Education Zambia Project #66072

Empowering Zambian youth to lead positive change

by Our Moon Education

Empowering Zambian youth to lead positive change

Project Report | Aug 6, 2026
The Power of Belief-Giving

By Helen Leale-Green | Founder and CEO

Graduation and our growing community

The Power of "Belief-Giving"

During a recent visit to Zambia, a phrase emerged that perfectly captures the spirit of our work: "belief-giving."

At Our Moon Education, academic support and university access are important parts of what we do, but the deeper impact lies in helping young people believe in their own potential and giving them the confidence to pursue opportunities they may never have imagined possible.

This was powerfully illustrated through two significant events that took place recently.

Celebrating the Next Generation

The first was our annual graduation celebration for second-year students as they prepared to begin university. The event brought together students, alumni, staff, supporters, families, and friends to celebrate the achievements of young people who have worked tirelessly to reach this important milestone.

Students and alumni shared inspiring reflections on their educational journeys, the challenges they had overcome, and the opportunities that now lie ahead of them. The celebration also showcased the incredible talents within the Our Moon community, with musical performances, a student drama presentation, and readings that reflected the creativity, confidence, and growth of the students.

The atmosphere was one of pride, gratitude, and optimism. For many students, university represents not only a personal achievement but also the beginning of a future in which they can contribute to their communities and create opportunities for others.

A Decade of Impact

Just two weeks later, 89 alumni joined Our Moon's annual online conference, which this year marked 10 years of impact.

The conference brought together alumni from across the world to share experiences, insights, and lessons learned. Participants heard from graduates pursuing advanced studies at leading international universities, as well as alumni already making meaningful contributions in fields such as environmental research, education and community development.

A highlight of the event was a conversation focused on innovation, perseverance, and leadership. One message resonated strongly throughout the discussion: success does not require perfect conditions. Many of those featured began with limited resources, but they took the first step, remained committed to their goals, and created opportunities through determination and resilience.

The Importance of Belief-Givers

Reflecting on these events, it became clear how many people have acted as "belief-givers" throughout our students' journeys.

Teachers, staff members, alumni, volunteers, trustees, donors, family members, and friends have all played a role in helping students recognise their abilities, build confidence, and pursue ambitious goals. Their encouragement, guidance, and belief have helped open doors that may otherwise have remained closed.

Importantly, we are now seeing a new generation of belief-givers emerge. Many alumni are returning to mentor current students, share their experiences, and offer practical advice. In doing so, they are creating a powerful cycle of support that strengthens the entire Our Moon community.

Thank You

As we celebrate ten years of impact, we are reminded that success is not measured solely by university admissions, degrees, or career achievements. It is also measured by the confidence young people gain, the aspirations they develop, and their willingness to help others believe in themselves.

None of this would be possible without the generosity of our GlobalGiving supporters. Your contributions help create opportunities for talented young people and ensure they receive not only educational support but also the encouragement and mentorship needed to thrive.

Thank you for helping us build a community of belief-givers and for making these life-changing journeys possible.

The guys

The girls

Helen with graduands

Links:

Our refreshed website - please take a look

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Apr 9, 2026
Our Moon's students suffer due to US travel ban

By Helen Leale-Green | Founder and CEO

Unlike my other reports, this one is more subdued. Since a travel ban has been imposed on Zambians going to the US and the ongoing war in the Middle East, we have had to rethink the universities our students go to.

Our current second years were eagerly awaiting their ED decisions when the travel ban was announced. This was terribly sad news for our students. Some had already received offers and others were deferred to regular decision. We decided a stoic pragmatism was the only way forward. We have been researching universities in different countries and are pleased to announce that we already have some successes: Grace is going to Hong Kong Poly U, Wynter and Noah to Ashoka in India, Agripa to Bocconi in Italy and Ireen to University of British Columbia. Applications are ongoing to other universities offering full scholarships in our network.

As if this isn't enough to contend with, there was a sudden appreciation of the Zambian kwacha leading to a huge increase in the funds we need to manage our site and programme. We continue to look for partners and donors to help us plug this gap.

That aside, we are excited that most of our second-year students have internships, ranging from audit with KPMG and PwC, to healthcare at a local hospital and all other work in between. Apart from the benefit of gaining work experience, these internships are vital for our students to start building their networks in Zambia before they set out to study abroad. They also get to see that there are professional organisations in Zambia doing purposeful work.

We are also delighted that several of our students graduated last year and are now at home working in engineering, healthcare, agriculture, IT and entrepreneurship.

But this period has also forced me to reflect on what we do at Our Moon and on how amazing the transformation is in our students. In a world where young people are constantly rushing and rarely pause to evaluate their progress, Our Moon creates intentional space for deep reflection. Students document their thinking and listen to their inner voice, enabling them to formulate their own responses to complex challenges. This early grounding in self-awareness fosters independent thinking and open-mindedness that underpin both academic success and ethical leadership.

I am actually in Zambia for three weeks, to complete student selection and onboard them. They start on 10 April, so I am very excited to welcome them to the programme. I will be sure to introduce them to you and update you on their progress. Thank you to everyone who has donated to our programme and given these extraordinary young people the greatest chance of their lives.

Links:

http://www.ourmoon.org.uk

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Dec 11, 2025
Our Moon's Young Leaders head off to university

By Helen Leale-Green | Founder and CEO

Preparing vegetables for lunch

As the year comes to a close, we would firstly, like to take the time to thank all our donors. We are aware that we couldn't do our work if we didn't have the strong support of people like you.

We have had a hugely impactful year, and are excited to share it with you. I see so much brilliance, resilience and a deep hunger among our students to solve Zambia's challenges. By giving them access to the best universities, global internship opportunities, and international connections, they can bring back their learning to Zambia and contribute to its development. The results speak for themselves:

We doubled the number of students on our Young Leaders Programme to 16 young people
15/16 of this year's Young Leaders have fully-funded opportunities to attend university abroad. The one student who doesn't have a place has interned with an NGO. They have since given her a permanent role. She will apply fo university this year
We unlocked scholarships of £4.2 million
Our students are going to university in the US (Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Tufts, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Swarthmore), Turkey, Rwanda, Ghana, Lebanon, India and Zambia
Each current Young Leader works with 10 local children to support their in their English while they are on site with us - the ripple effect has already begun.

Our first year students are just waiting the results of their Early Decision Applications. It is both an exciting and stressful time for them. There has been more pressure than ever on access to these fully funded opportunities.

Some of our alumni graduated this year and have headed home. After taking a course four years ago with Bongo Hive, a tech start-up hub in the capital, she was inspired to study computer science which she combined with visual arts. She is now working at Bongo Hive helping with front end systems development.

We go into the year, with a strong programme. We are expanding to include a new agricultural project which will also involve training up local people in newer farming techniques. We will select our next Young Leaders during February and March 2026.

Also in 2026, we aim to complete our long-awaited "Learning Forum", the building which will house our main classrooms, library and computer room.

First year Young Leaders

Students and staff at Our Moon's site

Lute graduates from Ashoka University

John (at Dartford) and Davies (Tufts)

Links:

Our website

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