August 2025

Hello everyone! We’ve recently been reminiscing about our wonderful visit to the Project last summer and catching up with the Committee to get the latest on what’s been happening in Chipata these last few months.

With increasing uncertainty in the world at the moment, it’s comforting to know that St Paul’s Children’s Project continues to have a really positive effect on the lives of young people in Zambia, thanks to the efforts of our dedicated Committee in Chipata - and to you, of course.

We’d like to start by sending our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who donated so generously when Malcolm and Simon did their fundraising cycle ride from coast to coast (from Whitehaven in Cumbria to Tynemouth on the north east coast) in May.

It wasn’t an easy ride(!) and it was brilliant that they had your encouragement for their 3 days of cycling up hill and down dale (there was a lot of up hill!!).

The photos give you some idea of the terrain, and they were really grateful that they didn’t have any rain. The total raised (including  Gift Aid) was an amazing £1,986.25!! Well done to both of them!

As reported in our last update, we had 13 school leavers in December 2024, and we’re delighted to confirm that they’ve all obtained training places. Patricia, Juliet, Jackson, Christopher, Belinda, Lyness and Mary are all heading to teacher training college and the others will do 6 months’ skills training courses. Samuel has elected to do a course in Electrical Power, Davies and Isaac are studying Auto Mechanics, and Agness, Memory and Mercy have chosen to do a course in Food and Nutrition. We wish everyone all the best.

Our former students haven’t stopped learning either! Innocent, who’s self-employed and took some time out last year to drive us around on our visit, recently did a course in truck driving and has sent this photo of himself attending some training (in Lusaka) on heavy duty machinery.

It’s always good to hear what our “old” students are doing now. We recently received news of Nasilele, who joined the Project in 2010. She had lost both parents and was living with her grandmother, who was struggling to look after 6 children in all. Given the opportunity to return to education, Nasilele completed her school studies, then did courses in journalism and computing and she is currently working as a personal secretary to the mayor of Chipata.

Christopher (below), who joined the Project in 2014 when he was living with his sister after being orphaned, is now enjoying his job as a secondary school teacher in Chipangali.

We’ve also heard from Mkanda (below left), one of our original children, who sent us a photo of himself in his office. He’s now assistant manager in a company involved in the cotton ginning industry.

For those of our children who are still at school, Term 2 started in May and Naomi sent photos of everyone collecting their books. The Committee, using the rental income from the student flats and shops, were able to buy bunk beds and mattresses for the most recently built student flat as well as contribute to the costs of school requisites for the term.

In addition to money for school requisites and menstrual pads, the budget for the term included a sum of money to buy extra clothes for all the children for the “cold season” (June and July). You might be interested to know that these clothes might have started out in our own wardrobes! We hand over the trousers, shirts, jeans and dresses that we no longer wear to charity shops and clothing banks, but we don’t always realise that, if these clothes aren’t snapped up from the charity shop rails, they’re often sold to textile traders who sort, grade and export these surplus garments to countries overseas, including those in sub-Saharan Africa (like Zambia!). These clothes are baled together and it’s a bale of such clothes that the Project Committee buys locally. They’re affordable and usually of good quality.

This is a bale that was bought in June, sorted and distributed to the children in the Project, who are always happy to have something to keep them warm in the months when the temperature drops a little.

The photo below shows some of our students receiving clothes.

One final piece of good news from Chipata – following the devastating drought of 2024, we’re happy to report that conditions this year (and the harvest!) have been much better, so food shortages shouldn’t be a problem.

It just remains for us to thank you, as ever, for your continued support to keep the Project moving forward towards self-sufficiency. Whether you’ve been supporting us forever or you’ve just recently donated, the difference you make to the lives of these young people can’t be overstated. Mkanda sent the following message to Naomi with his photo:

“…appreciating the project because without you I wouldn’t have been where I am, and hoping that the project is still there so that many more vulnerable children have the chance to excel in life”.

There is much to be optimistic about!

Malcolm and Elaine