Education is not only a right but it is also an essential tool to break the cycle of poverty and save Zambia’s wildlife.
Lupani landscape, located in southern Zambia, remains heavily forested, which attracts communities that rely on extractive manufacturing, like charcoal, for their livelihoods.
In 2011, through African Wildlife Foundation’s Classroom Africa initiative, AWF rehabilitated the Lupani Primary School with six new, modern classrooms, five teacher houses, latrines, solar power, and even adult literacy classes.
From a school that was once a dilapidated one-room schoolhouse with a caved-in roof, this was a significant improvement for the Lupani community. Since AWF rebuilt the school, enrollment has tripled, test scores have greatly improved, and qualified teachers are now on-site.
AWF, in collaboration with Children in the Wilderness, is implementing conservation and environmental management practices at Lupani Primary School. A brand new nursery shade house was constructed to house up to 15,000 tree seedlings at a time.
The community and Lupani students have already planted 2,600 indigenous trees at the primary school and are also receiving training in nursery management.