Scotch College

Kapumfi's passport is stamped with hope

On Friday 22 September a small delegation of Scotch staff and students attended the Kapumfi Basic School opening ceremony in Kopa Chiefdom, Zambia. It was the culmination of a wonderful $153,000 fundraising effort by the Scotch community, enabling the Kapumfi school to be built in only nine months – well ahead of the original three-year schedule.

The two-hour ceremony at Kapumfi included dancing, singing and speeches made in English and Bemba. Scotch School Captain, Andrew Bubb handed the school over to Provincial Education Officer Florence Kanchebele, who expressed her gratitude to the Scotch community for providing such an exceptional facility. Sports equipment, clothing and educational resources, including microscopes, were donated on behalf of Scotch. In return, the Kapumfi community presented agricultural tools, fruit, woven mats, baskets and ceremonial shirts to the Scotch representatives. Then came the big moment: the first three-classroom block was unlocked and used for the first time.

Returning recently to assembly at Scotch to congratulate the School on reaching the fundraising target so rapidly, World Vision Australia CEO, Rev Tim Costello emphasised the importance of effective schooling, commenting that ‘education is the passport to hope’. An estimated 115 million primary school aged children worldwide do not receive the hope that a formal education brings. Kapumfi has focused the minds of Scotch students: they are becoming increasingly aware that together they can profoundly influence the lives of children who do not share the luxuries afforded to most Australian students.

At Kapumfi, the school’s day-to-day running will be managed by locals, while the responsibility of providing educational resources, curriculum and qualified staff falls to the Zambian Ministry of Education. Head teacher Emanuel Chansa currently leads a staff of four trained and two untrained teachers, who run three daily sessions to accommodate the 420 students. The foundations for the first of two teacher residences were laid during the Scotch visit. These homes are imperative if quality teachers are to be attracted to the area. A row of pine trees was also planted during the visit, to provide shelter from the strong winds blowing across Lake Bakabaka. Another three-classroom block and teacher residence along with a library and toilet block have already been funded, and are to be constructed in the coming months.

More than 30 children from Kopa are now sponsored by Scotch families. The money raised through sponsorship helps to fund other World Vision projects that improve the quality of life for the people of Kopa. Initiatives include an orphanage, health clinic, community centre, water and sanitation project, HIV/AIDS education and agricultural development.

Painted boldly below the newly-erected flagpole, the Kapumfi Basic School motto, ‘Education is the key to success’ echoes Rev Costello’s message to the Scotch Senior School main assembly. It is etched in the heart of every student attending the school, each of whom now possesses a passport to hope.

A tour of contrasts

The Scotch Kapumfi Tour participants experienced vastly contrasting living standards within Africa itself. They spent time at several World Vision projects, interacting with poverty-stricken communities in which HIV/AIDS rates are as high as 20%. The sheer desperation of the locals at Mpika market was particularly confronting. Time spent in Lusaka’s Chainda Area Development Project was uplifting, as was teaching Zambian students to play Australian football. It was, however, the affluence witnessed in Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), Livingstone (Zambia) and Johannesburg (South Africa) that surprised the students most. Comprehending the extreme inequality proved a challenge. The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and Chobe National Game Park in Botswana provided further educational opportunities in which to enjoy the unique African experience.

Mark Williams