Almost a decade ago, I met with the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) in Katete at the time, Mr. Fully Tembo. I was new to the position, and the goal of the meeting was to come to an agreement about the operation of Impact Network’s schools in Katete District. While we had been working with Mr. Tembo for a while, it was the first formal agreement we were working towards. In that meeting, we shared Impact Network’s mission and goals, while also learning much more about the government’s priorities.

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Five years ago this year, the world lost Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid activist, and the former wife of Nelson Mandela. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is the lesser known of the Mandelas, of course. But some would argue that she was the more powerful, though not without controversy. She was born in what is now the Eastern Cape province, to two teachers. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international relations, and married Nelson Mandela when she was in her early twenties. Five years after their marriage, he was arrested and jailed, where he remained for the next two and a half decades.

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As we kick off the 2023 school year in Zambia, I’m excited to share that we are continuing to provide early childhood education to 400+ three to six year olds in the communities we serve! While developing this program, we examined play-based interventions that used self-directed activities, hands-on materials, and a supportive environment to bring out the best in our students.

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Last week, we held our annual teacher conference, in which we bring all our teaching and management staff together for a week of training prior to opening the school year.  Just as we expect teachers to provide active lessons and hands-on activities when working with students, our management team strives to model those same approaches when planning the teacher conference. Our teacher training sessions are grounded in research regarding adult learning. 

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There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

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I hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday and happy new year! I’m grateful to have each of you in our work to support rural students in Zambia achieve their potential. I hope you found some restoration and peace over the holiday season, and look forward to an amazing 2023!

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Respecting each child’s right to education and protection are core values of Impact Network. So as we reflect back on the year, we would like to highlight Caroline Chibale, one of our child protection warriors.

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As this school year comes to a close in Zambia, I wanted to take a minute to highlight “Go Green Day” – a fun-filled day focused on environmental conservation, with a ton of hands-on projects.  Part of this work is generously funded by the Addax & Oryx Foundation, who have helped us launch various environmental projects – including rainwater harvesting, tree planting, and upcycling activities. Our teachers and staff helped make this day come alive in so many creative ways and I wanted to highlight just a few of them today!

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One of the key responsibilities of the operations team is to provide technical support to the program, such as safety and hygiene practices across Impact Network schools. We consider this to be a prerequisite towards achieving quality education because the lack of safe learning spaces and adequate hygiene facilities can translate to lower attendance and decreased educational achievement. That is why the operation team takes pride in ensuring safe learning spaces for our students to learn in.

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Today we highlight Mr. John Mutunduwatha Phiri, the head teacher at Sivwa Community School in Sinda District. Mr. Phiri is employed by the Zambia Ministry of Education and in 2021 he was assigned to be the Head of Sivwa, one of the schools where Impact Network operates.

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The NetGirls season recently ended for 2022 and what a great season it was! 80 teams, comprised of approximately 1,200 girls and young women from more than 20 villages in Katete participated in the league this year. This was the most teams the league has had in 2 years due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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The email this week comes from School Support Manager, Caroline Chibale. Caroline helped to plan a Parent Engagement Day at every Impact Network school during the last week of October. More than 1,600 parents participated in the program.

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I hope everyone is having a great fall. My kids are making their way through a kids’ book on Sonya Sotomayor, and I was reminded of her amazing autobiography, entitled “My Beloved World”. For those unfamiliar, Sonya Sotomayor is the 11th Justice of the Supreme Court in the US, serving since August of 2009. She’s the first Hispanic justice, born and raised in the Bronx, who knew at age 10 that she wanted to be an attorney. She entered Princeton University on a scholarship, and was one of the few Latino women there at the time

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My son has been really into these short biographical novels on famous people, leaders, and thinkers. I found myself picking up one on Mahatma Gandhi recently and learning more than I ever have about the leader in a short amount of time.

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This week, we will celebrate World Teachers’ Day, and we want to thank all of the Impact Network teachers that make our work possible!

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While searching for new books to read over the coming weeks, I came across some of the lesser known titles of Chinua Achebe. Achebe caught the attention of the world in 1958 with his first novel, Things Fall Apart, widely read in classrooms across the globe (including mine when I was in college). Raised in an Igbo town in southeastern Nigeria, Achebe excelled at school and won a scholarship to attend Nigerian’s first university. His novels focused on the traditions of Igbo society, and the clash of Western and traditional African cultures during colonization.

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As students in both the US and Zambia start school earlier this month, I read an endearing letter from one of America’s most prolific writers. Over 15 years ago, students in Ms. Lockwood’s English class at Xavier High School in NYC were given an assignment. It was seemingly simple – write a letter to your favorite author and convince him or her to visit the school. It also seems like a fun experiment for an English teacher – the best case scenario is that someone is persuasive enough to get a beloved author to come to the school.

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Last Thursday September 8th marked the 55th annual celebration of International Literacy Day. Across the world, people planned special programs and projects to remind us of the importance of achieving literacy for all people and populations, as well as to celebrate the power of literacy to enrich and transform lives.

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Last month, a long-time scientist and public health advocate announced his retirement. Anthony Stephen Fauci may not have become a household name here in the U.S. had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic. But because of the last 2+ years, we have also had the great privilege to learn about his life’s work and mission.

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You can do or be anything at any age, no matter how young or old you are.

Today we highlight Edith Phiri, one of our NetGirls Zone Facilitators. Edith truly inspires us with her desire to help young women and girls in her community.

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