School appeals for infrastructure improvement

Chisengu Day Secondary School appealed to well-wishers and the Government to help it cushion the infrastructure challenges the institution is facing.

Chisengu Day Secondary Headteacher Sarah Chisha said the school has a total capacity of 244 pupils , but is lacking its own classrooms and pupils are taking shelter in the primary school infrastructure, while other learners are using a thatched shelter and a poultry building belonging to Chisengu Multi- purpose Cooperative.

Ms Chisha disclosed that through the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), construction of a 1 x 3 classroom block was initiated, however, it has only reached at window level and stalled due to lack of finances.

“We are lobbying from well-wishers and you the first lady to assist us finish constructing the pending classroom blocks and also construct staff houses and dormitories for our pupils,” she told the First Lady Esther Lungu who was at the school to make a donation under Esther Lungu Foundation Trust.

Ms Chisha said the school is facing a serious housing accommodation crisis and as a result, most teachers commute from Mfuwe which is about 63km away from Chisengu on a daily basis.

She added that due to lack of enough infrastructure, the school came up with a weekly boarding initiative to help about 82 pupils that come from distant places that require some of them to cross rivers to get to school.

The Head Teacher further told the First Lady the lack of teaching and learning materials is as another great challenge the school is facing.

“The school only has four outdated computers and this makes it difficult to teach our pupils computer studies and help them move at the same pace with the rest of the world as it advances technologically,” Chisha noted.

Ms Chisha further said that the school wishes to engage in aquaculture and to help it achieve that, there is need for government and other stakeholders to help drill a borehole at the site so that the school can be self-sustaining.

And in response to the challenges presented, the First Lady who is in Mambwe District for her outreach programmes donated 10 computers, 12 desks, 230 pieces of washable sanitary towels, study text books, 20 buckets of rice and 192 tablets of soap among other items to Chisengu Day Secondary School and Chisengu Primary School.

And Chisengu Health Post also a medicine trolley, 250 surgical gloves, 20 sets of solar lights, 2 bicycles, 3 lab coats, an examination bed and 29 packets of food hampers among other items to Chisengu Health Post.

Earlier Chisengu Health Post Sister-In-Charge Violet Zulu appealed for the construction of a maternity annex at the health facility.

According to Ms Zulu, the absence of a maternity ward makes it difficult for expectant mothers when the time for delivery arrives as their privacy is also compromised especially during day time.

She added that the health facility does not have a mother’s shelter too which has led to many women delivering from home and endangering their lives and that of new born babies.

While in Chisengu, the First Lady continued to express her sadness over reports of escalating cases of child marriages and early pregnancies in the district.

Mrs Lungu insisted on the need for parents to appreciate the education of the girl child which enables them to realise full potential to earn a living and benefit their families and the whole community.

The First Lady, quoting Nelson Mandela that “education is the most powerful weapon in the world”, said educating children is key in the uplifting of the community.

“Gone are the days when a male child was encouraged to advance in school while the female child was told to do household chores. Allow girl children to get educated instead of marrying them off to men old enough to be their grandfathers,” she urged.