Appeal for Mid Argyll help as Covid soars in Zambia
Thanks to the generosity of the Mid Argyll community, ZamScotEd has been able to help St Columba’s Community Secondary School in Zambia meet government restrictions as the Covid cases soar, writes Colin Cameron.
Schools have been closed in Zambia as Covid cases reached more than 170,000, but the Zambian education department has now put rigorous inspections into place so that the current term can continue.
St Columba’s, the school initiated and supported by the Argyll-based charity ZamScotEd, is in one of the poorest areas on the outskirts of the capital city.
In 2020, when the virus first began to take hold in Zambia, ZamScotEd funded sanitiser, masks and other basic needs.
The new regulations require even more stringent controls in schools so head teacher Sr Veronica Nyoni once more turned to the charity for assistance.
Funds were transferred and the school has bought essentials including disinfectant, mops, Covid thermometers for all three entrance gates, sanitiser and material for masks, which are currently being made ahead of government inspection.
Provision of a booster pump for the water supply will also help with hand washing.
Marian Pallister, founder and chairwoman of ZamScotEd, said: ‘It is only thanks to the continued generosity of the Mid Argyll community that we are able to give Sister Veronica this support. We join her in thanking everyone and hope we may be able to raise extra cash because these items are going to be needed on a regular basis as the pandemic continues.’
ZamScotEd funded the building of the first teaching block at the school, provides a range of assistance for teaching materials and annually pays for the education, uniforms and school shoes of the most vulnerable children in the area. This includes 35 children supported by the neighbouring Mthunzi Children’s Programme.
Covid restrictions in Scotland have curtailed the usual fund-raising activities of the charity at a time when the school is in need of additional help because of the pandemic.
Donations can be made on ZamScotEd’s JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/mli