We work in Zambia, a land-locked country in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has a population of around 13 million. Zambia is a poor country, with the majority of its population living below the poverty line. Most of these live in poor urban shanties or ‘compounds’, which are neglected by the government. The vast majority of people living in compounds are illiterate.
Shine set up its first literacy school in January 2007 in a compound called Kalikiliki, an urban township on the outskirts of Lusaka. The school is called Shine Zambia Reading Academy and currently has an enrolment of around 200 orphans and vulnerable children from nearby communities.
May 2006: Shine becomes a registered charity in England and Wales
Jan 2007: Shine starts its first literacy school in Kalikiliki compound, Zambia, with 30 pupils and 2 teachers in a rented room
2009: Shine buys land in Kalikiliki compound and builds its own school with 4 classrooms and water-borne toilets
Jan 2010: Shine Zambia Reading Academy opens with 60 children and 3 teachers
Q3 2010: Shine builds a library and admin building for the school
2013: Shine builds a second classroom block, allowing greater enrolment of pupils
2016: Shine builds a wall around the school, providing much-needed security for our pupils and teachers