It's Hard to Learn When You're Hungry!

David and Lynda Steiner are at present spending some time in Monze, Zambia. Lynda writes:

Today David and I spent an hour or two with some of the pupils at HATW partner PIZZ School, a wonderful place where Mrs Sianga and her team are supporting orphaned and vulnerable children. We sang, told some stories and traced our journey from home on an atlas. Suddenly we were all deafened by the sound of torrential rain on the metal roof of the classroom. Unable to carry on with our discussions, we handed out the 7 or 8 books we had with us to groups of pupils. It was like giving food to starving people! The children descended on the books with a thirst for information and knowledge that both humbled and delighted me. So thrilled were they by the stories that some began to copy them into their exercise books in order to be able to read them again later. An encyclopaedia was a cornucopia of delight, and the flags of the world shown in the atlas were of great interest to one group of boys in particular, another group were amazed by pictures of animals from the polar regions.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if these children had access to a library? Unfortunately it can be difficult and expensive to get books to Africa from the UK, but some books are available locally to those with the money to buy them.

It's hard not to dream of feeding the minds of these children with the provision of a library. Their teachers are hard-working and committed, but resources are very limited.

HATW supporters have already given these 400 or so orphaned and vulnerable children a school and teachers, which has transformed their lives. When we heard that many of the children would go all day without eating, you responded to our Lunch Box appeal, and now a simple but sustaining school meal is provided every day.

Imagine if break time might also include a trip to the school library during the rains. The children would pray for rain as fervently as the farmers!

Imagine if those dedicated teachers had lots of books to use in lessons, what a difference that might make to literacy, geography, history...

The first step toward realising the dream is to imagine it. Do you think that together we could take the next step? Could you help to feed those hungry minds? If you would like to, you can help with a donation. Thank you.

Janes, the girl with the smiling face and frizzy hair featured at the head of this project has now progressed to a local secondary school – with continued support from Hands around the World. She is now a confident, healthy young lady with a future thanks to PIZZ School.

It is a privilege and very humbling to meet some of the children from PIZZ School. This year I had the pleasure of meeting more than 60 of the students and former students.

Gideon told me that he wants to be a lawyer. He is a keen footballer - he plays for the school team and supports Athletico Madrid, which he watches at a friends house, where they have a television. He said to me “Thank You for the Food”. Gideon gained first place in recent exams for Grade 6 students.

Elvis is in Grade 2 – he sings in the school choir and his best friend is Lucky. Elvis only manages one meal a day and told me that he enjoys the rice he gets at school.

It is hard for us to believe what a difference a bowl of rice can make and just how much it is appreciated, many of the students make a point of thanking me for the food. And this year one of the teachers was keen to tell me what a difference the food makes.

So on behalf of the children, their families and all involved with PIZZ school, I would like to thank you for your support – as they say in Monze, Twalumba Kapati – Thank You Very Much.