Overview
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Nelson Mandela Secondary School began in 1995, and now serves children from six
different villages - the furthest one being six kilometers away. A three-kilometer stretch of rough road separates the school from the main tarmac, and 10 classrooms need repairs.
Fortunately, the school has electricity, but depends on rain for its water supply, as its pipes are permanently dry. Their school needs a borehole (a shaft in the ground to extract water) to address this problem. There's a scout club honey production unit, and school farm. A total of 723 students, a mix of boys and girls, attend Nelson Mandela Secondary School.
Ten classrooms at the school need renovations, which include plastering floors, repainting, and fixing doors and windows.
There are 40-50 students in every class, and the school population continues to grow. As a result, the school needs more toilets, desks, and chairs.
What does the school need most?
Nelson Mandela is trying to raise $19,000 for beds and mattresses for a girls' hostel, and pots and utensils.
What about the community?
Livestock and agriculture are the main sources of livelihood, and the most common crops are maize and cassava. Livestock that families keep include goats, chickens, and pigs. Crops grown are for consumption by families, so very little income can be generated from the sale of produce. During rainy periods, farmers grow vegetables and in the dry season, those living by rivers grow tomatoes.
The community's water shortage has, in the past, forced people to buy water from vendors charging exorbitant prices.
The rural villages have dirt roads that are impassable during rainy periods, and school is far away for many children. This often prevents them from attending classes regularly.
Community members also lack entrepreneurship skills.
What does Chalice do?
The school has a school feeding program through the African School Farming and Food Security Project, and it has improved the school's attendance by 90%. Parents contribute during the harvest season, and national exam results have improved by 88% for some students.
How have Canadian schools helped Nelson Mandela Secondary School?
2022 School Connections Grant - Nelson Mandela Secondary School is divided into two parts: Forms 1-4 (called ‘ordinary’) and Forms 5-6 (called ‘advanced’). Students have to pass an exam at the end of Form 4 to continue to Form 5. These are students who will be pursuing university-level education when they graduate.
Until last year, Nelson Mandela only offered Forms 1-4. But in 2021, they started their first ever Form 5 class. 105 students made it in! At the end of the year, they moved up to Form 6, making way for a new wave of Form 5s. It was very important to kit out their hostel with beds and mattresses for the new class of Form 5s.
“We sincerely thank you,” writes Fr. Cino, our Mbinga sponsor site director, because “School Connections has helped us to provide 16 beds and 50 mattresses.”
"We thank you and remember you in our prayers. May God bless you and keep you safe always,” writes Fr. Yuda, who works with Fr. Cino.
Thanks to the efforts of students and staff of the six Canadian schools listed below in 2022, the students and staff at Nelson Mandela Secondary School now have a safer and more comfortable learning environment. Together, Canadian schools raised $8,145 for their needs.
A huge thank you to the following schools for partnering with Nelson Mandela in 2022:
- St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School, N. Vancouver, BC
- St. Joseph's Catholic Secondary School, Cornwall, ON
- Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School, Kingston, ON
- St. Joan of Arc, Mississauga, ON
- Assumption Jr./Sr. High School, Cold Lake, AB
- St. John Brebeuf Regional Secondary School, Abbotsford, BC
2021 School Connections Grant - There's little that's better for the soul than a comfy place to read and write, but students at Nelson Mandela lacked bookshelves. The floor was also damaged and there weren't enough reading tables. The roof, meanwhile, was rusty.
With the help of a School Connections grant in 2021, big changes have been made: the library has a new look. Students now have enough space to read, and there's plenty of room for books. The refreshed library is cleaned frequently, and it is a comfy place for students.
In addition, students received 34 new desks and chairs! Lack of study tables has been a consistent problem for the school, so students and staff are grateful for the extra support.
The school needed more plates, spoons and cooking utensils as part of its farming program. Each child now has their own cup and spoon at mealtime, meaning they no long need to share with other students.
The school has an established apiary for honey production that supports income generation for the school, and was supported last year through a grant. The last harvesting was 24 litres of honey that was sold, with the money used to buy cooking oil, salt, and beans for the school feeding. There are 23 beehives and the school plans to increase that to 200.
