Misisi Community School Block, Lusaka, Zambia
Misisi Compound is a shanty town located in Lusaka, Zambia. Misisi has been identified as one of the five worst slums in Sub Saharan Africa. Due to a lack of resources there has been poor record keeping, but according to best estimates, there are between 80,000 and 90,000 people living in the area.
We were requested to visit this Compound in the heart of Lusaka to see a school project. This school is in the middle of the compound and the one small school block they have, is badly in need of upgrading and they also really need an extra new school block.
The Community of Misisi is very poor and needed a lot of help
Misisi Community School Block consists of the following: Three Classrooms, A Library, A Kitchen and Four Toilets
This community struggles in a very dignified manner to raise their children in an extremely poor environment.
TOUCH Ireland agreed to build a new School Block in 2018.
There are over 300 children attending the school and this block was badly needed.
If ever there was a community that deserves our support, this is the one! The people of this community live in the midst of severe poverty but with a dignity second to none.
Misisi Electrification and Water Supply Project (Phase 2)
There is also a prevalence of many diseases in the area. Cholera remains a huge problem, due to a lack of clean water. The area is also prone to floods during the rainy season. Malaria is also a major issue during the warmer seasons of the year. Health problems related to poverty, such as malnutrition and HIV/Aids create huge problems in the day-to-day lives of the people. It was thought that the recent outbreaks of Cholera in Lusaka started in Misisi Compound due to extremely poor living conditions.
Benefits of Project are:
- Misisi Community School will be able to cater for Adult Education in the evenings. This will give women in particular a chance to further what was in most cases a very limited education.
- A greater number of young children will be able to do after hour studies as it gets dark between 5.30pm to 6.30pm throughout the year
- As Misisi is an extremely high risk Cholera area, the provision of water Bourn toilets will help prevent the spread of this disease.
- The Rain water gathering System will prevent stagnant water forming in the vicinity of the school and will also provide another source of clean water during the Rainy Season.
Proper water management will help prevent Cholera which last year killed several people in this area. Also there will be less absenteeism from school as a result of sickness due to bad water
Misisi Community School in Operation today!
