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Ahavah School has recently grown its family to 20 students with the addition of a new local teacher that shows immense promise. Currently we have three teachers, two being local and one from South Africa, each having their own class with a different level schooling that provides the opportunity to increase the school’s capacity. The students have been amazing throughout the year and extremely adaptable. The year had some challenges for the students, from gaining a new Headmaster and starting a new and higher curriculum of education and being closed for a while due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. However, the students were extraordinary in their capacity to adapt and flourish, being motivated by an abnormal eagerness to learn. Our local teacher, Pamela, is teaching the kindergarten section of the school and has been doing an amazing job. Our newest teacher Namanda is handling our kindergarten section and teaching the youngest children in Ahavah school. Pamela and Namanda are receiving training Monday-Friday from Ahavah School’s headmaster, and it is incredible to see God’s calling over their lives starting to be realized. Through God’s divine purpose and blessing we were able to enroll Pamela at a university this term to study a degree Primary Education. We are excited about this and believe she will be the first of more to come, education is an incredibly important tool to help alleviated poverty and break chains of captivation.
The first semester has really been an awakening in the children’s lives regarding what it means to be a servant leader, an intercessor, and an inquisitor. We constantly provide opportunities for students to develop leadership by serving one another in and outside of class. The primary students have been developing intercession skills for their country and continent by receiving a specific word for Zambia, this word is the theme through the week during discipleship/intercession time. Science experiments have been playing a major role in class, motivating students to question events in their everyday life, showing them how natural events occur such as thunderstorms through experiments allows them to see the beauty of the creation while removing any cultural superstitions attached to such events.
Another new aspect of Ahavah School is based on the Biblical principle of the reward system, as we are rewarded for our faith, we believe the students should be rewarded for their commitment and hard work. Hard work, completing activities, helping teachers and peers, good attitudes and cleanliness reward the children with a star during the course of a day. Stars are traded for one piece of currency (Ahavah Kwachas named after the local currency), their Ahavah Kwachas can be used at the ‘school shop’ to purchase candy, puzzles, toys etc. It also establishes a wide variety of financial and communication skills at an early age which often does not develop in a rural setting.
This is an extremely exciting season we are entering, especially with recently having started a feeding project at the school. Cabbage! Tomatoes! Pumpkins! Eggplants! Spinach! Beetroots! Okra! Mushrooms! Beans! Pasta! Potatoes! And so much more is just a few of the foods we can now provide our children, ensuring they get all the vitamins, minerals, and proteins they need. The ability to ensure the children get all nutritional value they need at a young age will completely change their lives moving forward. This is a project that we are so grateful for, and our hearts extend to The Fond des Hirondelles for making this possible.
We are extremely excited to be able to provide our children with one warm, healthy, and nutritional meal a day. Our children are now receiving warm meals pact with nutrition during lunch time. Eating together is also a major part of the Lozi culture so it is wonderful for us to eat the same meal together as a school, something that is important because some children come from poorer households and most often only eat porridge with nothing added. Through something as ‘small’ as a meal we are saying to the children that they all deserve the best and are worthy to receive the best.
This not only plays a major role in Ahavah’s ability to develop the children but also takes off immense stress for parents to provide meals for their children to take to school. We are extremely grateful for this project and the full affect it has on the children and the community cannot be overstated. Due to the feeding program the teachers identified the need to start their own vegetable garden with participation from the older students. The markets vary in products and produce available, so it is important that Ahavah school become sustainable so that we are able to continually provide warm meals for the children. Agriculture is such a major part of the Lozi people’s culture, the garden project is also a great way to help develop agricultural skills and knowledge for children at a young age and incorporating them into the feeding project will also show the importance of charity and volunteering for they will be the community leaders in the future.
Thanks for taking the time and reading our update! We are extremely grateful for your support.
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