Our partners in Buntolo have recently celebrated  Young People’s Day, this annual heartwarming event brings together all the children whose education and wellbeing is supported by our sponsors.  It is a celebration of achievement as well as an opportunity to share the experience of group work and a moment to reflect on the most important issues in the lives of  young people in the Monze district of Zambia.

 

All seven Wellbeing groups from Buntolo came together.  Sister Purity, who leads the Wellbeing programme, said she was thrilled to see so many attend in spite of the rains.  A total of 77 children and 7 group leaders congregated at the Makangala Pre-School, which continues to serve as a community hub.

Mr Royd Siambeta from PPAZ, Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia, gave a motivational presentation about his own educational journey and the important work he does today in helping to prevent early marriages.

  Christohper Chiinda, BFZ alumni, spoke inspiringly of his experience of sponsorship through BFZ.  He encouraged the children to succeed in education, as he had, ‘as a weapon against poverty’.

The children had prepared performances of cultural dances, poems and drama to raise awareness of child trafficking, child marriage, drug abuse and the importance of education. These performances showcased the themes regularly explored in the Wellbeing sessions.

  Prizes were awarded to children who have worked consistently hard this year.  Gifts of school bags, books, pens and maths sets were presented in recognition of their efforts.

   

It was a hugely positive day for all. Thank you to all supporters of BFZ for making this rewarding day possible.

BFZ’s sponsorship programme has helped change the lives of many children and their families. It has meant that children like Chabota can concentrate on school and has alleviated some of the worries faced by their caregivers.  

In 2015, Chabota was nine years old and about to start grade 4 in her village school. Chabota loved learning and happily got up at five am every morning to help with chores, eat her breakfast and walk the three kilometres to school. However, her grandmother worried for Chabota’s future, unsure as to how she would be able to afford Chabota’s future education.  

Joining BFZ’s sponsorship scheme meant that Chabota could concentrate on school, and her grandmother could focus on caring for the family and growing enough maize to feed everyone.  

In 2019, Chabota passed her grade 7 exams with high marks and got a place at a good secondary school. Chabota is 14 now, in grade 9 and like many children from rural Zambia, she boards during the term time. She enjoys playing netball and reading and still loves learning, a passion she hopes to pass on through becoming a teacher.  

In the holidays, Chabota comes home to her grandma and likes attending the weekly BFZ Wellbeing sessions with her community group. Her grandma is very proud! 

10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have embarked on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to help more children like Chabota. We will be following the (virtual) progress of the team as they travel through the beautiful Zambian landscape. The team have already reached the first stage in their challenge, arriving at the small town of Sanyambe on the borders of the Zambezi river.  

If you would like to support their efforts and help us reach our target you can donate here

“A story of loss and resilience, Clara used her own grief and struggles to support the founding of BFZ and ensure the continued evolution of our projects.” 

From the beginning, there was Clara − a tireless advocate for the children, who has worked relentlessly to support and steer BFZ to achieve the greatest impact. Clara assists with a network of community groups who have joined forces to raise the prospects of children in their care. BFZ began supporting this network in 2011. 

Roll back to the 1980s and you will find Clara working as an administrative assistant at the government grain store, making the most of her prized education to write reports and work accounts. Clara is married and about to start a family that will bring her six children. Twenty years later, Clara’s story became one of a series of losses – first her job (the grain store closed down), then her husband, then three of her children. This left Clara alone, raising her last-born teenage sons − twins who are as different from each other as chalk and cheese, but united in facing enormous challenges alongside their mother.  

Clara knew so many women in her community whose situations were similar to her own. Many did not have the benefit of education. Many were left caring for their grandchildren. But all shared a determination to make things better for the next generation.  

Clara founded A’tugwasyane (in the local Tonga language this means ‘let us help one another’) community group, which brought together women caring for orphans and vulnerable children. Clara used her administrative skills to support a network of community groups working together to improve the lives of the children in their care.  

