Child Care
Location: Zambia, Lusaka
Project: Ng’ombe Open Community School (ZOCS)
Quote:
“Sometimes children are rejected by other children when they know their parents died of HIV. They come to the conclusion that the child must also have HIV and be ill. Here at school we talk about stigmatising and won’t tolerate a child to feel left out.''
Short description:
Zambia Open Community Schools (Zocs’) is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation officially founded in 1992 in Zambia. They support community schools for orphans and other vulnerable children through fundraising. At the moment they support 524 community schools in 38 districts in Zambia. ZOCS in Ng’ombe was started in 1994 for orphans and other vulnerable children by a teacher named Presca. She taught 20 children at her home. Presca discovered that many more children in Ng’ombe didn’t go to school. In a short period the school expanded and at the moment, with 560 children, it is packed. A lot of children live in poverty and eat only at school. The school starts from grade 1 up to grade 9 en each class has about sixty children. Catherine is a teacher and head of ZOCS since 2000. Catherine was originally part of the group of women who started Home Based Care Ng’ombe. Besides education and food, the school offers all kinds of creative and psychosocial activities.
Goals:
- Offering high quality education to 560 orphaned and other vulnerable children.
- Providing one nutritious meal per school day for the 560 children.
- Offering information about HIV and its transmission.
- Empowering children to live a positive life and make healthy choices.
- Training the teachers by offering seminars on topics like discrimination based on gender and children’s rights.
- Mentoring the guardians about HIV, PMTCT, TB and other health related topics.
- Well-timed sexual education.
Results:
- Reducing the turnover of teachers by offering a small salary and workshops.
- Improving the focus of children by providing breakfast.
- Starting the club Youth Friendly. They speak about stigmas around HIV/AIDS but also about the empowerment of young girls.
Information about Partner:
The children in ZOCS are supported with money raised during the Expeditie Junior. On this day children from 6 till 14 years old climb the Zijpenberg (Arnhem, the Netherlands) as many times as possible.
