Hands of Compassion, Author at

Abbishy

Abbishy was a former pupil at the school in Chipulukusu. Abbishy’s father died when he was very young and his mother died when he was 12 years old, leaving Abbishy to be looked after by his older brother. It was very tough for him, leaving his home with just one small plastic bag, no blanket or bedding.

There are many children who live in similar circumstances, no bed to sleep on, just the floor or an old chair, sharing a blanket with one’s brother. Coming home from school but having no good light to do homework, just a paraffin lamp or candle. Yet despite these tough conditions, Abbishy worked hard and is now studying to be a Teacher at College, completing in December 2018, when he hopes to become a Teacher at Secondary school specialising in Mathematics and Agricultural Science.

Paul

Paul was a former pupil at the school in Chipulukusu . Paul’s father died when he was only three years old and his mother and grandmother died in tragic circumstances whilst he was at Secondary school. Despite the hard struggles that Paul had to face, he did exceptionally well at school.

Paul’s wish had always been to become a Doctor. He was accepted as a student at University and attained his degree in BioMedical Science. He completed his studies in April 2022 to become a Doctor – “This is my will, to work extra hard, God has helped in every step that I do, I want to be helping patients who are in need and facing obstacles in life” said Paul – he is following his dream!

Former Pupil passes University Examinations

Paul Sambwa, former pupil at Hands of Compassion School, has passed his University examinations in Biomedical Science at the end of his 3rd year. Paul now moves onto a Masters Degree course leading to qualification as a Doctor. We are very proud of Paul and his achievement, and wish him well.

Our next phase of operation

Following changes in the Zambian Ministry of Education regulations, the status of Hands of Compassion school has now become a Community school.

This means that the objectives of the UK Trust Deed need to be refined and as a result, expand to include supporting other educational projects. A decision has been made by Trustees and supported by many donors, to now start the process of implementing these changes.

Achievement Award 2016

Moses Mwewe, 11 years old in Grade 3 class was chosen as the best pupil in the whole school to have made the most progress during 2016. Moses was presented with an Achievement Award, a medal saying Well done, a pair of school shoes, a school bag, a T shirt and a Certificate. His class friends sang to celebrate the occasion, accompanied by Moses’ mother who danced, showing her happiness and proud that her son had done so well. January 2017

Congratulations to Grade 7s

Government Examinations

In December we received news that all 41 of our Grade 7 students took and PASSED the end of Primary School examinations. That is a tremendous result.

18 of these students, because of their high pass mark, have been automatically awarded a place at Kanseneshi High School.

It is always a privilege to see the hard-work that our students put into their education throughout their time at Hands of Compassion School, knowing that they, through your generosity in supporting the school, can make their dreams a reality. By offering primary education to these students we give them a hope for the future.

From Chicken Shed to Dining Hall

The prominence of the new dining hall is amazing. In just over a year we have gone from Chicken Shed to Dining Hall. With space to seat a third of the school each day for lunch, there is such excitement as the Dining Hall is in use.

Thank you to everyone who made this project viable. We hope to bring you some photographs soon of the building inside.

The finished Dining Hall (This photo was taken by the builder).

The chicken shed used to house a few chickens before it became too costly to keep them.

Helping the Community

Four houses in the community were identified as in great need of roofing sheets. They only had polythene, a few wooden poles and odd pieces of rusty iron sheets that had numerous holes in. We were able to give them some iron sheets that were still usable, to help protect their houses during the rains. One example was Ruth who has 2 of her 4 children attending Hands of Compassion School. Their father abandoned them shortly after her youngest child, now 2 years old. Ruth has to try and manage on her own. The roof of her house was very bad, we took 20 iron sheets on a wheelbarrow to her home – she was so pleased.

Prize Giving

Our Prize giving Ceremony was held at the beginning of the term. The 1st pupil in last terms test results from each class was rewarded with a prize. The children were so excited and there was dancing, drama and singing, finishing with anorange drink, bread buns and a few sweets. Donation of 4 tambourines from UK were much appreciated!

Dining Hall Update

We have the privilege to bring you an update on a story we published earlier in the year with regards our new dining hall. Thank you to the generous supporters in the UK, we raised a total just over £21,000 to fund our purpose built dining hall before this year’s rains come.

The building will soon be completed with just a few electrics to sort and furniture to be put in. With 50 benches made by a local carpenter in the compound and all building work being carried out by a local contractor, we are very pleased with the overall project. We felt it was really important to remind our pupils of washing hands before eating. Therefore 4 sinks have been installed outside the dining hall so that children can wash their hands before they go inside to eat.

The new dining hall will give enough seating for a third of the school to have lunch inside, making a tremendous difference to when they had to sit outside.