Blog

Chimfembwe Ng’oma is a key leader of our Zambian partner Hope Ministries who completed his education degree from Kwame Nkurumah University in Kabwe, Zambia twenty years ago. He was hired by the government to teach and was stationed for his first six years in what they consider “the bush”, a very rural part of Zambia’s Northern Province where there was no running water, electricity and life was full of immense hardship. He eventually became the head master at a private school, and then accepted the call to join the leadership team at Hope Ministries as Head Teacher of Hope Community School in 2007.

Mr. Ng’oma manages eight teachers, who are educating 350 students, all living in extreme poverty and most who have lost one or both parents. The children and youth under his care range from age five to nineteen and receive a daily meal, bi-annual medical check-ups and the opportunity to enroll in an alumni program for mentoring and financial support to continue their education until they graduate from high school. He has also worked for the last five years with the Spark staff, leaders and over 200 trip participants.

Recently married, Mr. Ng’oma enjoys spending time with his wife, playing and following football (soccer) and he devours books on leadership (a man after my own heart). About six months ago, I asked Mr. Ng’oma about his thoughts on Spark’s partnership model and asked him to write a short piece for us. I was quite impressed with his articulate and insightful thoughts on the relationship between Hope Ministries and Spark Ventures and the important work we are doing together.

It is a relationship based on the values of social justice and equity. It is a marriage of two inter-related visions for the common good of the stakeholders. This underpins the partnership between Hope Ministries and Spark Ventures.

There is a deep underlying commitment to the cause of the less privileged children, upon whose shoulders the future lies. Educating the future is the catch phrase. Therefore the provision of education to the less privileged members of our society is key and fundamental. Much has been done in that regard. Less privileged children face difficult challenges such as inadequate health care, not enough food, poor water and sanitation facilities, just to mention a few.

Spark Ventures, a Chicago-based organization, in partnership with Hope Ministries has made great strides in meeting the needs of children in Zambia.

Hope Ministries has set up a community school, an orphanage called Hope House, a clinic and a poultry farm, set up on the premise of bringing sustainability to the venture as opposed to surviving on handouts from well wishers.

Spark Ventures has provided the necessary support in terms of capacity building, financial and technical support. They have invested in the poultry farm with the goal of making Hope Ministries self-reliant.

The programs and operations of Hope Ministries are designed and tailored so as not to perpetuate a dependency syndrome in the communities they are operating, but to make them self sustainable.

As the African proverb states, “It takes the whole village to raise a child.” This is very true. Only that in this case it is a global village.”