ZIGS is committed to providing high quality education across Livingstone
and not just to the children with our school community. Our outreach programmes
are an integral part of our vision. As part of this mission we have begun a
teacher training program for aspiring pre-school teachers within Livingstone.
Our aim is to train teachers to the highest standard in order that they can
subsequently make a real difference in the lives of the children in our wider
community. We currently have four teachers on our teacher training program.
Three of these have come from a local community school in one of the poorer
compounds in the town. They have been teaching without qualifications up until
now but thanks to ZIGS and the sponsorship of a Swedish NGO they will return to
their schools as fully qualified pre-school teachers. One of the joys of the
program is that our trainee teachers often come from impoverished backgrounds
themselves and by qualifying as a pre-school teacher they and their families
are hugely empowered. The teacher training programme is making a real
difference in people’s lives.
ZIGS is one of very few schools in Zambia offering teacher training
courses. We do so because we believe that in house training is the best way to
learn how to be a teacher. Our trainees spend the day working in the classroom
alongside our teachers and have twilight lectures twice a week with our Deputy
Head, Miss Josephine Bwalya. Miss Bwalya has a background in teacher training
having worked at Mufulira College of Education and is also the chair of
the curriculum committee at the Early Childhood Council of Zambia.
We wish to roll out our teacher training courses in order to make an
even greater difference in our community and thus seek sponsors to make this program
affordable. Our fees are modest by northern hemisphere standards but are not
easily affordable to the average Zambian. For £100 ($150) per term we can fund
the training of one teacher who will then go into the community fully qualified
with a certificate or diploma in education.
With your support we can continue to support the children of Livingstone
by ensuring that they are taught by well qualified teachers. Please commit to
sponsor a teacher trainee for a term or a year. By doing so you will be
empowering someone to be in a position to support their own family as well as
ensuring that the children in the poorest communities are taught by the best
available teachers!
