George*, who is now twelve, came to SOS Children's Village Kitwe in 2005. He had dropped out of school after losing his parents. At the time that he was admitted at the village he was old enough to enter the sixth grade, but since George had been out of school for a good number of years, he could neither read nor write. Both his SOS mother and school teachers agreed that he needed special support and that a literacy class would be the best option for him to learn basic skills.
Initially, George was not happy about this decision and considered it a punishment. However, after his SOS mother and some teachers he trusts spoke to him about it carefully, George came to terms with the idea of being in a literacy class. Eventually, he even looked forward to attending classes because of the good learning environment at the school.
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| School children having fun in the classroom |
The SOS Hermann Gmeiner School's main objective is to provide quality basic education to orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children from SOS Children's Village Kitwe and the surrounding community, whilst complying with local and international standards.
Kitwe, the third largest city in Zambia, has approximately 1.2 million inhabitants and is the capital of the Copperbelt region in the north of the country. Due to decreasing copper prices, the region suffered an economic decline, and the population rapidly became poorer and poorer. Since the opening of SOS Children's Village Kitwe and SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in 2005 the situation of many orphans and needy children throughout the Copperbelt region has greatly improved. However, the school strives to have an even greater impact and has extended the range of its services.
Following the closure of the industries and mines which employed many heads of families, there was an increase in the number of school dropouts in the community. In some families, children have had to drop out of school because HIV/AIDS claimed the life of the bread winner. This has resulted in an alarmingly high level of illiteracy. The school therefore offers literacy classes to adults and young people in this community.
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| Mr Mwansa |
Mr Chrispin Mwansa, a family man, attends literacy classes at the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School because he did not have the privilege of receiving an education. He can now read and write, and this newly gained knowledge helps him run his grocery shop, on which his livelihood depends.
The SOS Hermann Gmeiner School Kitwe is rated among the best on the Copperbelt. It consists of 18 classrooms, a computer lab, a laboratory, a library and rooms for home economics, wood and metalwork.
George still has a long way to go before he can decide what his future profession will be. However, in his literacy class, he has now learned how to set clear goals for himself and he continues to work hard in class. Last year, he passed his grade 7 exams with high marks so as to enter grade 8 of Junior High School. George continues to excel and regularly does better than most of his class.
Currently, the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Kitwe is being attended to by 137 children from the village, and offers grades one to nine. A total of 739 children are enrolled in the school, as children from the poorer communities also attend and are assisted by the scholarship programme.
For privacy reasons, we have changed the name of the boy.