Shine's Mission

Shine is a charity registered in England and Wales with registration number 1117954, while its local in-country entity is registered as a Non-Governmental Organisation in Zambia. 

Shine and Shine Zambia have been established since 2006.

Shine was set up by our Founder, Mr. Vineet Bhatnagar, in 2006 after a six-month period of volunteering in Zambia. Based in a poor compound in Lusaka, Vineet taught over a hundred children in a community school how to read, having seen that pupils who were already learning up to Grade 7 in the school were in fact unable to read. This experience moved Vineet so much that he set up Shine, with a determination to help illiterate children on a wider scale across Zambia. Like its founder, Shine is passionate about literacy and about empowering vulnerable children.

Shine started its pilot project in January 2007 with just 30 children and two local teachers in the Lusaka compound of Kalikiliki. It started in a rented room in someone’s house in the community. Since then, it has grown significantly. Our main Literacy Centre, Shine Zambia Reading Academy, has its own building in the same compound, including a library and administration building. 

We have impacted the lives of thousands of children by teaching them how to read. Many of our former pupils are now in tertiary education or in employment – some are now nurses and doctors.