From February 13th thru March 3rd, I had the privilege of being in Ndola, Zambia. As a board member of both Give Hope for Life, the sponsoring entity of the Mapalo Academy, and Northrise University Initiative (sponsor of Northrise University), I was returning to Ndola, where I’d last visited in 2005, to serve both Mapalo and Northrise University and to assess the progress that had been made.

When I’d last visited Mapalo, the classroom building was just nearing completion; now it was completed and had been occupied for over 6 years, hosting classes for 350 students during each of those years. Additionally, there is a dining commons, serving a meal to the students in 3 shifts, seven days per week; a new restroom facility for both boys and girls with sinks, toilets, urinals, and showers that was nearing completion; and, in back, a new building and concrete slab hosting Mapalo’s very own concrete block making business, producing blocks for the building trades.

concrete block making business building

The restroom facility was constructed by the Rotary Club of Ndola, under a Matching Grant provided by Rotary International in conjunction with the Ketchum/Sun Valley Rotary Club. With a budget of just under $11,000, the Ketchum/Sun Valley Club leveraged $3,400 of local funds into the total, with matches from District 5400 in Southern Idaho and Rotary International. Rotary of Ndola managed the project on the ground in Ndola, and oversaw the construction, along with  Mapalo’s Head of School, Emil Mukuka. As I write this, the project has been completed and the facility is being utilized! My thanks to my fellow Rotarians for supporting and completing this project!

Since December, Colin Sichande, has been overseeing the production of concrete blocks, utilizing our two employees, a cement mixer, wheelbarrow, and hydraulic block making form/press to inventory just over 4,000 blocks. At a cost of just under $.60 each, and an estimated sales price of $.74 each, profits from this venture will be utilized to offset the costs associated with educating and feeding the kids. Marketing and Sales is ongoing and with the end of the rainy season looming, the sale of our inventory and corresponding production should pick up dramatically. Colin, Emil, and I spent considerable time developing our cost accounting and reporting methodology, and determining our production and inventory strategies, and we’re all extremely confident that sales are imminent. My special thanks to those who boldly invested in the support of this venture!

I’d also like to commend all who work at Mapalo, including our teachers, cooks, custodians, and, especially our Head of School, Emil Mukuka. Emil’s dedication to the administration of Mapalo is obvious. Over and above this, though, is a love for the kids, as demonstrated by his taking a student to the hospital who had broken his arm, overseeing his care, and ministering to the student’s grandparents and his help with food, shelter, and family for all of the students.

My time there in service was most rewarding, and my assessment of the progress: SPECTACULAR! My, how the Lord has provided through the support you have provided!

-George Kirk

Joseph Chimbali
17 years Old
Lost both parents to AIDS

When I was still very young, I lost both my parents. My grandmother took me and my sister in her own house and took care of us. It was really hard living without my parents the first few months. We missed them so much and still do. My grandmother took good care of us but she could not afford to send us to school. When we heard about Mapalo, it was like an answer to a prayer. With their help we can go to Mapalo Morning Glow and there I am able to dream big.

I want to be an engineer when I complete my secondary school. Recently I stepped closer to that dream when I passed with flying colors my 9th grade final exams. I am now at Kansenshi Secondary High School, one of the most competitive schools to get into within the city. It makes me proud that I have the same opportunity as other pupils from well to do families. Mapalo has paid all my fees, bought me uniforms, shoes and books. I am so grateful for the help I get through Mapalo Morning Glow. Because of you I have hope.

The Mapalo Cinderblock Company has announced that it now is open for business and is ready to begin selling cinder-blocks. The buildings have been completed, the drying slab is in place, workers have been hired and the pneumatic block press has cranked out its first three thousand blocks. It took a bit longer than expected because a number of test runs need to be performed on machinery as well as a precise “recipe” agreed upon before blocks went into production. The recipe consists creating a number of test blocks and sending them to labs that measure the consistency and strength before agreeing on the right mix and psi (pounds per square inch) applied from the press. It is an exciting time for Mapalo as is begins a business that will provide income and greater levels of self-sufficiency for the orphanage.

22 Students from Mapalo’s Elementary School – The Mapalo Morning Glow Academy, have all taken and passed Zambia’s requisite exam for elementary students to enter secondary school ranks. Zambia, formerly North Rhodesia before its independence in 1964, continues the British practice of requiring students to pass a rather difficult national exam to qualify for entrance to secondary and college levels. The average first-time passing rate for the secondary exam is around 35%, or 1 in 3. Mapalo’s success on the exam has placed it in the top 5% of Zambia’s elementary schools and is a chief reason why Mapalo students are being accepted to the top secondary schools in Ndola, a city of one million people. Moreover, Mapalo students are performing at top levels at the secondary ranks as well, and our first students are expected to enter college within the next year and a half. Way to go Mapalo!!

