Tongabezi Trust School

Author: Evans Mwitumwa Photos: Tujatane, Tongabezi Trust School

Tujatane, Tongabezi Trust School is situated about 25 kilometers from Livingstone town off the Kazungula/ Sesheke route and just a stone throw from the Zambezi River.

The story of Tujatane is a true manifestation of service to the community from an abundance of sacrifice and genuine love for humanity. Vanessa Parker, who founded Tujatane, Tongabezi Trust School in 1996, had earlier come to Zambia as a volunteer offering Math at the trade school, now LIBES. Vanessa has been working at the school since 1996 been working at the school. She continues to be Director of the school working on voluntary basis and no doubt offering substantial guidance and counsel to the academic team. She further works hand in hand with a Board of Trustees in England and a local Board. Both boards are working hand in hand to see the school move to the next level. The members of the boards are men and women of diverse expertise guaranteeing the school a continued existence.

Tujatane is a Tonga word which literary means holding hands. The idea to start Tujatane, Tongabezi Trust School was born from a realization that the local community was thirsty for an education and from the wish from the Tongabezi Lodge staff to be able to offer their children an education which they had not had the chance of going through themselves. Many parents have not completed primary level education. The school was set up to enable the children in the local community to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to take full advantage of opportunities in their futures and to enable them to get out of the poverty trap that currently exists. The children who attended Tujatane initially were generally children of the employees of Tongabezi Lodge and as the school grew it became a community school that catered for the wider community of Simonga. All children walk to school, many from as far away as 7km and live in homes with no running water.

The connection between Tongabezi Lodge and Tujatane is to a great extent what has made Tujatane what it is today. Benjamin Parker, the husband to Vanessa Parker and Director of Tongabezi and Sindabezi Lodges has been a massive support. The school is built on Tongabezi Lodge land and guests that come to the lodge often visit the school and some are instrumental in major ways; they offer donations and some generously offer sponsorship by either sponsoring a child or sponsoring other activities in the school. Further, from the birth of the school, Benjamin Parker together with his Tongabezi team has provided services and support to the school including catering for the Christmas party for the pupils and with provision of resources for the purchase of gifts for the children and other forms of entertainment. Clearly, in the tough Zambian economy and indeed the local community of Simoonga and surrounding areas, children are privileged a rare opportunity to still feel like children and roam into different avenues of childhood – thanks to Benjamin Parker and other partners.

From an initial number of 15 little boys and girls, the school now has a total number of 275 pupils. The school runs from pre-school to Grade 9. The chil-

dren are provided free tuition, medicare, and meals. All this is made possible by the ‘sponsor a child programme’, as well as numerous donations from well wishers from around the world. It is this money from various sponsors that helps pay staff salaries and see to the running of programmes within the school. Most of the school infrastructure has been built from donations from individuals or families. The school has a total workforce of nearly thirty staff. It has sixteen teaching staff with qualifications ranging from certificate to degree level education. There are seven assistant teachers and five ancillary staff. To ensure continuity in improvements of standards, a number of staff are upgrading their qualifications. The relief that the local community benefits as a result of having its children at Tujatane is massive. Tujatane offers an education that is superior and unique. Literally, all children in the community want to come to Tujatane and their parents also want them to. With the food programme running, the children from generally poor families that cannot afford three meals a day are guaranteed two meals at Tujatane.

Our line of action now is to continue taking Tujatane forward and embracing fully the belief system that founded it - service to the community. In line with the Sustainable Development Goal on Education, in particular target 4.2, we are working on expanding our preschool section to ensure quality early childhood development.

Furthermore, like any other social service, the provision of free education to the surrounding communities has led to the expansion of the valuable functioning of the beneficiaries in a number of ways. From 1996 to date, Tujatane has supported a number of local students from pre-school to tertiary level. Today, the school boasts the education of a pilot, accountants, clinicians, teachers, lawyers and many other professions. This has only been possible with the generosity of many sponsors from around the world who have donated funds to enable these students to complete their studies and become professionals. This comes with such resounding contrast with less privileged individuals in other communities whose maturity in line with the girl child, is seen as a source of capital for the family. We are confident that these will no doubt contribute to the wellbeing of their families, the country and the world at large in various ways. Without Tujatane, the future of most of the above would not have been guaranteed.

In addition, the fact that the children are provided health care means their health is assured. It is all too easy to push this aside during these hard economic times when there are multiple demands of limited financial resources. Consequntly, this has led to a community with well nourished, healthy children.

To ensure that all children learn, we will continue to offer a number of co-curricular activities: art, music, performing arts and numerous other clubs and sports. We believe that not all children are academic and hence the numerous co-curricular activities – all children have to learn. We are convinced that as a school, we should champion the development of the children to their greatest potential so that they take full advantage of opportunities available in future. In the words of Sir Ken Robinson, our task is to educate the whole being so they can face this future. Clearly, we may not see this future, but they will. And our job is to help them make full utilization of it to the greater benefit of humanity.

For more information about Tujatane: www.tujatane.com vanessa@tongabezi.com