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  • Home
  • Twitti Primary School
  • About Zambia
  • Visitor Reports Download
  • How to Help
  • Tribute to Simon Maonde
  • Contact Us
  • 2022 Gallery
  • 2020 Gallery
  • Gallery other years

Twitti Primary School

The Spelling Bee at Twitti School Term 1 of 2023

THE SPELLING BEE

The school introduced a spelling bee to help children gain competency over their vocabulary and allow them to excel at reading and writing. We noticed that due to the excessive screen time that school aged children have now, their reading culture has drastically reduced which is affecting their literacy. 

Spellings are generally taught in classes but we felt the pupils would be more proactive in learning if we brought in the concept of competition and involved their peers outside of the classroom so that they could learn from them. Every child from Grade 2 - 7 is expected to participate but with different level spellings depending on their grade.

It takes place every Friday after break time which is between 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. 

Learn More

School Partners of TPS In Canada

George Street Middle School, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

George Street Middle School, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

George Street Middle School, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

George Street Middle School in Fredericton, NB, Canada

Schools in New Brunswick, Canada, are open in the new year of 2022-2023 although masks are still being worn and school activities are limited.  


 There was no  Twitti Book Sale in May 2021 and we are unsure if one will be held in 2022.  Past Sales have brought in thousands of dollars that have been used for the direct benefit of the Twitti Primary children, in their classrooms.

Marketplace, a sale of products produced by the Grade 8 students, has also raised funds  for TPS, money to build the Play Park, for example.

 

We thank George Street from the bottom of our hearts and wish them all the best!


We also  recognize the contribution of GSMS former Principal Pierre Plourde.  Mr. Plourde  is now Principal of a  brand new school, still under construction.  

Congratulations Mr. Plourde!  

Simonds High School, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

George Street Middle School, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

George Street Middle School, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

A class at Simonds high School presenting a cheque to a representative of Friends for Zambia.

Simonds High School has been sponsoring TPS pupils for many years.  Their generosity has helped several children complete their basic education and be ready to go on to the next levels of their learning.   One of their former sponsored pupils, Sarah, will  completed her Nursing program at Chikankata in November 2021.   When she is licensed she will begin her Nursing career. 


Elizabeth, another Twitti pupil sponsored by Simonds, completed Grade 7 and is now attending Parklands High School. 

 

Mrs Phillips, the teacher coordinator who organized the contributions of Simonds High for many years, and who visited TPS in 2018, has passed on the responsibility to Mrs Santori.   She and the Simonds students are now assisting Twitti pupil Joseph to achieve his goals.  


Thank you, Simonds!


 





École internationale du village, Gatineau, Québec, Canada

George Street Middle School, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

École internationale du village, Gatineau, Québec, Canada

Twitti School pupils thank  L'école international du village with sign  at morning assembly,

After 8 years of helping Twitti Primary School, L'École internationale du village, an international school in the Canadian Province of Québec, has made the decision to move on to other charitable efforts. 


TPS staff and students, as well as Friends For Zambia, offer sincere gratitude to the pupils and teachers for their hard work in raising funds to assist vulnerable children in Zambia.  


We are particularly grateful to Mr. Steve Wadlow who has now retired from his years at L'École internationale du village.  


Zikomo! Zikomo! Zikomo!    


Lilayi Education Trust: Vision and Mission

The vision of the Lilayi Education Trust is to be the leading provider of quality primary education in the Lilayi – Chilanga area. The Board of Trustees and the Founders of the school are committed to the realization of this vision. They intend to achieve this vision through their mission of providing community-based quality education at an affordable price. Going forward, the Lilayi Education Trust remains steadfast in its efforts to find ways and means of assisting vulnerable children and the struggling parents desiring to educate them.  The Board envisages that, when provided with the best education possible in primary school, each student coming through our doors will be given the opportunity to excel beyond Twitti Primary School. And that the education being provided yields life-changing successes with a positive impact on their families and the community as a whole.  

The Twitti School Story

Granny (Mrs. Maonde) tells the story of Twitti

Beginnings

When Lydia and Simon Maonde 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 soon brought others to learn. Since the Maonde sons and daughter had grown and moved away, their 3 small bedrooms became the school classrooms. 


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 powerful 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 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 to their former Headmaster and his wife to help them build a school, an enduring legacy for the Lilayi community.  In 2006, Friends for Zambia Society was established and fund raising began. In 2009, the first 4 classrooms were constructed and each year more facilities were added until 2012 when Twitti Primary School was completed. 

School Campus

 When Twitti School was Officially Opened in July 2012, there were on the campus 3 classroom buildings containing  11 classrooms, 3 washroom buildings, a water well and storage tank, a sports field, a basketball court, a playground for the little ones, and an administration building containing offices, a staff room and a library. 


Since then, attractive security fencing and well-maintained landscaping have been added.  A netball court is enjoyed, as well as a sheltered stand for bicycles. Stone walkways constructed between buildings reduce the amount of mud that comes into the classrooms in the rainy season. There are benches near the playing field for the children during break times.  In 2018 the cholera outbreak necessitated the  addition of water points for hand washing.   A new Play Park was built in 2019 to replace the old metal playground equipment that was rusting and dangerous.  With  cement donated by Lafarge Cement Zambia and a financial contribution from Friends For Zambia, a new security wall was completed at the rear of the school property.  This wall provides a secure environment for the children and protects the property, including the new Play Park from vandalism. A wall formerly on site  was demolished in 2016 as a result of a property dispute.  

Current Needs


Would you be willing to help Twitti Primary School?   

Consider how you might contribute:


  • The Literacy Project which began several years ago has made it possible for many, many children to improve their reading skills.  New levels of the program are needed.     
  •  More Solar panels would  make the school more self-reliant.  2 panels have been installed with help from FFZ donors.   Your donation could increase the capacity for energy from Zambia's natural energy source - the sun.
  •  The addition of a school kitchen/lunch hall is a Twitti dream, especially on the rainy and muddy days.  


These are the current needs, and the next steps that will be taken in order to optimize Twitti's success. 

Want to help? To see how to financially contribute to these projects,  go to the  How to Help Page.

Donate

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