The first thing you notice in Zambia is that there are children everywhere. Many children are not able to attend school because they have to work for extra money or take care of their younger siblings. It is common to see children as young as 8 years old taking responsibility for infants during the day.
Zambia has a population of just over 12 million people with a median age of 15.76 years old. That means that over half of the country are children under the age of 16.
Government schools are free to attend for grades 1 through 7; however, students are required to purchase uniforms, shoes, and school supplies. Since 80% of the country lives on less than $2 a day, buying these things is often not an option – therefore school is not an option. They are also very overcrowded with a ratio of 50 students to 1 teacher and only four hour school days.
 |
 |
There are thousands of children who cannot afford or get into the overcrowded government schools. Members of the slum compounds around Zambia have taken to opening Community Schools. Unfortunately, most of the owners of these schools are more interested in making money than in educating children.
Community Schools are even more overcrowded than government schools, often with 100 or 200 students for 1 teacher. To help with overcrowding (and to generate more income), most community schools run four sessions per day.
A child at a Community School only goes to class for two hours a day.
Family Legacy is opening its own schools throughout the capital city of Lusaka. These schools are bringing quality education with desks and school supplies (along with well-educated teachers) to the slums of Zambia.
 |
 |
In the next year, we will be opening 12 schools directly in the slums of Zambia.
As we build these new schools, we need you to partner with us as we build and run these new facilities. Our Goals >