How Take Heart International Got Started

by Shirley Griffin

Take Heart International was started by me, my husband Bob, and our daughter, Laura Kennedy, when the need for funds to build a schoolhouse in Zambia became evident to us during a visit to Africa earlier this year.

Zambia has been on our horizon for some years now, ever since we began sponsoring students in rural Zambia.  Education usually ends by 6^th grade for most students from rural areas because they do not live within walking distance and cannot afford the cost of boarding at high school.  For many years, we sent a modest $350 to $400 a year to enable a student, sometimes orphaned by AIDS, to board and attend high school.  Later, we supported several students who graduated from high school so that they could attend a two-year teacher’s college in Kasama, northern Zambia.  One of the students we supported, Gilbert, eventually obtained a job teaching at a rural school in northern Zambia. 

Last year, I wrote Gilbert, asking what we could bring when we came to Zambia and visited his school.  Gilbert defined the extreme need for a roof for one of their two buildings, which had a thatched roof that leaked both water and insects.  After many conversations and a school visit from us, teachers and students at Mission Avenue School in Carmichael decided to raise money for the new roof (some $3,000)!  We were excited to visit Gilbert and show him pictures of the American children who had committed to raise funds to help Kapoma Basic School.

Fork in the dirt road; the sign lists the rural schools in the area and directed us to the right for Kapoma School

After a lovely visit to South Africa, we flew first to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and then to Kasama, northern Zambia on the first leg of our journey to Gilbert’s school. From Kasama, it was a 3-4 hour journey by Toyota Land Cruiser to Gilbert’s school, the first 175 km on a paved highway to Luwingu, then another 30 km on a dirt road to Kapoma School.  

Sign giving directions to Kapoma School

It is definitely a rural school! Children walk up to 5 km each way from their small thatched-roof huts to school, where they sit on mats in their classrooms.  We arrived to an enthusiastic reception by over a hundred children and four teachers.  We brought new soccer balls and school supplies.  We sang songs, clapped hands, and were received with enthusiasm by very curious but well-behaved children.  Our presence was a BIG EVENT for everyone! 

Children from Kapoma School running out to meet us

But where was the schoolhouse that needed the new roof?  We saw only a thatched roof suspended on poles, no walls or floor.  The walls had caved in during recent rains, and not much was left—

The former two-room schoolhouse with thatched roof

With the collapse of the 2 room mud brick and thatched-roof schoolhouse, Kapoma School now depends on a single adobe brick structure of three classrooms (1x3) for five teachers and over 300 children!  That presented a challenge, which we hope to meet head-on:  We are now committed to build a new two-room schoolhouse for these children and their teachers, so Kapoma School will have a total of five classrooms with sturdy walls, a concrete floor, and a tin roof?  

Children who attend afternoon school in front of collapsed schoolhouse.
Bob (pale green polo shirt) and Shirley Griffin in the background

A major expense for this project comes from the school's remote location and the cost of transporting equipment and supplies to the site for construction.  Also, the Ministry of Education (MOE) requires that the villagers make and bake the bricks for the building before construction can begin.  We are now gathering estimates for building the 1x2 schoolhouse (the MOE's name for a two-classroom structure), and hope to have a detailed estimate of costs soon.  Villagers will start making the bricks at the conclusion of the rainy season, about the end of April.  We believe that construction can begin in late May.  Another fortuitous event:  the daughter of the proprietors of the guesthouse where we stayed is building a similar school on the edge of Lake Tanganyika, funded by a ladies' club in Great Britian!  She has found an honest contractor and is committed to improving education in the country where she grew up.  Claire Powell has agreed to be our representative for the project and introduced us to her building contractor, who gave us a rough estimate of costs—about $18,000+ for a 1x2 school that meets government standards. The project will be divided into eight parts and funds will be disbursed in steps, after each stage of construction is completed. We also visited another 1x2 school currently being completed by a man who lives in the U.S. but travels to Zambia each year to monitor his projects.  We will show you photos of that building in another blog.

We invite all of you - family, friends, students, and those of you who have found us on the internet - to help build this school.  Mission Avenue School is raising money for the roof.  We estimate that the rest of the school will cost about $15,000.  Please join us by contributing to this project.  We are in the process of seeking tax exempt status.  We will keep you informed throughout the project.  To donate, please send a check or money order to "Take Heart International" and send it to the following address:

Take Heart International

4913 Puma Way

Carmichael, CA 95608;

916 359-4913 (Ask for Shirley or Bob Griffin)

take.heart.international@gmail.com