Blessed Vale School was a primary community school in Lusaka, Zambia. Zambian Gems worked with Blessed Vale School to develop the school infrastructure and the school curriculum, in order to improve the environment for staff and students. Zambian Gems has supported teachers at Blessed Vale School by involving them with training programmes, and has fund-raised for equipment and supplies. At present, Blessed Vale School has over 600 students thanks to the partnership with Full Circle Learning , a holistic training initiative and Children International . Zambian Gems is currently working to build a secondary school to grow the capacity of the school.

Testimonials from our students:

• Graham Chiyanzu: My name is Graham Chiyanzu age 14 years old and I was at Blessed Vale for 7 years. I had experienced a lot of things at this school ever since I was 5. We used to sit on the floor and we used to write in book but drafted using our laps because we had no desks at the time. The teacher used charcoal as chalk and the walls as boards it was because we were poor and had no chalks and board. Even though these things were happening the teachers were very good in their teachings they used to explain clearly and all the pupils used to understand. They also taught us how to read and write. My parents wanted to transfer me to another school where the sanitation and environment was clean but I refused and told them I loved this school. In fifth grade I passed all my end of term exams and my parents changed their minds and let me stay. I was then promoted as class monitor. When we reached in grade seven at the final examination we prayed so that God can bless us. I passed and got eight hundred marks I was now seeing my way and future. I am now in high school at Libala High School in tenth grade. And now my younger sister is at Blessed Vale School because my mum believes in the teachers to teach her as they taught me. And I believe when I grow up I want to be a doctor so that I will be helping people.
• Calvin: My name is Calvin and I am in grade 12 at Parklands High School and a former student at Blessed Vale. During the time I was at Blessed Vale, the school was facing a lot of difficulties. Being one of the first pupils at Blessed Vale we were also experiencing a lot of problems in learning. One of the many problems we faced were learning in classroom without desks and the sharing of one room for three classes. This was a big challenge because there was a lot of noise in the room during learning hours because all the teachers would be teaching at the same time. But thanks to God for a lot of people have come from abroad to heap take the school to another level. The people from UK and the Americans have really helped the school in many ways. Their involvement in the school have really benefited the teachers as well as the pupils by training the teacher on the teaching aids. I am really thankful for what Blessed Vale School has done to me and I hope to return the favour to the school in the future.
• Iaan Sibande: It was in the year 2009 when I joined Blessed Vale School. By then, I was doing grade six but tried to write my grade seven exams. During the time I spent here, I learnt a lot. I learnt how to discover my ambitions, talents and how to live as a family with people you are not related to. I also learnt about how to interact with other. I also faced many challenges like not knowing how to cross the road. There was a time when we were writing our mock examinations but before we started, I fell ill. My friend who used to come and pick me up thought I was still ill and didn’t come to pick me up from home to school. I waited for him to show up but he didn’t, so I stated off to school by myself but as I reached the road side, as I was trying to cross the road. I looked left and right then tried to cross while I was on the road crossing I didn’t see the bus coming so it hit me on my forehead. I felt black out and moved away, then a police man came along and took me to the station. He asked me to give him my dad’s line so I gave it to him. He called my dad and told him what had happened, my dad and driver of the bus then took me to the clinic but they saw nothing was being done, they took me to the university teaching hospital. By then, my teacher Mrs Ntalasha (Beauty) came along so when we arrived there, the doctor checked me up and said there wasn’t any internal damage. We went back home and all my friends visited me. Atonette also came to pay me a visit. I was so happy. To my conclusion, I would love to thank the all mighty God for letting me enjoy and learn at Blessed Vale. If not for Mrs Ntalasha (Beauty) I wouldn’t have been in grade ten as at now.