How did Twitti School begin?
AN AMAZING STORY FOR YOU TO ENJOY!
When Lydia and Simon Maonde, Zambian teachers, retired from their long careers in Education, they took up a new life as farmers in the Lilayi community near Lusaka, Zambia's capital. The need for a school for the children of the farm workers was apparent and so, in 1994, Mrs. Maonde began to teach 5 pre-schoolers in the Maonde home. Word spread in the community of how well these children were being taught, and parents and guardians soon brought others to learn. The 3 Maonde sons and 1 daughter had grown and moved on with their lives, leaving their small bedrooms to become the school classrooms in the house.
By 2005 there were about 200 children coming, in morning and afternoon shifts, to be pupils at this new Twitti School. The name Twitti was chosen since the word "twitti" means the smallest twig, a symbol for these tiny children who were becoming part of the great tree of education. When this 'school in the house' was reaching its physical limits, an amazing re-connection occurred. Mr. and Mrs Maonde, by means of the internet, began to correspond with three Canadians who had worked with them at Namwala Secondary School in Southern Province more than thirty-five years earlier. Mr. Maonde requested their help in financing the construction of a 'real' school.
Former CUSO volunteer teachers, Patrick and Shelley O'Callaghan in British Columbia, and Patricia (Brown) Ellsworth in New Brunswick, committed their help to their former Headmaster and his wife in building a school, an enduring legacy for the Lilayi community. In 2006 the Friends For Zambia Society, a Canadian NGO, was established and fund-raising began. By 2009 the first 4-classroom building was in use and each year more facilities were added - until 2012 when Twitti Primary School was complete.
Twitti Partner Lafarge Zambia Is now Chilanga Cement
Chilanga Cement (formerly Lafarge) and Twitti - A Partnership Story from 2007 to today
Soon after an initial connection was made between Twitti School and Chilanga Cement (formerly Lafarge) in 2007 by Friends For Zambia, the company made a commitment to provide all the cement required to construct the new Twitti School buildings. The first delivery was made in April 2008, and deliveries continued until the school was completed.
Social Responsibility
A strong community statement from Chilanga Cement (formerly Lafarge): "When our communities start to prosper because of our involvement and the Lafarge name becomes synonymous with constant unwavering commitment, then we are on our way to one of our greatest growth objectives: Building a better Zambia.,