The Estelle Trust

Chibolya Education and Health Organisation – Zambia (CEHOZ): water aid to a new school

lyndarobinson — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:29:11 +0000

CEHOZ is a small, community-driven, non-government aid organisation which is addressing the health and social needs of children in Chibolya and the surrounding Kalaya community of over 10,000 people near the town of Mazabuka. With the support of ZOA-UK (see Partners) and Build IT, a new primary school is being constructed in Chibolya. Build IT is a UK-based charity that helps local communities to build essential low- cost facilities in an environmentally friendly way by training local people in building skills and maximising the use of local resources. The Estelle Trust is financing the provision of a bore hole and water pumping and storage facilities for the school which is scheduled to open in April 2012.

Moulding concrete floor panel for the school at Chibolya. Over 18,000 hydro-form blocks are being moulded on site by community volunteers lead by Build IT.

Mpanshya Orphan Training Farm: solar powered water supply

lyndarobinson — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:20:44 +0000

In 2002 Katondwe Hospital was given 80 hectares of land on which to develop Mpanshya Farm OVC: a training and farming enterprise for AIDS orphans. There is now a dormitory, a supervisor’s house, a small poultry house and pig sty on the site but the well dries out early in the dry season and the students have to collect water from 3 km away. An improved water supply will improve the output of the farm and benefit four nearby villages. The sale of the farm produce to the hospital and others helps to pay for the orphans’ school fees. Following a site visit by Glenn Allison, an Estelle Trust trustee, the Trust has approved the funding of a new bore hole and installation of a solar powered pump and water tank.

The dried out well at Mpanshya Orphan Training School

Home based care for OVCs in Lusaka

lyndarobinson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:47:11 +0000

Two new ZOA/Estelle Trust projects are support for Twaywane Home Based Care in Lusaka and the Mpanshya Farm OVC. Twaywane HBC describes its aims as follows. ‘Our goal is to empower the vulnerable of our community, namely people living with HIV/AIDS and TB, orphans, widows and the elderly, and to build the community from within. Currently we take care of 300 people living with HIV/AIDS and/or TB and 360 orphaned and vulnerable children in our community school. We serve our clients through a home-based-care programme and psycho-social counselling, different skills training, assistance with hospital visits and provide food supplements when neccessary. In our school we serve children in very difficult situations. Most do not have a safe place to stay, get abused and often our school feeding is the only proper nutrition they receive.‘ Twaywane HBC is run by a voluntary membership of women from the community who sustain the project by income generating activities (IGAs) such as chicken rearing, gardening, crocheting plastic bags and block making.

The initial support for Mpanshya Farm OVC is in the form of farming inputs. The Trust has also agreed to provide a wind pump based water supply installation during 2012.

‘Touching Kids Lives’ – a self-help community programme

lyndarobinson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:36:14 +0000

Following a site visit by Deirdre Allison, the Estelle Trust’s In-country Representative and Mwibiana Sitali, the Programme Co-ordinator for Zambia Orphans of Aids, the Trust is funding a ZOA project run by the RICAP (Rise Community Aid Programme) in Kafue. RICAP is a community-based volunteer organization that was set up in 2005 in response to the rapidly emerging problems of HIV and AIDS: the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the Kafue District is 19.2% of the population. This particular project is called the ‘Touching Kids Lives’ OVC Support Project and it has three elements. School requisites such as shoes, uniforms, books and exam fees will be provided for 130 school-age children. There will be a supplementary feeding programme for 20 malnourished under-5 year olds. The third element is the support through small grants to 20 female-headed households to start small scale marketing enterprises such as selling kapenta beans, fish, groceries and charcoal.

RICAP staff with Deirdre Allison, the Estelle Trust In-country Representative

The Trust is also considering a programme with RICAP that would address some of the social problems caused by high youth unemployment in the area.

A group of the women who are helped to start marketing enterprises

First graduates from the Arulussa Farm Pre-School

lyndarobinson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:34:17 +0000

The first class at the Arulussa Farm School has graduated: seventeen children graduated from the Estelle Trust funded pre-school in December having reached the primary school age of 7 years old. Many of the children have been enrolled in the ‘All Kids Can Learn’ primary school which is part of the orphanage that is next door to Arulussa Farm. The rest of the children will attend the government primary school at Landless Corner. Eighteen children from the Arulussa compound and 12 children from neighbouring farms will attend the Arulussa Farm school in the New Year.

