Author Archives: wendyk

Spreadsheets course

Category : News

This term, Howard has run a Zoom course for Zambian teachers.  One of the tasks was to create a spreadsheet to monitor progress of pupil over the past three years. Teachers listed marks for literacy, numeracy and IT , found averages and compared girls and boys.
One teacher reported: “The spreadsheet is very helpful it has made me to realize the academic progression and efforts that learner make.
I will use the spreadsheet UpTo grade nine because, the learners are still at the school in grade 8 this year and next they will progress to grade 9.
 
How I wish I was doing this much earlier, it would have helped me to evaluate my teaching form the time I joined my current school. Never the less this is my starting point and I hope it will help me to evaluate my teaching process.”
Another noticed that IT results had improved since 2020 and said, “This can be attributed to the availability of computers received by  the school in that year. Teachers are able to use them to teach ICT.”

Mentoring

Category : News

Very excited to have been chosen for @HubCymruAfrica Advance Light Mentoring programme. Looking forward to working with Hannah to take Giakonda Solar Schools forward

Phillip Sikilwa

Category : News

So sorry to hear of the death of Phillip who gave us so much help and guidance in setting up bee hives in schools and a Womans Group in Siavonga.

He will be sadly missed.

bee training

Small Charities Week

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Category : News

It’s Small Charities Week and an opportunity to reach out to the world and emphasise how much good small charities like Giakonda Solar Schools can do.

We don’t have a huge budget but having no overheads means every penny we can raise goes to promote education in Zambia. Our projects may not be earth-shattering but I believe they are valuable if they make a big difference to the lives of even just a few children through access to lighting and learning resources.

Small charities have a big impact

Enabling COVID-safe schools

Category : News , sponsors

A grant from Welsh Governments Wales and Africa Scheme has helped us to provide COVID-safe environments in 14 solar powered rural schools in Siavonga District, Zambia.

Dambilo school with hygiene equipmentDibbwi with Covid kit

We have previously distributed COVID guidance charts and non-contact digital thermometers. With the grant, we supplied additional handwashing stations, hygiene and PPE equipment to aid 14 rural schools to run a COVID- safe school for their staff and pupils. Pupils generally bring their own masks but we provided a bank of spare washable ones for the school to distribute where needed. The District Education Board team helped us in the procurement and distribution of this equipment.

GAME covid kitKatalumba with kit

Secondly, we provided mobile broadband to support the remote working of our partnership with teachers in Siavonga schools and to enable an increased amount of online teacher training We installed internet communications with broadband routers in 14 solar-powered schools. Our local technician sourced and installed the necessary cables to connect these routers to the solar-powered system and to the existing Raspberry Pi resource network.

This technology will greatly help our planning, monitoring and evaluation of our project through more regular contact with each school. It will also facilitate our training sessions in Digital Literacy, ICT and developing skills using the off-line resources we have already provided. We are regularly delivering weekly Zoom courses with an attendance of at least ten teachers at each one.

Pupil feedback

Category : solarpower

Following installation of solar power and computer based off-line learning resources, this is what one Siavonga teacher reports.

Pupils have benefitted greatly from:
-Free access to technology.
– Access to information for their projects in school based assessment.
– Due to contact with real things (computers) motivation and improved attendance in during classes.
– Improved practical time for technology studies.

Lighting for Siamwiinga

Category : solarpower

After a day and a half of work by Muhunya Solar and some good work by school staff making things secure, Siamwiinga now has power and lighting! It will help school security at night and allow teachers and pupils to work in the evenings. Note the green light on the battery gauge showing they are well charged.

Next week the computers!

LIt up view of Siamwiinga school at nightoutside view of school lit up batteries

Solar at Siamwiinga

Category : solarpower

Muhunya Solar are making a great job of installing Solar power at Siamwiinga Primary School today.

setting up inverterfirst panel ready for putting upmen at work on roofpanels going upadjusting controlsview of school with panels

Someone is  connecting up the solar panels to the inverter. You can also see the fuse box and a battery “fuel gauge” which indicates the charge state of the batteries.

A guided tour of the wiring of lighting and plug sockets.

Siamwiinga gets ready for new Computer Hub

Category : solarpower

Siamwiinga Primary School are having solar panels fitted today by Muhunya Solar of Lusaka, thanks to a grant of £3000 from the Didymus Charity.

Giakonda Solar Schools’ many supporters have contributed towards providing a computer hub of 5 PCs, two laptops and a large screen TV. The school very sensibly spent yesterday making preparations including making a security grill for the new computer room.

security grill

Computers for Siamwiinga Primary School

Category : sponsors

Today we sent out Raspberry Pi 400 computers for Siamwiinga Primary School where solar power will be installed on Wednesday courtesy of our funders 
Individual donations from supporters have enabled us to set up a small computer hub to use with the solar power. We’ve also added a large screen TV for class lessons. Thanks to all the generous people who helped make this possible.
Raspberry Pi 400
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