The pictures below are of the classrooms. The first classroom is the nicest. In fact, it's been renovated since I came to the community. I remember my first three months at site passing the school and seeing the students having classes outside under the trees. The government funded the renovation project.
This next classroom building is basically what the entire school looked like before the renovation project. Despite its dilapidated appearance, it is still be used for classes. I actually sat in on a exam that was being given in the classroom pictured below the building. Not the most comfortable environment for learning.
The school is in a beautiful location, though. The view behind the classrooms is a lovely valley surrounded by forested mountains. The valley holds maize fields and grounds for sporting events, mostly soccer.
Below is a picture of my counterpart at the school, Mr. Mukelabai Mataa, Senior Teacher. He's standing in the doorway of his house. Teachers are provided housing by the school system, though in extreme rural areas the housing is sub-par. In my opinion, this house is a bit better than some I've seen and nicer than my house, but many schools have a difficult time attracting teachers because of the rough living conditions.
Another teacher standing outside of the same classroom pictured above. He'd just finished teaching for the day.
The next pictures are from the first garden project. On this day, the children transplanted rape (a local green) from nursery beds into the garden.
The children, well and all Zambians in general, LOVE posing for pictures. Here some of the students hold up a bunch of rape as they prepare to transplant.
These boys are preparing a nursery bed for other vegetable crops.
And, Mataa helps to water in the transplants. As you can see, despite the rural conditions, Zambians take pride in dressing professionally for their jobs.
This is the second garden project. Some animals broke into the first nursery and ate a bunch of seedlings, so the school constructed a fence for their onion nursery. I was impressed with the ladder entry method.
Some of the students watering the onion seedlings.
And, watering the msangu seedlings. I mentioned it before but msangu is a tree that can be planted in fields to increase fertility and decrease the use of chemical fertilizers.
And, that's the end of the tour of Mshawa Basic School. The teachers and students are putting in an effort to raise money, too. So, please, please, please, think about donating for books. Go to www.gofundme.com/mshawa to donate. Any amount is welcome, and if for some reason, you cannot donate using paypal, please send me an email at mshawabasicbooks@gmail.com and I'll send an address that you can mail a check.
I'll try to check in sooner next time, maybe with some more personal stories. Can y'all believe that I've been here for almost a year. Time is flying, and I'm happy here in Zambia. I already know that leaving will be difficult. :) Wishing all of you the best!