African Fly Fishing Safaris and Give Hope for Life collaborate to support the amazing orphans of the Mapalo Morning Glow Academy and Care Center for Orphans in Ndoloa, Zambia

In 2005, fishing guides, store employees and friends of Silver Creek Outfitters helped raise money and awareness to assure that over 300 struggling orphans in Ndola, Zambia had enough to eat. The event was called Fishing for Life because so many anglers and guides were involved at the start. A little Zambian girl named “Loveness” who at the time was begging on the streets after her parents had died, said it best: “I can’t believe people in America are caring for me”. Back then, the proceeds from a guided day of fishing was enough to provide all 300 children with a daily cup of boiled grain and raw sugar – for a month!

And today? The momentum that began over six years ago created a force that over time would grow into something quite remarkable. The fundraiser Fishing for Life became the non-profit, Give Hope for Life. In one of the ten poorest countries in the world, a modern elementary school was built for these orphans – staffed with gifted teachers, caring counselors and a full-time director. A dinning commons was built to prepare and serve healthy meals, and the school has one of the best soccer teams in the city. Last month a cinderblock business was launched to provide income for the school.

Old Classroom

Breaking ground for the NEW school! 2005

New School!

Daily cup of boiled grain & raw sugar. 2004

Today! A full plate of food!

See more photos from Then & Now

Perhaps the best part of the Fishing for Life event is seeing what these resilient children have done to honor the gifts given them. Their tireless efforts have placed them in the top 5% of students in Zambia, based on government exams to advance to secondary school. Some students have moved on to attend the best high schools in a city of a million people. It gets better. An invitation has been extended to our first upcoming high school graduates to attend one of the best colleges in the country, which is an academic partner with Pepperdine University and Cal Poly, SLO.

New Uniforms

So thanks to all you for helping start something truly special for kids who have made us all proud! Their success is just starting and they still need our help to finish strong. Next year we hope to begin construction on a library and computer training center and a home for children at risk! So please visit our page ‘Ways to Help‘ to see how you can help and see the faces of the children to whom you have given hope.

Learn about African Fly Fishing Safaris.

And just in time for the Holidays, you can give a gift that keeps on giving!
Download our 2011 Christmas Gift Catalog

On Wednesday, December 14th, from 5- 7pm, The Cornerstone Restaurant in Ketchum will be hosting an event to benefit the orphans of Mapalo. A number of times throughout the year, The Cornerstone generously donates proceeds to local charities from income taken in between 5-7pm on Wednesday evenings. Leaders and friends of Give Hope for Life will be on hand, donning aprons as “guest bartenders” and such. This will be a great way to introduce Give Hope for Life to many who would otherwise never hear about it.

So please celebrate with us by bringing a friend or three to The Cornerstone Restaurant on December, 14th, and enjoy some world famous mac&cheese or flourless chocolate lava cake, and hoist a glass of holiday red for the precious orphans of Mapalo!

I like the title of our organization because it so aptly describes what the generosity of hundreds of people have done for children who have suffered so much. It has given them hope; the kind of hope that changes everything about a person.

A major reason why children can’t attend school in Zambia is that they can’t afford the $5 monthly school fee. They die from malaria because they can’t pay for a $1 worth of meds or their caretakers can’t afford a $5 mosquito net to protect them at night.

It takes so little to do so much in Zambia. The high school girl from small town Idaho who gave her tips to buy pens and paper for all the children and the fishing guide who gives a day’s wages to buy 25 sacks of cornmeal literally made the difference in the lives of 302 Zambian children.

– Peter DeBaun

Dickson Kaluba is 17 years old and is in the 10^th grade at Kansenshi High School. He first came to Mapalo Morning Glow Academy when he was a 5^th grader  and his mother could no longer support him at a government school. When his father died, they could not afford even the basic necessities. His mother has had no formal education and she survives by doing odd jobs to support Dickson and his 3 siblings. After His father’s death, Dickson had to drop out of school for lack of financial support. His will and determination to excel in his studies prompted his mother to seek help from Mapalo Morning Glow when she heard that they were helping the less privileged. His academic performance and the fact that he just lost his father made him an ideal candidate for the school. Since his enrolment, the mother has had fewer things to worry about.

She can now concentrate on doing odd jobs to ensure that her family has a meal every day. Through Mapalo Morning Glow, Dickson has a scholarship that covers his tuition fees and uniforms. His mother says that the school has been a source of encouragement for her family, without its support, she couldn’t have managed to send Dickson and his siblings to school. Dickson says he wants to be an Accountant when completes his Secondary education.