Cecily's Fund Easter Newsletter 2013

Easter Newsletter Charity No 1071660

2013

A Fresh Start for Young People In 2013 Cecily’s Fund starts an exciting new venture. ‘Fresh Start’ is a three year project targeting 970 children at risk of dropping out of school, as well as those that have been unemployed for at least two years after graduating from school at Grade 12.

The project offers these highly vulnerable orphans a second chance by encouraging them to return to school as well as helping them to learn how to generate a sustainable income. This in turn gives them an opportunity to escape poverty.

As one orphan explains:

‘Fresh Start’ comes at a particularly important time, when the current youth unemployment rate is relatively high and there are very few avenues for investment in youth enterprises in Zambia.

Eligible orphans and vulnerable children will have access to weekend ‘return to school’ workshops , where teachers, peer educators and home-based carers will be on hand. These workshops will gradually reintroduce the child to school, where they can join evening entrepreneurship classes, to learn how to make a secure living.

Each school where Fresh Start is based will form a trial company for one year - with an initial investment and a business plan.

The orphans who are part of this project will gain an understanding of everything necessary to run the enterprise successfully, including how to close it down at the end of the year.

“One of the reasons I dropped out of school is because my uncle runs a small shop in Mulenga compound (in Kitwe)... this meant I would be late at school or be absent. I love school but my uncle insisted that I attend to the shop that was giving us an income rather than attend school which I would fail after all.”

Teddy Nyasulu, Executive Director at Junior Achievement, Zambia, will be designing the school-based training scheme. He says closing down a business is the hardest part for the pupils, but also the most assured way for them to understand the full business cycle. He warns that many young people embarking on entrepreneurship will encounter a number of challenges. Forcing them to close the company they have created highlights these, bringing the harsh realities of running a business into sharp relief.

Fresh Start is funded by three organisations including the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ceniarth Foundation. It begins in March 2013.

You can contact us by phone: 01993 358089 email: admin@cecilysfund.org website: www.cecilysfund.org 1

Cecily’s Fund Easter Newsletter 2013

BISO - A Busy End of Year The end of 2012 saw a busy few months for staff and children at BISO government and community schools.

In the government schools, 74 children completed grade 12 having worked really hard. In the words of Mr Kataso (Head of Education at BISO): “The pupils were excited for the achievement that they have done in their life. They have promised that they have really worked hard and [are] eager to see their good results in February.”

At the start of November an Open Day, for parents and the community, was very well attended. Teachers and parents had the opportunity to meet and discuss the progress the children had been making at school.

Later that month, teachers held a two day reading workshop aiming to equip the staff with extra skills for teaching early grade reading and handwriting. They also learnt about the importance of

assessment and monitoring to the child’s learning.

The term was finished off in exciting style when a Grade 4 girl was selected to represent the school at the National Child Rights

conference. This was followed shortly afterwards by 25 children being invited to State House by the First Lady of Zambia to celebrate Christmas and her birthday on the 24th December. A tremendous few weeks for BISO!

Matthew is 12 and at the time of writing was in Grade 4 at BISO. Both Matthew’s parents and two of his siblings have died, and he and his other two siblings now live with their aunt.

His aunt is reliant on the money she makes from washing clothes in order to survive. This means that there is very little to eat so he does not usually have breakfast and only occasionally dinner but eats lunch every weekday at the community school.

Matthew wants to complete school and go on to become a pilot. He told us that he is happy in school and feels better when he attends. He tries to work hard, and does his homework every day with the result that last year he came seventh in his class (out of about 50 children).

We hope that we will be able to follow Matthew’s progress throughout his school career.

Blowing CHEP’s trumpet November saw the graduation of the 2012 Peer Health Educators (PHEs). After a year of hard work, the PHEs will be moving in to the job market. The graduation ceremony was marked by

CHEP Headlines 2012 1,445 PHE sessions delivered.  274 Anti-AIDS clubs held reaching over 7,000 children.  1,280 pupils referred to health clinics for advice, testing and treatment. 

entertainment, speeches and a career talk where the young people were encouraged to continue being role models in society and contribute positively to national development.

Having acquired various skills from CHEP including training in basic IT, it is hoped that this training will shape their careers, especially for those young people who aspire to enter the teaching and health professions.

2

The PHEs themselves also gave a speech, lead by one of their group leaders Jedidiah Bwalya (see following case study). In his speech, Jedidiah thanked CHEP, with support from Cecily’s Fund for equipping them with life-skills and knowledge in HIV/AIDS which they have shared with their peers in schools. He further thanked CHEP for being a stepping stone to better things that would come their way after leaving CHEP.

