Zambian Rainbow Foundation, (ZRDF) under the education thematic area aims to provide quality education to the rural and marginalized communities of Luano and Mkushi districts. ZRDF’s point of entry is the formulation of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) who assist in the mobilization of non-mechanized tools and sand for the construction of the community school. After which they receive training on brick making which is done on-site. After the school is constructed it is handed over to the government and the community usually represented by the Chief. The Ministry of Education (MoE) respond by deploying trained teachers.

The  ZRDF Education policy has a four-pronged approach which provides the following services;

 

1. Improve access to quality education services for vulnerable children through support to school infrastructure development.

2. Support for quality education services through the provision of teaching and learning materials.

3. Drilling of boreholes in order to improve access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation and hygiene.

4. Promotion of community-led School Health Nutrition programs (SHIN).

 

Through the infrastructure development ZRDF successfully constructed the first girls’ dormitory in a Government primary school in Zambia. Some of the expected output of the Education thematic area through the following ways;

 

 

• Increased community ownership, participation and support for each other in community development initiative through embracing the spirit of working together.

• Increased school enrollment as a result of improved infrastructure.

• Increased retention of the boys and girls in school promoting the re-entry policy of girls and boys that had dropped out.

• Reducing the number of early marriages and teenage pregnancies.

• Increased number of trained teachers deployed as a result of the infrastructure support.

• Improved water, sanitation and hygiene thereby reducing the prevalence of water-borne diseases.

• Reduced textbook to child ratio as a result of material support provided.

 

ZRDF is now working in 18 primary schools and in the last ten years, this number has grown from 7 primary schools with a pupil population of circ. 2,000 to more than 7,000. In the last ten years, ZRDF has been working with the communities, in constructing 10 three-roomed classroom blocks, 28 teachers’ houses and 31 pupil toilets.

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