Since BFZ joined forces with this network in 2011, the groups have grown to cover seven different communities. Clara still works tirelessly within her own community, hosting and supporting the weekly BFZ Wellbeing sessions and keeping a watchful eye, offering counsel and support to all the households in her group.   

When she is not busy in her group, helping care for her grandchildren, sewing stars or planting maize, Clara supports our BFZ Coordinator to run our projects − from paying school fees to purchasing food for pre-school meals to writing budgets and reports. Clara is the ultimate grafter, full of compassion and humour, hope and love.   

Clara and women like her areBFZ, they embody our mission to create a better present and a brighter future for the children who need it most.   

10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K!

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have embarked on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to continue to expand our life changing work. This week the team have virtually followed the Zambezi river for an impressive 157km to reach the town of Sesheke on the Namibian border.   

If you would like to support their efforts and help us reach our target you can donate here. 

“Access to education is at the heart of our charity and is the key to ensuring children have a brighter future.” 

In April 2019, we officially opened the Makangala Pre-School. The school has been a great success and now provides vital early education to 80 children. This would not have been possible without your donations and without the support of everyone in Zambia who provided time and materials.  

When we started working with the Buntolo women’s groups in Monze, they impressed upon us the profound impact education has on a child’s future.  

Many of the area’s orphaned children couldn’t access primary school until as late as 8 or 9 years old. To address this, some of the caregivers were running make-shift pre-schools for as many as 70 children under the shade of a tree.  

We were asked by the community to work together to build a pre-school, so that’s what we set out to do. After much planning, discussions with the local department of education board and a huge amount of effort from all involved, the Makangala Pre-School officially opened in April 2019.  

The children are taught by qualified early years teachers, who have accommodation provided on the Pre-School’s grounds.  

We have exciting plans to build on the success of the Pre-School, including landscaping the grounds and purchasing play equipment.  

As the Pre-School has become a focus for the community, we also hope to develop a kitchen garden, where the community can grow food for the children.

10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K!

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have embarked on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to continue to expand our life changing work. This week the team have clocked up an impressive 206kms to virtually enter Zambia’s Southern Province and arrive at the town of Simamba. 

If you would like to support their efforts and help us reach our target you can donate here. 

“Made under African skies, BFZ stars are handcrafted from traditional citenge fabric by our community group members, each one is unique and beautiful.” 

BFZ offers small start-up grants, allowing community members to buy the materials to craft the stars, and then buys the finished stars from the women at a fair price. The stars are easy to transport and now decorate many a Christmas tree in the UK, Switzerland, Canada and beyond! 

The community groups BFZ supports are full of tough, enterprising women. The kind of women who face one challenge after another and keep on finding solutions for a better future. A few years ago, we faced a problem. Citenge handicrafts were being sold for vital additional income, but the method wasn’t working for everyone. Women had to travel to our centre to use the sewing machines, which is a major hurdle if you live in a rural community miles away and care for several young children!   

The solution? Hand-stitched stars which could be made at home by anyone with the patience to perfect the skills required to craft them.  

Some of the women have re-invested the profits they have earned to buy solar lamps to allow them to work (and the children to study) after dark, and even to launch new small businesses. You could say that these stars are helping to make the stars of the future.   

We offer the stars for a suggested donation of just £1, and any profit we make goes back into supporting BFZ’s other projects, like the Makangala Preschool and our sponsorship programmes.  

Demetria is an enthusiastic star crafter and explains the benefits for her:  

“There are challenges being a woman in Zambia, especially the rural women. It is hard to find things to do like business and work and to care for the children. I really appreciate the skills imparted to me in learning to sew the stars. The money raised from the stars helps in paying for school fees for those children not on sponsorship and buying other essential things that are needed at home.”  

If you could host some stars at your workplace or in a community setting, please contact us and we can provide you with a presentation box and collection tin.  

 10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K!

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have embarked on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to continue to expand our life changing work. This week the team have travelled a collective distance of 132km to virtually reach the tiny town of Siashona in Zambia’s Southern Province. 

 If you would like to support their efforts you can donate here.  

