Solwezi, Zambia

The problem

The Charity Centre for Children and Youth Development in Solwezi wanted to create a place where vulnerable children and teenagers could study and develop practical skills. The project had been proposed by the local organization and selected by Edinburgh Global Partnerships, a student-led society at the University of Edinburgh, but it needed external funding to proceed.

The approach

I joined a team of six University of Edinburgh students. We raised £9,600 during the academic year, paid our own travel and living costs, and spent nine weeks in Solwezi supporting the project. The community chose the priority, managed the work, and carried out the construction. Our role was to transfer the funding, work alongside them, and provide oversight.

How it worked

We fundraised in Edinburgh before traveling to Zambia, then lived near the project and supported construction through the summer. In my free time, I asked the headteacher of a nearby school for permission to teach extracurricular classes in basic politics. I designed and taught the classes twice a week, mostly for pupils aged 11 to 13, and adapted them around the limited classroom resources and what the students found most useful.

Key decisions

• Work on a project proposed and supported by the local community, rather than arrive with a solution designed elsewhere.
• Treat the local organization as the project owner and our team as a source of funding, practical support, and oversight.
• Use my free time to design classes around the students and resources available to teach basic politics.

Outcome

The building work was completed during our placement, with equipment due to arrive after we left. The local organization went on to develop the site as the Fortune School of Excellence and credits Edinburgh Global Partnerships with helping construct its first classroom. It reports that the school has since provided education and skills training to more than 1,500 children and young people in the Solwezi district.

What I learned

The time in Zambia made ideas I had studied at university, from the copper economy to China’s growing role in Africa, much more concrete. I enjoyed working in a project where the local community was heavily involved, and made the decisions about their own future. External funding can be useful when the community defines the priority, owns the work, and remains responsible for what happens next. Teaching also forced me to listen, adapt, and reconsider what the students needed from me.