Creating a healthy environment at a rural school in Zambia

At Enel Green Power we are deeply committed to serving the communities that host us and to working toward achieving the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In the case of our support for the Shantumbu Combined School in rural Zambia, SDGs 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and 4 (Quality Education), and 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) are particularly relevant. According to UNICEF, Zambia “has achieved near universal primary school completion levels,” but “transition rates from primary to secondary school continue to remain low at 67.5%.” For girls at secondary level, “there are also barriers around the low value placed by some communities on girls’ receiving a secondary education, teenage pregnancy, and child marriage.” Not only that, there are considerable regional differences regarding the country’s schools, and “the quality of education also continues to be a challenge, though national assessments have shown significant improvement in this area.” Health and safety first For all of these reasons, our colleagues at the Ngonye Solar Plant in the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone (LSMFEZ) in the Kafue District were delighted to help a local school. The Shantumbu Combined School caters to pupils from the ages of 5 (first grade) to 18 (twelfth grade), but it had a major problem: the students were obliged to use unsanitary pit latrines and had nowhere to wash their hands. The latrines posed a serious health and safety risk: they were used by pupils of all ages, thereby increasing the chances of spreading germs. Not only were the pupils exposed to many disease-causing pathogens, they also risked falling into the pit and sustaining injuries. In 2022, we therefore decided to replace the latrines with hygienic ablution facilities. The local community We hired a local contractor, GIEVO Investments, which is owned by Grace Chanda, to build a brand-new bricks-and-mortar modern ablution facility for the school. Chanda’s company utilizes local labour and materials, such as stone from the local quarry, and it works within specific guidelines to limit impact on the environment, which is also a priority for us. The project is aligned with Enel’s core sustainability mission of Creating Shared Value (CSV) and we are honored to have had the opportunity to provide this facility and uplift the community by impacting the lives of pupils and teachers at the school. A challenging situation Building the ablution facility did not come without challenges, however. As the school is located in a rural area, with rough, uneven roads, it wasn’tt easy for contractors to deliver materials to the school. These materials also had to be locked in classrooms to prevent theft. Furthermore, we had to liaise with the local herdsmen, as the facility was to be built on tribal land. The herdsmen understood the desperate need for the school to have the new ablution block, and so they lobbied for us to build it. Uplifting The ablution facility was officially handed over to the school in April 2023 – only a few months after construction began. At the opening ceremony, District Education Board Secretary, Belina Moono, said that it was an uplifting experience to have a modern ablution facility with clean, running water at a school in a rural area like Kafue. Ensuring the delivery of quality education to children involves more than providing teachers, textbooks and classrooms. A healthy environment and access to hygienic ablution facilities not only curb the spread of diseases, but also give pupils and teachers a sense of dignity, as well as pride in their school. In this way we are building a better tomorrow: this is what sustainable development is all about.

{{ currentMenugamenu.label }}

{{ currentSubMenugamenu.label }}

{{ card.title }}

{{ currentSubMenugamenu.numbers.title }}

Creating a healthy environment at a rural school in Zambia

Creating a healthy environment at a rural school in Zambia