Our impact
Zambia
Workaid partners with the Vwila Foundation in Zambia. Vwila is a local organisation that assesses potential projects and has the same values and beliefs as Workaid, that young people are the drivers of development in their communities. Vwila also brings training institutions together to share best practices through regular workshops and information exchange via social media platforms.
Vwila has developed strong relationships with the Zambian government’s Youth Resource Centres. They are also a champion of promoting the development of invaluable vocational training within rural secondary schools and developing local skills to maintain the equipment and tools we send. A recent example is the training of tailoring instructors in sewing machine servicing and repairs.
Monitoring and evaluating the projects supported in Zambia is fundamentally important in measuring impact and effectively planning project support in the future. During 2022 and 2023, Workaid and Vwila will continually review their strategy to ensure that they continue to focus on the projects that have the greatest impact.
Vwila translates to ‘Help’ in English.
Vwila Foundation
Emmanuel Zulu, the Director of the Vwila Foundation in Lusaka, Zambia and his team are responsible for carrying out appraisals of potential projects and assessing what tools to allocate to their programmes. We have also partnered to establish a technical tailoring course to teach young people how to repair and maintain sewing machines, gaining skills that they can then pass on to their communities.
Maureen Mtika, Co-founder of the Vwila Foundation, in charge of Finance and Administration. Social Accountability expert trained at Rhodes University in South Africa.
- Where We Work: West Zambia
- Population: 19.44 million
- Land Area: 743,390 km2
- Median Age: 17.6 yrs
Putting young people at the heart of the work we support
Stories from Zambia
Kabwanga Secondary School Project
Workaid has worked with the Vwila Foundation to provide much needed vocational training to schools in the rural Mumbwa district of Zambia. Kabwanga Secondary School is one of these.
Container Peter 1996 heading to Zambia
Container Peter 1996, named after Penny (a volunteer) has left for Zambia filled with over 800 boxes of tools and kits.
Deborah also known as Mama Workaid
Deborah’s father passed away when she was a baby, as did her mother a few years later. She was raised by her aunty who she refers to as her mother.
Help us to make a difference
get involved
Donate Money
Just £5 per month for a year enables us to send a sewing machine, 2 haberdashery kits and cover the cost of shipping to a vocational training centre in Africa. Make an online donation, or buy a Virtual Gift.
Donate Tools
Change lives by donating unwanted tools, equipment and haberdashery items. Each year 80 tonnes of tools are saved from landfill, refurbished and sent to vocational training projects in East Africa and the UK.
Volunteer
Join our team of volunteers at The Old Boot Factory in Chesham.
Share your skills and make new friendships. All you need is enthusiasm.