Mitenge Primary and secondary school NOW open

The village of Mitenge is just an hour outside the city of Ndola, but it might as well be across the world.   Village life is very separated from city life and its opportunities.   There is no electricity in the village and it would take about 4 hours to walk to town to even charge a cell phone at the nearest clinic.  For many years the only school available was a local primary school for those farmers who can afford to pay the school fees for their children to attend grades 1-7.  But in order for older students to go to grades 8-12, they had leave the village and live away from home.   That meant that a 12 year old child would have to find housing in town and take care of themselves while attending school.  That also meant that their impoverished farming family would have to be able to afford the rent and the school fees of about $150 a year for any child in the family after grade 7.  So this made a secondary education pretty unlikely for most village children and they remain uneducated as they becomes adults.   Girls are often married off young if they cannot afford school fees.  

But in 2017 AFSIA made a difference. We purchased property in the village of Mitenge and completed the building of a beautiful new school facility in November of 2019 to be used for a local secondary school so that these kids can have an education available to them at a lower cost and live safely at home with their families.

The building is also used for a clinic for visiting government health nurses, a church, and a community meeting place.   This is the strongest building in the whole surrounding area. The school can accommodate classes for levels PK- Grade 3 and grades 8-9 at this time, but it is still in need of additional classes rooms for grades 4-7 and grades 10-12. To add the upper grades, it will also be necessary to add a science and computer labs.

In November 2019, 40 Fruit and floral trees were planted on the property surrounding the school, and the local children are helping to tend them until they are established and strong.

In June 2020, A 50 meter deep bore hole well was added to the property for the community to have fresh clean water available, and help cut down on water borne illnesses. Also, a toilet block was added to the school facility for sanitation. And a library of books is available for all the children and adults in the community to learn to read.

In January 2021, the secondary school, Mitenge Christian Academy, opened for students in grade 8-9 along with a preschool and classes for older people who were not able to complete their secondary education when they were school age.

Children in Mitenge have big dreams!  But without a secondary school in their village, they would either stop attending school after grade 7, or would have to walk hours in order to attend the closest secondary school in a nearby village.