“A story of success and sustainability, The Good Goat project has provided female goats to over 100 households and is still going strong.” 

In July 2013, BFZ raised £1,611 in 30 days to initiate The Good Goat project. This seed funding launched a valuable community project which continues to thrive today. As more goats are born, they are shared amongst the community. The milk produced by the goats provides income to feed, clothe, and educate the children as well as a valuable source of nutrition.   

This was our first foray into the well-established ‘pass-it-on’ methodology. The initial investment provided 10 families with a herd of 5 female goats each and 2 billy goats to share, as well as training in animal husbandry.   

When the goats have babies, the first few kids are given to other families in the community.  When those goats reproduce, they’re given out to families in neighbouring villages. So, this cycle of success keeps spreading, cascading out into an ever-growing number of communities.  

During crises such as the poor harvests in 2019 and the current Covid pandemic the project provides valuable support to many communities. 

The Good Goat is a project we’re very proud of. 

10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K!

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have embarked on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to continue to expand our life changing work. This week is an exciting week in our challenger’s journey as they have clocked up enough miles to virtually arrive in beautiful Monze, our project base.  

If you would like to support their efforts and help us reach our target you can donate here. 

“My way of living is not comfortable. I’ve got so many orphans to look after sometimes I even struggle to feed them. Even sleeping is a problem — the house is just too small. We have to squeeze when we sleep. I do piece work to try to clothe and feed them. Like in the rainy season I work in other people’s fields.” 

Clementina met Brighter Futures Zambia through the Buntolo Orphan Carers group back in 2011. She is a widow and, after the death of her sister and children, she is raising her orphaned grandchildren and niece alongside her own children. The story is sadly a common one in Zambia. However, being part of the Buntolo Orphan Carers group has helped Clementina, practically and emotionally. 

Caring for nine children is hard, but being part of BFZ has brought support and hope for the future. 

Clementina has supplemented her income with group farming, making BFZ Christmas star decorations and through our Good Goat project.  

Counselling training made possible by BFZ has enabled Clementia not only to help those in her care to manage their grief, it has also helped Clementia address her own. Clementina is very close to the other caregivers in her group. 

Clementia’s eldest grandson completed his education through the BFZ sponsorship scheme. He will graduate college next year and Clementina hopes that his younger brother will also gain a place on the sponsorship scheme to enable him to follow his big brother’s example and achieve a brighter future.  

10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K !

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have embarked on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to continue to expand our life changing work. It’s another exciting week for our challengers as they have collectively travelled the 195km to virtually arrive in Zambia’s capital city Lusaka.  

If you would like to support their efforts and help us reach our target you can donate here. 

“Education opens doors to anyone regardless of their status in society.” Isaac, 2021. 

BFZ’s sponsorship programme has helped change the lives of many children and their families. And, it’s not only about helping individuals to meet their potential, it’s investing in the next generation of Zambians who will go on to make a brighter future for their country. One such inspirational young person is Isaac.  

Isaac was one of the first ever children to join our child sponsorship programme. Isaac grew up in Manungu compound in Monze. He was brought up by his grandparents who were deeply committed to his education but struggled to cover the cost of his school fees. Isaac’s Grandma, Bridget was one of the founder members of the orphan and vulnerable children’s project that delivers much of BFZ’s work.  

Like many of our volunteers in Zambia, Bridget found herself unexpectedly caring for young grandchildren in her retirement and was passionate about building networks of support with other carers to improve the lives of the children in their care. She became one of our most committed volunteers and is still an inspiration to all who met her. Sadly, Bridget died in 2015 but not before seeing Isaac complete his secondary education and go on to win a coveted scholarship to study medicine at the University of Lusaka. 

Isaac is now a fully qualified Doctor, working at the University Teaching hospital in Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka. He plans to become a consultant Obstetrician and would like to have two children of his own one day. He told us “Being a Doctor in Zambia is very fulfilling and I love it”. 

We are all so proud of Isaac and of believe that Bridget’s legacy could not be more fitting.  

10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K! 

