Iron will drives Chamukwapulo

EUSTACE Hamatowe is a student at Chalimbana University in Chongwe where he is pursuing a degree in teaching. Today, he is teaching, on teaching practice at Chamukwapulo Community School, a school located in the heart of, and within Sinazongwe's Collum Coal mine fields.

Mr. Hamatowe taking a class under a tree.

This is one school where the local community is doing a lot to create a conducive learning environment for their children than the mine as would be the case within other mining towns.

With an active Parent Teacher Association (PTA), that is building a new classroom block at the primary school, Government was inspired by the community’s enthusiasm, hence sending teachers to Chamukwapulo Community School.

However, inadequate classroom space and staff houses are the major challenges faced by the school.

With a total number of slightly over 382 pupils, Chamukwapulo Community School which goes up to grade seven has only four classrooms on its two separate blocks.

One block though is still under construction - all from the efforts of the community.

The pupils at the school are eager to learn despite the challenges. To attend class, some share one class, while others learn under a tree.

It’s in the class that learns under a tree that Eustace, who takes the Grade 4 class, was found teaching Mathematics.

“It has been like this and the children are used. But there is nothing we can do because we still have to teach them anyway,” he says.

And one of the pupils who are now used to the scenario is Abel Mweemba.

Regardless, he is determined to become a doctor once he completes his education.

"I want [to become a] doctor," he says with broken English when asked what desires to become when he completes his school.

Indeed, the community school is the only option for the six villages that surround it.

Trywell Siamalabwa is the PTA chairperson for the school and says despite the numerous challenges the school was grappling with, it will endeavour to meet the needs of the children in the nearby communities.

He has thrown the challenge to the mine, civic leaders and also Government for more classroom blocks and staff houses.

“We started in 2002 as a community and constructed this classroom block and one teacher’s house. We are grateful to Government that it has sent us teachers but they are suffering because they come from far places to come and teach here,” he says.

The school has five teachers and only one staff house for the head teacher.

“These other teachers, live within the town area and it’s not near. We would appreciate if a block of flats is built here for teachers and also another classroom block to supplement the existing one and this one that’s still under construction,” Mr Siamalabwa says.

He says there has been little support from the mine.

The school deputy head teacher Christopher Kabunda says community participation has helped to get the school to where it is today.

“For instance, in one classroom, you would have two classes learning there at the same time so that we cater for all the other grades. It’s not easy, but with continued participation, we are trying to put this other classroom which we hope will ease the pressure,” he says.

On the other hand, Nkandabbwe ward councillor, Charles Ntiiti in whose ward the school is, feels the mine needs to supplement community efforts to keep the school running.

“To be honest, we have tried to engage the mine on numerous occasions to at least come and help both the community and Government, but there has been very little progress to say the least,” he says.

He adds: “we should value children and education. If we don’t give these children better infrastructure, even what we are doing here will be an exercise in futility. These mining companies should take up such things through their corporate social responsibilities.”

But Collum Coal Mine chief executive director Charles Dindiwe who was defensive of his mine said the mine is undergoing a restructuring programme, but it has been helping the surrounding communities when and where it could.

“For a long time, we have been operating under care and maintenance. We just got back the mine in 2015 and those are some of the things that we are looking at,” he said.

He said that even at a time when the mine had no Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, it was supporting community programmes.

“But after 2015, we had to start from somewhere and so far we have made donations to schools such as Nkandabbwe School to go towards the construction of a girls dormitory,” he said.

The mine which was at some under care and maintenance by Government before being reopened and handed over to the Chinese is one of the major miners of coal in Zambia.

When Simalaha Conservancy received 120 buffaloes

‘WE can benefit more from these animals if we start seeing the tourism potential they offer. It is also important that everyone has a stake in this conservation project without thinking that the task belongs to Government alone,” said Southern Province Minister Edify Hamukale recently in Mwandi.

Dr Hamukale, who is passionate about wildlife conservation, said this when he commissioned the release of 120 out of 200 buffaloes translocated from Namibia by Peace Parks Foundation to the Simalaha community joint conservancy.

Dr Hamukale’s passion for wildlife is influenced by his childhood experiences while growing up in the Kafue Flats game management area.

“Growing up, I experienced what I would call a wonderful co-existence between man and animal,” he said. But over the years, the level at which the game has continued to dwindle in the Kafue Flats has worried the provincial minister.

“That’s our biggest challenge,” he said in relation to poaching. He added; “Let us replicate this model for a start in Southern Province, especially in the Lochinvar National Park where we have a very big problem of poaching…where we have about 10 to 12 lechwes dying every day all because they are being sold for meat when we could have benefitted more through tourism.”

