GIVING BACK - ZAMBIA

At Blue Moon Computers we try to help those who are less fortunate by donating used computer systems to organisations that will really benefit from their use

Maria Hall, a Prestonian and Blue Moon customer has been leading fundraising efforts for ten years to help her friend, Zambian headteacher Judy Malama, fulfil her dream of providing a home and education for the orphans of her town. 

Maria first met Judy on a teacher exchange visit to Zambia in 2011. Judy shared her dream and the fundraising began to buy a plot of land. Building work began in earnest in 2017. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Judy died suddenly the week before the school was due to open. Her funeral took place on the day the school was due to open! A week later, with very mixed emotions, the school welcomed its first pupils.  Judy’s husband, Stephen is now spearheading the project with huge drive and enthusiasm.

Our Contribution

!In July 2019, Maria (and friend Katherine Wright) returned to Zambia to see the newly opened school. With them, they took supplies for the classes and laptops which Blue Moon refurbished.  The staff and pupils were overwhelmed to receive the computers. The cost of second hand computers locally was prohibitively expensive, so our donation was very special!

Equipping these young children with technology skills will massively aid their education and give them choices in life that we take for granted. They have the same dreams and aspirations as children in the West, without the resources and opportunities to pursue them! 

Background

Zambia is a land-locked country in Southern Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world, with over 60% of its population living below the poverty line. It has been badly affected by HIV/AIDS, and many of the 21,000 Zambians who die AIDS-related deaths each year are parents and breadwinners. Because of this around half of its 17 million population are under 18, and an overwhelming 1.2 million of these children are single or double orphans.

Many orphaned Zambian children live with impoverished grandparents or siblings, meaning paying school fees is not an option for them.  Without an education, these children are unlikely to escape poverty. Because of this many vulnerable children in Zambia are not in school and are living in great hardship.