By now, you’ve undoubtedly received dozens, if not hundreds, of emails from various companies and organizations discussing their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We too now join their ranks. But please read further, to learn how we are seeking to make lemonade from this lemon, using the opportunity to further assist our students.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has made its way to Zambia. However, at the date of this letter, Zambia had only 22 cases and the Government was aggressively addressing the issue. The 22 cases were being kept in isolation and all schools in the country have been closed, in addition to other measures.
The school closings have, of course, impacted our work in Zambia. Our college scholarship students have returned to Kaoma. We will keep a close eye on those who passed through Lusaka and thus may have been inadvertently exposed. Those who are not from Kaoma will return to their hometowns and villages for the time being. Frankly, some of these remote villages are about the safest place to be right now!
This down time is not going to waste. Our college students are working with small groups of our high school students, mentoring in maths, science, and English. When Zambian schools reopen, our students will be further ahead as they resume their studies.
In addition, our students who remain in Kaoma are going to work on starting a student-run website. We’ll keep you posted when that happens! Maggie is also working on students’ computer skills during this hiatus.
Here in the States, we are also using the downtime productively. As part of our goal to shift our vendors and services to Zambia, we are migrating our website to a new server and, thereafter, Sishima Graphic Design of Lusaka will assist us with web design and maintenance. Look for redesign and new features soon! And new stories and posts, with the good news that comes from educating youth.
Have you viewed our first video production by Darkat Media, also in Zambia? If not, check it out here: https://www.wisezambia.org/post/wise-a-student-s-perspective. They will soon be traveling to Kaoma, where they will create videos showing some of the schools and students with whom we work.
For those who have not seen it, this one minute video by Bill Gates is worth a view. https://youtu.be/WO2yLOpJaK0. As most parts of the world age—including North America, Europe, and China—Africa is getting younger. While the current pandemic is unsettling, it will be the youth of Africa that will soon be taking on these global challenges. Check out how this laboratory in Senegal is already on the forefront of the coronavirus fight. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/a-10-minute-coronavirus-test-for-1-researchers-in-senegal-say-its-coming/2020/03/17/43f82cb6-67ab-11ea-b199-3a9799c54512_story.html. This is the tip of the iceberg, as these energetic, intelligent, and eager students obtain the tools they need to become doctors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and educators.
Thank you so much for your past, and future, support. A special thank you to our monthly donors, who make it so much easier to plan during this uncertain time!
Please contact me by email, Evan Haglund, US Director [email protected],
or by phone, +1 (480) 246 0074, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions.
Contact Maggie Indopu, Zambia Director at [email protected].
We’re all in this together!