Receiving the animals on behalf of the community, Dr Hamukale said it was terrible that animals that should be protected were instead being killed. “It’s just terrible,” he said with a sad face before adding; “we had two wildebeests and they are all gone.”

Simalaha Community Wildlife Conservancy is an initiative proposed by communities in the chiefdoms of Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta of Mwandi, Sesheke and Mulobezi and Chief Sekute of Kazungula districts.

Stakeholder consultations resulted in the two chiefdoms requesting the assistance of Peace Parks Foundation through the then Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), now Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), to establish the Simalaha area on both sides of the Kasaya River as a community- owned wildlife conservancy.

Peace Parks Foundation has been actively involved in the establishment and development of 10 of the 18 transfrontier conservation areas found throughout southern Africa, all of which are in various stages of development.

This initiative fitted in the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) transfrontier conservation areas’ vision of re-establishing ecological connectivity in the KAZA landscape, to once again allow wildlife to roam freely to and from the various wildlife dispersal areas.

The KAZA transfrontier conservation areas is a SADC approved conservation, tourism and sustainable development initiative of the governments of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The KAZA TFCA Treaty for these five partner countries was signed on August 18, 2011 at the SADC Summit in Luanda, Angola.

About Simalaha, the two chiefdoms identified an area in extent of 280,000 hectares of which 20,000 hectares has been fenced as phase one of the conservancy.

Funds have also been secured through cooperating partners to train community wildlife monitors or village scouts selected from communities within the Simalaha Conservancy area.

KAZA executive director Nyambe Nyambe said the exercise is a major milestone. Dr Nyambe said one of his organisation’s objectives is to implement programmes that will enhance the sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage resources to improve the livelihoods of local communities within the KAZA transfrontier conservation areas and contribute towards poverty alleviation.

“The KAZA member states are clear on one thing: the promotion of trans-boundary management of resources is meant to improve the socio-economic status of the people in these areas and the promotion of wildlife acceptance among the people,” he said.

Deputy Chief Sekute is also of the same view. His wish is for the conservancy to be the preferred destination for tourists as opposed to Chobe Game Reserve in Botswana.

“We are always at pains to see tourists come into the country through the Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport in Livingstone and transiting to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Very soon, we will turn this situation around,” he said.

The traditional ruler also urged his subjects to play their part in marketing the conservancy and also guarding the game in it so that it thrives.

“Gone are the days when we never used to see eye to eye with these animals. Let us learn to live with them by having a mindset change so that we can boost tourism in the country,” he said.

The same view is shared by Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta. “What we are remaining with now is the stage of infrastructure development such as the safari road network around the conservancy, putting up camp sites, lodges, water points for both wildlife and community usage,” he said through Induna Anasambala.

Currently, the conservancy has over 1,300 different species.

It also has two programmes running side by side; wildlife and conservation agriculture which now supports about 1,000 farmers with production levels yielding from 10 bags per hectare to about 20 bags per hectare.

Peace Parks Foundation chief executive office Werner Myburgh said the translocation of the buffaloes from Namibia cost the organisation K4.2 million.

“But we know that with time, these animals will be able to generate a lot more than that amount. This is the first community conservancy in Zambia and must be guarded jealously,” he said.

Mr Myburgh said funding has been secured to stock the conservancy with 4,000 animals in the next four years.

In 2013, the organisation embarked on a programme to restock the conservancy with various wildlife species such as impala, blue wildebeest, zebra, waterbuck, red lechwe and giraffe.

The Zambian government through the Ministry of Tourism and Arts, as its contribution, provided some seed stock of wildlife species that have since been translocated into the conservancy.

These are 300 impala, 200 red lechwe, 20 kudu, 100 wildebeest, 100 puku, 50 waterbuck, 20 eland and 10 giraffe.

Dr Hamukale congratulated the traditional leaders on providing leadership that inspired action. “We encourage you to create partnerships with the private sector as you design the way forward for this unique project,” he said. “I am inviting the local community to cherish, own and jealously guard the conservancy and its wildlife resource. This is your programme, its failure or indeed its success lies in your hands.”

The Ministry of Tourism and Arts is exploring ways of replicating the initiative in other chiefdoms. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Arts Howard Sikwela said the ministry is engaging communities and traditional leaders on the importance of initiating game ranches.

“It is President Edgar Lungu’s desire that all chiefdoms come up with game ranches because such projects can improve the nutrition and economy. This is what this government desires,” he said.

So far, some communities in Sioma in Western-Province and some parts of North-Western Province have been engaged and have shown interest.