Literacy Project
The Munsangu School was constructed as part of the mine’s Resettlement Action Plan, and provides education services to over 500 pupils within the local community. To coincide with the recent sponsorship of a new library building at the school, Mabiza invited two volunteer English students to lead a literacy drive. The volunteers have already donated over 200 books to the school and, after working with the children, will identify the ideal resources to further improve literacy. The students have raised over £3,500 (ZMW 100,000) to date for the school, mostly from their community in the UK but also supported by donations from the mine management team.
The reading initiative ran from the 6th to 16th July 2021 and was intended to help pupils improve their reading skills and foster international relations. The student volunteers worked with school pupils from 11 to 18 years of age. A small group of 10 to 15 students per day were mobilized from within the local community under strict compliance to Covid-19 regulations. Activities included supervised group readings, alphabetised arrangement and categorization of books, creative writing workshops and several other activities to inspire the pupils interest in reading.
A Hand over ceremony was held at Munsangu School at which the cheque and books were officially presented. The ceremony was attended by the District Commissioner, The District Education Board Secretary and the District Education Secretary Officer along with many representatives from the mine team and the school itself.
The student volunteers pledged to continue sourcing more books and other materials to expand and diversify the contents of the school library once it was commissioned.