Having built classrooms for all grades at Linda Community School in Livingstone, Zambia, the time has come to provide for vocational learning, beginning with a dedicated classroom to teach cooking. This will fit within the Zambian curriculum, provide a qualification and enhance job opportunities.
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Beneficiaries
We have now built classrooms for each grade at Linda Community School. However, the over 900 pupils do not have access to dedicated facilities for vocational education. Cookery stands out as providing not just a life skill but also the foundation for enhanced job opportunities for pupils, particularly girls. Over half the children in the school are girls, with high attendance and graduation rates in an area where many girls leave school early and have poor job prospects with few qualifications.
A dedicated cookery classroom, with electric cookers, sinks with running water, and catering equipment, will allow cooking to be taught as part of the secondary school syllabus (Home Economics, then Food & Nutrition). This will provide a qualification that can be used by school leavers (in an area where there are catering opportunities in the tourism industry). Meals can also be cooked for pupils, enhancing the school’s feeding programme and helping ensure regular meals for vulnerable children.