Be Part of Our Next Step: Help Build Tujatane's Secondary School

In 1996, Vanessa Parker opened a single preschool classroom in Simonga village with fifteen children and one room.

Today, Tujatane provides free education to 300 pupils, sponsors students through secondary school and university, and - through the Twaabane Centre - runs adult literacy and vocational training for the wider community.

Our students have become lawyers, engineers, teachers, and pilots.

Arnold, whose mother Mable first came to Tujatane as a teaching assistant, is now flying planes. There are hundreds of stories like his.

Now we are ready for the next step: a Secondary School of our own.

Tujatane currently runs from preschool all the way through to Grade 9.

Under Zambia's new curriculum (which separates primary and secondary school after grade 6), we have a choice: lose our older grades and teachers, or build a proper secondary school.

For us, there was never really a choice.

In fact, our community have been asking for this for years!

A secondary school has always made sense — not just because of the new rules, but because teenagers thrive in an environment designed for them, alongside their peers.

It means our students can stay close to home, and see their education through within the safe embrace of Tujatane.

The one thing that held us back before was how to fund such a big next step. But now, it's clearly time, so we know our supporters will come through for us, as they always have.

What do we know about our secondary school so far?

Thanks to the late Ben Parker, Tongabezi Lodge has donated the land. We have the community behind us.

And we are proud to announce that we are working with Architects Without Borders on creating a school designed around the psychological needs of young learners, as well as long-term sustainability.

It will be small by design — around 150 students, so that we can stick to our classroom size limits — and we will continue to sponsor our students with dreams of science or architecture into schools with the facilities to meet their ambitions.

Our secondary school will be solar-powered, off-grid, and a joyful place to learn. It will also be intentionally small: around 150 students, across five grades of 30.

At our current gauge, the full project will cost £375,000, and we already have £150,000 secured. Now we are ready to get moving.

Our first goal is £35,000 — the cost of our first classroom block.

Just as that first classroom was built in 1996, this is where the next chapter begins.

If you would like to make a larger contribution — such as towards the science lab, solar installation, or water infrastructure — please reach out to Vicki directly rather than donating through JustGiving, so every penny reaches the school.

Thank you for holding hands with us.