While it is acknowledged that education is a basic human right, that can equip and propel children out of poverty through literacy, training and possession of life skills, many children in Chawama, be they orphans or from vulnerable households, are unable to access school places for various reasons. The Christians gathering at Chawama (Central) CMML Christian Brethren Church mobilised themselves and found someone who was selling some old buildings within the community. SHARE Zambia Trust, a Christian charity, with the financial help from SHARE Africa UK, another Christian organisation, purchased the property as a first step to providing education for the children.
To this end Chawama Central (CMML) Christian Brethren Church have launched a community school to meet the schooling needs of the orphans and vulnerable children from their homes and those who live near them using the dilapidated buildings they use for their meetings to house the community school.
The school has 176 children (81 girls, 95 boys) of whom 18 are orphans. These children range in years from 2 year olds to 15 year olds, spread between nursery, grade one up to grade four. It is funded by contributions from the assembly and each of these children also contributes K5,000 per month to the school, yet some attend who are still unable to raise even this token amount. In order to cater for the high number of children in such a small room, the school is running two streams per day with four volunteer teachers.

Infrastructure
In order to offer quality education to the children in a conducive environment, there would be need to break the current dilapidated structures on the plot and replace them with new buildings that will give the school sufficient space for six classrooms. Each classroom will have enough space for 30 children. An ablution block, a kitchen and an office that will also house a small library for reference books and a caretakers room. A multipurpose hall will also be built on the premises to double as a classroom and for other functions like assembly meetings.
The classrooms will be equipped with desks, 15 desks per classroom, sitting two pupils per desk, chalkboards, text and exercise books, rulers, pens and pencils.

Feeding program
In order to mitigate against hunger and malnutrition in general and the effects on learning, the assembly seeks to provide some food to the children such as soya porridge, bread and tea to be prepared in the kitchen. Attendant kitchen equipment and supplies such as cooker, fridge, pots, plates, spoons and mugs, soya flour, sugar and etc., will be required.

Skills training
The population of Chawama in general and Chawama central believers in particular has high levels of unemployment, yet the people show resilience in seeking avenues of raising income as can be seen from the many informal activities (commodity selling, block making, carpentry, tin smithing) taking place in the area. The premises will be used to equip community members with skills in tailoring, computer studies, entrepreneurship training etc., for self employment and engagement in income generating activities.
Innovation with e-learning as a pilot scheme is envisaged. Provision of such equipment as sewing machines, cloth and computers will be essential.

Beneficiaries
With improved infrastructure and materials the school can grow and absorb an estimated number of up to 500 children to grade seven, with capacity for further growth to basic level grade nine.
Other envisaged beneficiaries would be the men and women from the assembly and the community at large who will be offered training opportunities and start up financial support and services under the skills training component to enhance their social, spiritual and economic well being and that of their community.