“Ensuring quality education for all.”
As a signatory of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Zambia has pledged to deliver Goal 4 which is to provide free primary and secondary education for all boys and girls by 2030.
Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4)
Progress towards quality education was already slower than required before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has had devastating impacts on education, causing learning losses in four out of five of the 104 countries studied. Sub-Saharan Africa faces the biggest challenges in providing schools with basic resources. Without additional measures, an estimated 84 million children and young people will stay out of school by 2030 and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic numeracy and literacy skills necessary for success in life.
Imagine not being able to read road signs or medicine labels?
Zambia is a beautiful country at the heart of south-central Africa.
A nation of 20 million people, some 42% of Zambians are aged under 15. Bright, eager-to-learn children deserve every opportunity to succeed, particularly in countries like Zambia, where education is underfunded and under resourced.
Sometimes, even small interventions, such as providing books, quality teaching, and support at home, can make the difference between a child who is educated with a promising future and one who remains illiterate and trapped in poverty.
13%
PASS GRADE
In our baseline survey, The Book Bus found that only 13% of students in grades 4 and 5 achieved a level 5 ‘pass’ grade on the Functional Literacy Assessment Test.
50%
FEMALE LITERACY
There is a disparity between literacy for women and men. While 7 in 10 men can read, only half of the women can do so. The Book Bus is determined to provide safe and supportive spaces for girls.
8,000
PUPILS
The next cycle of our project will provide over 8,000 children from 10 schools in Kitwe and neighbouring Kalulushi districts with access to books and reading mentors.
A trusted partner
The Book Bus in Zambia has developed its School and Community Reading Projects with community leaders, parents, teachers and the Ministry of Education.
All our projects in Zambia are managed and run by local staff who can connect with the children and who understand the education system.
We invest in local communities, recruiting the vast majority of our staff and volunteers locally so that their skills and enthusiasm for reading are retained and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the programme.
Care throughout the year
The Book Bus understands that life outside of school determines life chances of so many children. As well as running our Book Bus Holiday Clubs, we partner with other local charities such as Friends of the Street Children, to provide a safe space for young people forced to live on the streets.
Our team run a 5-day Reading Club with Friends of the Street Children to introduce young people to stories with wonderful characters, encyclopedias with amazing facts and atlases that let children explore the world. For many, it is a first step towards getting children back into school, where they can receive an education and the potential to build a better future.
