Monday, September 29, 2008

ZIS Summer School

ZIS will operate a summer school during closure in both December and August. Students for the summer school are to be drawn from across Africa and from Europe and North America. The summer school programme will be based upon issues relating to sustainable development, the arts, sports, the environment and issues relating to HIV & Aids. Accreditation will be sought for the summer school programme.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Outreach at ZIS

ZIS will not be cocooned from the wider community. ZICS will be a focal point for the empowerment of local people.
ZIS will provide considerable employment opportunities for local people and as the school develops will serve as a focal point for lifelong learning within it’s vicinity through outreach programmes and an extended school facility.
ZIS will work within the community to develop:
agricultural projects working alongside local farmers,
improve literacy and numeracy levels of the adult population,
develop an awareness of environmental and conservation issues,
promote the Arts and Culture,
develop an academy of sporting excellence.
ZIS ultimately will become a beacon school that will reach out beyond it’s perimeters to promote solidarity and sustainable development within the wider community.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

The unique nature of ZIS

The Thembinkosi Foundation exists to build and sustain Co-educational school in Sub Saharan Africa. We are not the only organisation committed to the building of schools in the region but we are one of a few organisations committed to ensuring the sustainability of the schools we build. We aim to ensure that our project is self sufficient and sustainable through:
The building and running of our own schools. This ensures that the fruits our work is not squandered by corrupt government or local officials, as is sadly so often the case in the developing world. We at Thembinkosi Foundation ensure that our employees are accountable for the quality of education that they provide and that sustainable support is provided to our staff.
The charging of fees for the majority of students attending ZIS. This should ensure financial sustainabilty within the first three years of operation. Evidence suggests that private schooling not only benefits the middle classes in the developing world but benefit all.
Private schools to benefit the poor
Ensuring that day to day self sufficient nature of our community through the keeping of animals, the growing of crops, the use of sustainable bio fuels and the use of solar and micro hydro electric power. ZIS will be built on the banks of the Zambezi thus ensuring a sustainable source of water for our agricultural projects.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Our Vision for the Zambezi International School

The Zambezi International School will be a prestigious co-educational independent school offering modern boarding facilities and an outstanding teaching staff. Students will be drawn primarily from within Zambia but the school will also be marketed in neighbouring countries.
The school will offer a curriculum diet of IGCSE and A Levels/Pre U courses that enable students to secure entry to Universities in the UK, Europe, US, etc. One of the unique features of ZIS will be our outreach and empowerment programme. This programme will involve teachers and other professionals from ZICS working with teachers in other schools to promote the sharing of best practice and the betterment of the educational experiences of all children in the vicinity of our school.
ZICS will be founded on the philosophy that future generations of ethical, committed leaders are the key to Zambia’s development. The schools vision is to be the training ground for these future leaders of Zambia and beyond. ZIS will draw 11-19 year old students from Zambia and beyond.
The ultimate objective is to create a network of future African leaders who can collaborate to drive positive change throughout the continent for the betterment of all. ZIS will launch in September 2012 with an anticipated initial intake of 50/100 students and will grow annually through a curriculum roll out programme.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Thembinkosi Foundation - The Website

Today saw the birth of www.thembinkosifoundation.com. This is a particularly exciting development for us as it's another step on the way to turning a vision into reality. I'm also personally quite proud of myself as I built the website myself! No great shakes to many I'm sure but it's an achievement that I am proud of! It is rather basic but contains most of the importnat information about our plans to build and sustain a school/schools in Zambia and to provide outreach projects in the wider community we will serve.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Zambezi International School

Thembinkosi Foundation has been developed and has taken on an added dimension. It is no longer merely a blog about my experiences of living and working in Botswana and Zambia and my thoughts about life and religion in Sub Saharan Africa. Thembinkosi Foundation now has a mission to bring high quality education to Zambia. The Thembinkosi Foundation will seek to raise the required funds to build and sustain the Zambezi International School on the shores of the Zambezi River in the Kazangula District of Southern Province, Zambia. The project we invisage is tremendously exciting and we are sure can have a real impact in developing and sustaining education across the region.