Literacy In A Box: The birth of the box

Having established the principle of support for Zambian children through School Aid 4 Zambia we needed to address the key issues in schools ie. basic facilities, overcrowding and a lack of school supplies. 

We, in the UK, take for granted school supplies, which include pens, pencils, paper, chalks and rulers among many others. 

However, the lack of them for most Zambian children, due to the inability of their parents to pay for them, was perceived by the Trust to be critical in the failure of many to have a full education.  The Trust therefore decided that its first priority must be to focus on school supplies in its School Aid 4 Zambia programme.

Knowing now what we could do to help, we had to consider how to achieve it but looked no further than Shelter Box for inspiration.  If this box could transport relief items for communities in the wake of a disaster, surely a similar box could be used to transport school supplies to Zambia.  The people at Shelter Box were very helpful and as a result of discussions with  them we were given a couple of boxes for the pilot project - Literacy in a Box had begun.

Confirming needs

Before we did anything, we made contact by e-mail with the links in Zambia, given to us by Operation Sunshine, to ensure we had an exact list of materials needed by the schools and set about sourcing them.  The boxes were packed and then sent out in a container shipped by Operation Sunshine in January 2006.  Each box contained enough supplies for 50 pupils.  One box was sent to a 'basic' state school, the other to a community school funded from charitable resources.  Arriving in the wet season caused delays, but eventually in April 2006 the boxes arrived!!!

An e-mail received from the Head Teacher of the community school confirmed that the content of the boxes were exactly as needed, enabling the pupils to develop the core skills needed to become Literate and Numerate.  She talks of the children she has rescued from street life and goes on to say that "their lives changed because of education" and that "you cannot go wrong in what you are trying to do".

Building on success

The positive feedback encouraged us to go forward and throughout 2006 we progressed with the creation of a business plan and started the process of applying for charitable status.  In March 2007 we finally became of Registered Charity no. 1118177 in the name of "The Literacy in a Box Trust" and with the aim "To provide educational supplies, to enable teachers and their pupils in schools in Zambia and sub-Saharan Africa to realise their respective ambitions".

Rotary District 1290, in which the Rotary Club of Roborough , Plymouth is situated, fully supported the Literacy Box project, and gradually the Trust began to receive donations that would allow the follow up on our pilot project of two boxes.  By the end of 2006 funds had grown sufficiently to allow 20 boxes to be filled and these were sent in January 2007, again using container space available through Operation Sunshine. 

The boxes went to two 'basic' state schools and two community schools, with the contents able to support 1000 pupils in their education.  Feedback from this group of schools again confirmed their delight at receiving the boxes and also highlighted that enquiries for enrolment had shot up.

The 3 B's - the future of the Trust

The aim of the Trust, stated above on this page, indicates that its main role is to furnish Zambian children with school supplies, but already feedback received highlighted two further needs.  Firstly there is a severe lack of text books, with often as few as one per subject per class and this is "teacher's".  Secondly, whilst some children complete primary education, they do not progress to secondary education as their parents cannot afford the costs of enrolment and uniform.  Without this secondary education they fail to realise any of their potential and as a consequence become unable to work their way out of poverty.

The logistics of supplying books (to overcome the chronic shortage) and bursaries (to fund the progress of pupils graduating from Primary to Secondary education) is different to sending school supplies in a Literacy Box, although their role in supporting Zambian children in their quest for better education is no less important.  Consequently, the Trust has formed a partnership with Macmillan Education, publishers with a global portfolio, especially in Africa.  This expertise in Africa will allow the Trust to work with Macmillan Education to source key text books required by teachers in the schools which the Trust supports.

A completed Secondary education in Zambia gives individuals a real chance in life, so the Trust will be looking at ways that it can grant bursaries to the most deserving.  On all matters discussed above, whether boxes, books or bursaries, the Trust will be liaising with the Zambian Ministry of Education to ensure that all we do is in line with their policies and with their guidance reaches the most deserving schools and pupils.

These two extra levels of support will mean School Aid 4 Zambia will be offering the 3 B's, boxes, books and bursaries, as it moves forward supporting Zambian children.

The Literacy Box Trust: http://literacyboxtrust.org.uk/index.html
The Rotary Club of Roborough: http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.asp?ClubID=1058