In the end of term report, Joyce Kimani, the school manager wrote that ‘The level of children’s performance has improved significantly and they are able to express themselves in simple English coupled with humour and confidence which most of them lacked before. They are lovely kids.’

: The pre-school graduates with their teachers and the school manager

The adult literacy class at the school now has 12 adult students, some of whom are pictured with Joyce in the accompanying photo. After some initial delays the Afya Mzuri HIV/AIDS awareness and community health programme started in December. For previous reports see posting on

: Some of Arulussa’s adult literacy students

Chinonya: helping a community school gain Government funded status

lyndarobinson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:32:33 +0000

The Estelle Trust has accepted a proposal to aid the educational work of the Baynards Zambia Trust (BZT). BZT is a UK charity that is run by voluntary trustees who know Zambia well. It operates in partnership with Hodi, a Zambian-run NGO: Hodi provides the local management of the projects. BZT focuses on three areas of need in the remote Mkushi District of Zambia near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo: education for children, promotion of sustainable livelihoods through better farming methods and HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programmes.

The interior of Chinonya School

The project supported by the Estelle Trust is the construction of a teacher’s house at Chinonya School. This is currently a community school with no government support and in a run-down state: mud and wattle construction with children sitting on bricks. A development programme has started including the provision of water supply and construction of a classroom block and teachers’ houses. These facilities will enable the school to achieve Government funded primary school status. The community is wholeheartedly engaged in the programme, making a contribution through the manufacturing of bricks, building sand and stones for the foundations. As an initial contribution, the Estelle Trust is funding the construction of one of the teacher’s houses.

Chinonya Community School Building

Development of the ‘Kids Dance for Kids’ school near Chisamba

lyndarobinson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:31:11 +0000

The Trust is following up the provision of a wind pump water supply installation at the ‘Kids Dance for Kids’ school near Chisamba with the funding of the construction of a staff house for teachers. This will enable Anja Kleeman-Wright and her colleagues in the project to recruit trained teachers for the school. The Trust is also exploring the placement of a VSO Teacher Trainer at the school. The background to the KDF school is in the posting of 6 June 2011.

More support for Kachele’s Natimwa Learning Centre

lyndarobinson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:29:27 +0000

Headmistress Bernadette Komoto congratulates Emmanuel Njovo on gaining first place in Grade 1 Class at the Natimwa Learning Centre

The Trust’s close involvement with the development of the Kachele Village community and district health and educational facilities (see posting of 6 June 2011) continues. The funding of a water supply system based on solar and wind power for the village and the clinic and the building of a houses for the district nurse and for headmistress of the Natimwa Learning Centre – the village and district school – has been greatly assisted by the contributions from Chapman Freeborn Aviation (see Partners).

Bernadette's house rises around her

In 2012 the Trust will support the development of the Natimwa Learning Centre by paying for the salaries of two teachers and providing resources for the school library which is currently under construction.

The road to Kachele was builit by the villagers and is designated "all weather" but when the rains come ...

Adult literacy classes and a community health programme at Arulussa

lyndarobinson — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:43:35 +0000

Two new community support activities sponsored by the Estelle Trust and using the facilities of the Arulussa Farm School building and teaching staff were started or planned in June. Adult literacy classes are now held three times a week, Monday to Wednesday from 16.30 to 17.30 hours. With the assistance of a local NGO called AfyaMzuri, a health programme has been devised for the farm workers and will commence in mid-August. The programme has been designed in consultation with the farm management, two male members of the farm’s soap making factory and the supervisor of the female workers. There were useful contributions from all parties covering such matters as health problems, domestic violence, and cultural and traditional beliefs – including witchcraft practices. The programme will begin with a community health training programme for five farm workers, who will be selected by the farm community. It is intended that these community health workers will continue to implement activities beyond the period of involvement by AfyaMzuri

Capacity building at Zambia Orphans of AIDS

ashgatepublishing — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:57:55 +0000

The Estelle Trust has made a three year (2011-2013) commitment to work with Zambia Orphans of AIDS (ZOA) to help build its project management capacity in Zambia and fund more projects. It likely that these projects will be mostly connected with the provision of education for orphans and vulnerable children. The first and current stage of this cooperation is the development of the ZOA office in Lusaka and its administrative capacity to process and evaluate project proposals. For information on Zambia Orphans of AIDS see “Partners”.