 

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have taken on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to help more children like Isaac. After ten exhausting but exhilarating weeks across 1500kms of Zambia’s beautiful (virtual) landscape, the team have reached their final destination of Mgapi on the Mozambican border. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, they have raised over £6000 which will go directly to supporting more children like Isaac to reach their potential. It’s not too late to donate and help the team to meet their final target you can donate here

 

“Education opens doors to anyone regardless of their status in society.” Isaac, 2021. 

BFZ’s sponsorship programme has helped change the lives of many children and their families. And, it’s not only about helping individuals to meet their potential, it’s investing in the next generation of Zambians who will go on to make a brighter future for their country. One such inspirational young person is Isaac.  

Isaac was one of the first ever children to join our child sponsorship programme. Isaac grew up in Manungu compound in Monze. He was brought up by his grandparents who were deeply committed to his education but struggled to cover the cost of his school fees. Isaac’s Grandma, Bridget was one of the founder members of the orphan and vulnerable children’s project that delivers much of BFZ’s work.  

Like many of our volunteers in Zambia, Bridget found herself unexpectedly caring for young grandchildren in her retirement and was passionate about building networks of support with other carers to improve the lives of the children in their care. She became one of our most committed volunteers and is still an inspiration to all who met her. Sadly, Bridget died in 2015 but not before seeing Isaac complete his secondary education and go on to win a coveted scholarship to study medicine at the University of Lusaka. 

Isaac is now a fully qualified Doctor, working at the University Teaching hospital in Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka. He plans to become a consultant Obstetrician and would like to have two children of his own one day. He told us “Being a Doctor in Zambia is very fulfilling and I love it”. 

We are all so proud of Isaac and of believe that Bridget’s legacy could not be more fitting.  

10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K! 

 

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have taken on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to help more children like Isaac. After ten exhausting but exhilarating weeks across 1500kms of Zambia’s beautiful (virtual) landscape, the team have reached their final destination of Mgapi on the Mozambican border. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, they have raised over £6000 which will go directly to supporting more children like Isaac to reach their potential. It’s not too late to donate and help the team to meet their final target you can donate here

 

“Education opens doors to anyone regardless of their status in society.” Isaac, 2021. 

BFZ’s sponsorship programme has helped change the lives of many children and their families. And, it’s not only about helping individuals to meet their potential, it’s investing in the next generation of Zambians who will go on to make a brighter future for their country. One such inspirational young person is Isaac.  

Isaac was one of the first ever children to join our child sponsorship programme. Isaac grew up in Manungu compound in Monze. He was brought up by his grandparents who were deeply committed to his education but struggled to cover the cost of his school fees. Isaac’s Grandma, Bridget was one of the founder members of the orphan and vulnerable children’s project that delivers much of BFZ’s work.  

Like many of our volunteers in Zambia, Bridget found herself unexpectedly caring for young grandchildren in her retirement and was passionate about building networks of support with other carers to improve the lives of the children in their care. She became one of our most committed volunteers and is still an inspiration to all who met her. Sadly, Bridget died in 2015 but not before seeing Isaac complete his secondary education and go on to win a coveted scholarship to study medicine at the University of Lusaka. 

Isaac is now a fully qualified Doctor, working at the University Teaching hospital in Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka. He plans to become a consultant Obstetrician and would like to have two children of his own one day. He told us “Being a Doctor in Zambia is very fulfilling and I love it”. 

We are all so proud of Isaac and of believe that Bridget’s legacy could not be more fitting.  

10 Years, 10 Weeks, £10K! 

 

To mark our 10 -year anniversary, members of our trustee board and other supporters have taken on an ambitious challenge to walk/ cycle/ swim or even kayak the length of Zambia and raise £10,000 to help more children like Isaac. After ten exhausting but exhilarating weeks across 1500kms of Zambia’s beautiful (virtual) landscape, the team have reached their final destination of Mgapi on the Mozambican border. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, they have raised over £6000 which will go directly to supporting more children like Isaac to reach their potential. It’s not too late to donate and help the team to meet their final target you can donate here