The participants
When we say us on this site, we often mean the participants of the AKH Summer School Zambia 2013, a cultural exchange program. As a group of 13 university students from all over Germany and university students from Zambia, we stayed in the Southern Province for two weeks. Our experiences there have been at the start of this project.
We alone lack the abilities to implement the project ourselves, though. Therefore we are delighted by the support of the Catholic University Community (KHG) Aachen that took over the sponsorship of this project.
In the course of the years, the number of active participants has reduced - we thus no longer means all of the original students.
Our partner in Zambia is the Development Department of the diocese of Monze (the Caritas Monze). They are active in the area of development aid for many years and have organized the Summer School. We therefore often includes the people from the Development Office as well.
AKH Summer School
This summer school is being organised and supported by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Katholische Hochschulgemeinden (AKH), the catholic university communities Aachen and Kassel as well as MISEREOR and eine-welt-engagement e.V. Besides getting to know the foreign country, the special focus lies on a cultural exchange between Zamiban and German students. Therefore the students from both countries travel together through their country, one year in Germany and one year in Zambia.
The students of Summer School 2013
Catholic University Community (KHG) Aachen
KHG-Aachen is a cooperative supporter of the AKH Summerschool student exchange program for Zambian and German students. It is the organizing institution of the project Schulfee-Zambia.
KHG gives all students from Aachen’s universities possibilities to enrich their life and studies. With us you find company in questions about life, faith and studies as well as a variety of offers and activities.
You and your interests are important to us. In our many groups and workshops you will find likeminded people. We offer room for studying, meeting people, celebrating, relaxing and more.
KHG is the somewhat different church at the Aachen universities. We are commited and creative young people from different cultures and religions. We welcome all students from Aachen!
Caritas Monze - Development Department
Vision:
Create an empowered, dignified and sustainable society, free of affliction, ignorance, hunger and any kind of inequity.
Our experienced partner in Zambia is the Diocesan Development Department of the Diocese of Monze. It has been founded in 1965 to support the development of the people of the Southern Province.
The catholic diocese of Monze in the Southern Province consists of 22 parishes on an area of the size of Ireland.
The working areas of the Development Department include:
- Sustainable agriculture and support underdeveloped areas
- Providing water to rural areas
- Educate unemployed youth to become a tailor, carpenter, brick layer, metal processer, …
- Encourage women to start a job
- Support and help HIV patients
- Supporting intercultural exchange
- Providing micro credits to rural villages
- Projects within the society
What convinced us personally about the Office’s work was the first-hand experience during the summer school. For example, there was one time when Mr. Phiri took as along to a project meeting in a remote village. The people living there did not have immediate access to water and used to walk to a river 15km away. The Development Department installed a well, a water pump and tank in order to serve not only as drinking water for people and livestock but also to water their crops.
All this did not come as a gift. Right from the beginning the project aimed at developing and empowering the community in a sustainable way. The food production was supposed not only to meet the villages own needs but to have goods left over to sell on the market, thereby building up savings in order to pay for the maintenance of the well and pupmps. Idealy the community will become independant of external donations. The Development Department therefore not finished the project after installing the well, but continues to consult and monitor the progress of the cooperation and efforts of the village community.
The schools
In 2014 we start the project focusing on two schools aroud Monze.
St. Mary’s Basic School
The village of St. Mary’s is located a few (quite bumpy) kilometers outside of the city of Monze. The school with the same name has room for pupils form grades 1 to 9 und has been expanded by a pre school shortly before your visit in September 2013.
Monze High School
In the city of Monze there is the Monze Highschool. It is a boarding school for pupils from grades 8 to 12.
eine-welt-engagement e.v.