a teacher and manager of agricultural development projects. He brings a wealth of experience to Shitima and has had an extremely positive impact. Brother George oversees all aspects of Zamcog’s efforts in Zambia, while deferring to the Headmistress on day-to-day operating issues at the school.

Mrs. Violet Nyirenda
Mrs. Nyirenda was named Headmistress of Shitima School in June 2009. Mrs. Nyirenda previously served as Headmistress of a primary school in Makalulu compound, one of Zambia’s largest slums. She brings to Shitima long experience working with orphans and other vulnerable children. As Headmistress Mrs. Nyirenda serves as the educational leader of the school community.

Mr. Sokoni Mwelwa
Mr Sokoni Mwelwa joined the Shitima team in late 2009 as Bookkeeper and Assistant Administrator. He is responsible for working with Brother George on all administrative issues, employment issues, etc and most importantly, is responsible for monthly reporting of expenditures to the Trustees and preparation of a Budget.

Parent Teacher Association
One of the exciting new things at Shitima School in 2009 was the revitalization of the Parent Teacher Association, which should probably be called the GPTA – Grand Parent Teacher Association. Since many of our students have been orphaned and live with relatives, we have had a group of mostly grandparents and a few parents or other relatives, who have helped out at the school on projects from time to time. This has been formalized into a PTA, with several committees formed, including Kitchen, Security, Building, and Hygiene.