Cecily’s Fund Easter Newsletter 2013

Blowing CHEP’s trumpet (cont) Jedidiah and his mother were evicted from their home and forced to move to Lusaka to live with other family members.

Supporters of our Christmas Give campaign may have seen a short article about Jedidiah Bwalya, one of our Group Leader PHEs in Kitwe.

Jedidiah is 19 and his story is truly inspirational. Having lost his father and all three of his siblings in the space of just three years,

For two years Jedidiah was unable to afford to go to school but in 2004 he and his mother returned to Kitwe where Jedidiah was sponsored to go to school. There he joined the Boys Brigade and started up a brass band (he plays five brass instruments as well as drums) with a number of other orphans. The band now raises funds through playing at functions, funds which are then put towards their education.

In Grade 11 Jedidiah went on to become the Debate Club President and the School Council

Chair. He returned to Grade 12, after a short break due to a heart condition, having won first prize of $100 in a national debate which enabled him to complete his education at Grade 12. He then applied to become a PHE with CHEP and is now an ‘advocate 4 change’ for the Comic Relief ‘Hands on Learning’ programme at the Chimwemwe Township.

Although Jedidiah is now an only child, his involvement as a PHE and membership of the brass band means he is no longer lonely. The other PHEs are his family and he is developing his leadership potential.

Hodi - Tuition comes to fruition Mathews Kazungu finished Grade 12 in December 2012 having been supported by Cecily’s Fund for five years.

Mathews’ father died in 2004, and he now lives with his mother and seven siblings. The family earn their money by selling tomatoes which Mathews grows at a small garden situated about three km from their home. Money raised by growing tomatoes and engaging in casual jobs within his

Hodi Headlines 

1,915 uniforms and 709 pairs of shoes distributed plus 5,819 books and 4,253 pens.



5 students at teacher training college have taken their final exams and are eagerly awaiting their results in March.

community, Mathews has been able to pay the remainder of the fees necessary to remain at school.

Mathews was determined to remain at school, stating in an interview with one of the staff at Hodi that ‘he can’t give up because he has come a long way and that his dream will come to pass very soon’.

Despite the struggle, Mathews remains cheerful and is thankful to Hodi and Cecily’s Fund for the support he has received and is looking forward to receiving his Grade 12 exams results. He then hopes to be able to put his passion for machines into use by 3

training as a mechanic which will allow him to continue to take care of his family.

Cecily’s Fund Easter Newsletter 2013

A year end win–win; You and Cecily’s Fund As the end of the tax year draws near, please consider the tax benefits of donating end of year profits to Cecily’s Fund.

Although your tax return won’t need to be in for many months, any donations you make to us in the next few weeks can bring hope to thousands of Zambian orphans as well as lightening your tax bill!

Higher rate tax payers can gain

real tax incentives by making donations to charity. This can be through gift-aidable donations (see table), donations of shares or property, or through payroll giving. If you would like any more information about tax relief for charitable donations please contact your accountant or see here: bit.ly/UCLlJa You can make a donation on line: bit.ly/WzXpvx via cheque or by phone: 01993 358089

Donation to Cecily’s Fund (value to CF with Gift Aid)

£1000

£5,000

£10,000

(£1,250) (£6,250) (£12,500)

Tax relief received by higher rate tax payer (40%)

£250

£1,250

£2500

Tax relief received by higher rate tax payer (50%)

£375

£1,875

£3750

Time to run Last year we had some fantastic runners raising over £22,000 for us in sponsorship. If you made a New Year’s resolution to get fit, why not stick with it and set yourself a distance goal and run for Cecily’s Fund? This year we have places for the British London 10k run on the 14th July and also the Royal Park’s Half-marathon in October.

Or, if you would like to tri(!) something a bit different, why not consider taking part in a triathlon? The City of Birmingham Triathlon in July is designed for everyone including people doing their very first triathlon, individually or as a team. If you would like to take part in any of these events, then drop us a line: admin@cecilysfund.org

Upcoming Events 14 July 2013

British London 10K

21st July 2013

City of Birmingham triathlon

7 September 2013

Cecily’s Day 15th Anniversary

6 October 2013

Royal Parks Half Marathon

Christmas Give—Thank You! We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated to our Christmas Give campaign at the end of last year. Your generosity was overwhelming and we are delighted that including gift aid we managed to raise an amazing £26,120. This money will go towards our Hands on Learning project and will give a real voice to orphans and vulnerable children both in their communities and in Zambia as a whole.

4