Impact One

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Passion + Skill = Impact

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Passion + Skill = Impact

When you walk into Memory's classroom, you can tell she loves teaching. Brightly decorated walls, a beaming smile, and joyful noises are all evidence of that. But dig a little deeper into her own story, and you're even more convinced that nothing can keep her from her calling as a teacher.

Memory has always dreamed of teaching children. She enrolled in a local college to see that dream come true, but unfortunately she had to drop out after just a few months because her parents weren't able to pay the tuition fees.

But instead of giving up, Memory pressed on to follow her heart.

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Phase 1 of Expanding our Center

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Phase 1 of Expanding our Center

We are in the process of inviting more schools to join our program. And in order to serve them well, we need more space at our Center to accommodate more students, teachers, and educational resources. Having purchased land back in 2019, the time has finally come to begin our expansion project.

This month, we launched Phase 1 of our project. The goal was to demolish the old structure and lay the foundation for a new one.

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Brotherly Love

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Brotherly Love

It's easy to tell these two are brothers because they look so much alike. Anthony is the eldest and is a very strong reader. By 5th grade, he was already reading our highest level books, which is rare within community schools. But just a year ago, his younger brother, Emmanuel, could hardly read at all. Their mom noticed that Emmanuel was struggling and she asked Anthony to help teach his younger brother.

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Training Time

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Training Time

When the schools close for term breaks, we get the chance to bring our teachers and school directors together for training events. This month, we facilitated a training for our school directors on how to get parents more involved in their child's learning and the activities of their schools. Research shows us that parental involvement is a key marker to student success.

The highlight of the training was seeing our school directors create skits where they pretended to be the students, parents, and teachers.

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From trauma to triumph

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From trauma to triumph

Josephine, a compassionate 14 year old student at Joy Grace Community School, remembers what life was like for her before she learned how to read just a few years ago. She attended another school in Ng’ombe where she was never taught how to read, but was often punished for not knowing how. She says her teachers were so mean to her, and twice she was held back a grade. That experience was so traumatic that she lost the desire to learn anything.

When her mother found out about Josephine’s struggles and the school’s poor treatment of her, she transferred her to Joy Grace Community School. When she started 5th grade here, Josephine wouldn’t talk to her classmates for fear that they would laugh at her for not knowing how to read.

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When Joshua grows up

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When Joshua grows up

When you sit down with Joshua, one of the first things you’ll learn is how much he loves to sing and write music. He will gladly rap for you an original song, and trust us, the boy has talent! When he grows up, he wants to be a gospel singer.

Joshua joined Fountain of Life Community School two years ago as a 4th grader. When he joined, he didn’t know how to read. Unfortunately, this is the reality for most children in Ng’ombe. They may be going to school every day, but never learn how to read while there.

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Reflections from a Volunteer

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Reflections from a Volunteer

Over the past month, Cynthia, a student from the University of Zambia who is currently studying literacy and languages, has been interning with us. She has helped us create educational resources for our teachers, developed new literacy resources for higher level readers, and conducted many of our annual reading assessments. When reflecting back on her time with us, this is what Cynthia had to say.

“Impact One Initiative is indeed transforming lives through the power of education. As I have come to witness, this is definitely coming to fruition; one school, one teacher and one child at a time.

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Our Schools Say Thanks!

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What a year this has been! There aren't quite words to describe what we've all been through, and how this pandemic has affected our lives. But there are words to say just how grateful we are that you've continued to walk with us and our partner schools through this crazy year.

Take a look at this short video below as our schools say thank you for all that you've made possible this year!

Impact One Initiative is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.  
All donations are 100% tax-deductible.