Two years ago the CiTA — Computers in Technical Applications — project started. The aim of this project is to let the students gain knowledge in controlling equipment using computers. In that way they become familiar with a variety of sensors and actuators — and the underlying physical principles  — as well as with the development of software for the communication of the computer with the ' surrounding world '. Writing software trains the student in analyzing technical problems and stimulates logical thinking.

We were asked by the University of Nairobi to give the workshop that had been developed for Zambia also there. We were pleased to grant this request even though strictly speaking it was outside the objectives of the Foundation. In 2018 the first two workshops were given for 16 students at Master and Phd level. The workshops were very successful and will be repeated for a group of 32 students in 2019. The handout, as well as the powerpoint presentation of the lecture on robots and artificial intelligence, are available from this site.

For some months now the school is officially registered (gazetted) as Kalwala High School. The school has the status of ‘boarding school’ but is also registered as a ‘school for continuing education’. At the moment the boarding facilities are still limited but it is the intention to expand these in the future. A school for continuing education offers courses and training programs to adults; in our case these programs are in the same field as the regular high school courses.

Because the number of students is increasing more furniture is needed. Not only for the classrooms but also for the dining hall. As much as possible local craftsmen are being involved in producing whatever is needed for the school or whenever maintenance is required.

The pictures show the local carpenter constructing sets of tables and benches for the dining hall.

Many of the local craftsmen are trained by the school itself. After their education, a number of them start their own business. Of course, they are happy with any work order they get - for instance from the school.

The school has started again. The girl's dormitory has been supplied with furniture in the form of bunk beds and lockers. As one of the visiting officials said: it has become a very nice building with modern sanitation and a practical interior; a facility that will give around 35 girls a safe and comfortable "home" from Monday till Saturday. However, it will not only be a place that gives safety but also a place in which the supervising staff contributes to the upbringing of the girls. And this contribution to the upbringing might be as important as the subjects taught in the school!

The construction of the first dormitory has been completed (the picture shows the front view). It is expected that before the end of the year also the ablution block will be ready so that the first group of about 35 girls can be accommodated.

Soon after the school in Kalwala had opened there was already a need for boarding facilities for the students. Some of them had to walk such large distances that it was virtually impossible to go home every day. Consequently, they slept somewhere in the village from Monday till Friday and only spent the weekend at home. Sometimes the school could supply some store room but that situation was far from ideal - no bathroom, no supervision, clearly a risky situation. Initially, highest priority was given to a dormitory for the girls. The general feeling amongst staff and parents however was that facilities for the boys were equally important. Once again, not only for reasons of comfort and hygiene but also because these youngsters are in a phase of life in which they need supervision and guidance.

Because the total cost for dormitories, furniture and ablution blocks was substantial the foundation School Support & Beyond and the Stichting Onderwijsprojecten Zambia decided to finance and manage the project together. The resulting 'dormitory project' has a duration of 2 years and a budget of 80.000 euro. It aims at the realization of the girls and a boys dormitory, each for 36 students. Hereby one should not only think of the physical facilities but also of the organizational structure to 'make the house into a home'.

The project started halfway through February. The pictures show the progress of the construction halfway through April. On the floor plan it is shown from which direction the photographs have been taken (the numbering corresponds to the photographs in reading sequence; by clicking on a specific photograph this one is shown in a separate window). As can be seen from the pictures only the bedrooms are being built. Toilets and washing facilities - the ablution block - will be constructed as a separate building. Construction of the ablution block will start immediately after the completion of the dorm.

The dining hall has nearly been completed. Because of some technical misfortune the construction took longer than expected. One should realize however that the people in Kalwala had no experience with buildings of this size. Up to now the only constructions that have been built are 5 to 6 meters wide and have a roof construction of wooden beams. Keeping this in mind the construction of the dining hall is certainly something to be proud of!

The CiTA project started with two workshops (one at Kalwala Secondary School and one at Chadiza Boarding Secondary School) based on the Raspberry Pi computer. The picture above shows three displays with two lines of 16 characters. During the workshop the participants connected the displays to the Raspberry Pi computers and they developed the software for displaying the text. Other experiments involved the connection and programing of LED s, switches, small motors, speakers, etc.

As we mentioned before on this site the Ministry of Education has taken over responsibility for the school. This doesn't mean that suddenly there is plenty of money available but it does mean that the Ministry makes - apart from paying the staff salaries - funds available for stepwise expansion of the school and for adapting it to the local needs. The contribution of the Ministry becomes, for example, visible in the recently installed science lab.

The school also got a water pump. Previously water had to be collected from the nearby river.

At the end of March Chris Hendriks of SOZ and two representatives of School Support & Beyond (SS&B) paid a visit to Kalwala. The objective was on one hand to introduce the representatives of SS&B to the staff of the schools and the Ministry officials – SS&B finances and supports the Schoollunch project that aims at supplying all pupils and students of Kalwala schools (altogether they count up to more than 1000 by now) with a healthy meal during schooldays. On the other hand, we wanted to discuss the recent developments and see what impact they have on the priorities for the years to come.