Christian Alliance for Children In Zambia

Faith Works Schools

Since 1999 Alliance for Children Everywhere has been operating church-based primary schools, called Faith Works, for orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia. Without Faith Works these children would not be able to attend school. Their parents or guardians cannot afford the cost of the books, uniform or shoes that are required for them to go to a government (public) school. And even if they could, there are not enough spaces in the schools for all the children.

The Faith Works Schools usually hold classes in one section of the church where the school is located — there are sometimes 3 or 4 classes of children in one large room – they may or may not have dividers between the classes. A few of the churches have separate classrooms for the children, or are expanding with new classrooms being added on. There is usually no electricity and only a few windows (no glass or screens) to let in light.

The schools include:

Ng’ombe Presbyterian School

AGAPE Garden - Compound

Garden Presbyterian - Garden

BIGOCA - Garden

Calvary Church - Garden

True Gospel - Kanyama

RCZ - Kanyama

Helen DeVos Christian School - Kanyama

Mount Vernon has partnered with the the Garden Presbyterian Church and School, enabling this school to have a few more updates, including glass windows and functioning light bulbs. MVPC donations are used to pay for books and supplies for the children and the teacher's salaries. Recently, the Garden Presbyterian School started a third grade, and there is another planned expansion for the school. With our help, there are now over 100 children in grades one through three.

The Helen DeVos 8th grade school is particularly impressive, since most school children do not attend school beyond 7th grade in Zambia. At the end of 7th grade, students wishing to continue their education must take a standard set of exams and pass with very high scores to be able to continue. The Helen DeVos Middle Basic School is made up of grades 5 to 7 and has a total 109 students. The Upper Basic School, grades 8 and 9, has 144 students.

Ng’ombe Presbyterian.is a large school where classes are held both in the church and in individual rooms. New classrooms are also being constructed. There are very few windows and no funds to pay for the start-up and monthly costs of electricity.