Lupinyu Primary School has come a long way in a short time. Only a few years ago, more than 250 children from this community were learning under trees after the school they attended closed its doors. Land was allocated for a new government-run, community-owned school, and it has grown steadily since. Today, solid classrooms are fitted with desks, chairs, whiteboards and stationery, a borehole supplies clean water to three taps, and the school garden helps supplement meals for the 239 learners, 123 boys and 116 girls, who walk in each day from the surrounding villages.
In June this year, Lupinyu became one of the schools that OAT groups visit, and the welcome from learners, teachers and the community has been warm and genuine every time. The one thing the school grounds did not yet have was somewhere for the children to play, and for the ECD and lower grades, play is a big part of how learning happens. Thanks to the generosity of OAT travellers and the unstinting partnership of the Grand Circle Foundation (GCF), CITW Zambezi is proud to share that a merry-go-round, two dual swing sets and a tyre climber have now been delivered and installed at Lupinyu Primary School.
Parents and community members came out to prepare and level the ground, then stayed on to help put up the equipment. It did not take long for the children to claim the playground as their own, and break time now looks very different. The children have a proper space to run, climb, swing and spin, building balance, co-ordination, confidence and the everyday life skill of taking turns. All 239 learners have access to it, and the school’s six teachers have somewhere purpose-built to direct that break-time energy.
On behalf of the learners, teachers and wider Lupinyu community, CITW Zambezi thanks the OAT travellers and GCF for this generous support. For a school that began under a tree, it is so fitting that it is now where the children take a break from their classrooms to play.
