Join us on our Journey to Build Matushi's first High School
Matushi residents are predominately subsistence farmers living on approximately $1 a day. Matushi's population is extremely young. Census data suggests that approximately 50% of Matushi residents are between the ages of 0-14 years old. Matushi has approximately 5,200 school-aged children, of which 800 are high school aged. None of these children had access to secondary education until now. Our goal is to improve the quality of life for Matushi's youth by building them their first high school. Together we are making this a reality.
How we Began
Matushi, a village in Northwestern Zambia, has been waiting over 15 years on a promise from their government to build them a high school. A history of empty promises began to create hopelessness among Matushi's people which led to; unemployment, teenage pregnancy, and high dropout rates.
The desperate situation led a committed Matushi community to lean towards a former Peace Corps Volunteer and his wife for help. The Matushi Village Project (MVP) was specifically created to address the need for a high school. A partnership was forged on June 9th 2017, between MVP, the Zambian government, and Matushi community, with the end goal of building Matushi a high school. The Zambian government agreed to fully staff the school with government-trained teachers (making the school sustainable), while MVP agreed to raise funds and build the infrastructure of the school. We are currently working on making this project a reality.
PROGRESS
MVP has made 3 trips to Zambia during the construction of the high school (2019, 2021, 2023), and is amazing at the progress of the school. The communities dreams are now becoming a reality. Kids who couldn't afford to go to boarding school now see it as their opportunity for success. Teen moms who dropped out of school after giving birth are now seeing this school as a second chance at life.
Achievements:
- Land donated by Chief Chizela
- First 3 classrooms were funded and built. Grades 8, 9, and 10 are learning from them.
- Classrooms 4 & 5 are 75% funded and built. Grades 11 and 12 are learning from them in their unfinished state.
COMMUNITY CHALLENGES
- Remote location
- Overlooked by government
- Nearest high school is 25 miles away
- Low standard of living
- High dropout rates
- Matushi has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the country (41% of girls aged 15-19 bearing children). A high school could allow teen moms to attend high school locally
- Zambia has a high school completion rate of only 37%
NEEDS
We completed the 1x3 classroom block and are currently constructing the 1x2 classroom block. The 2 classroom block is approximately 75% complete. Remaining items to complete 1x2 include;
- Concrete floor
- Cementing the interior/exterior walls
- Veranda in front of school
- Cement drainage ditch around school
- Desks/chairs
- Chalkboards
- Teaching materials
- Additional 2 classroom block for laboratory, office/storage