Teachers & Pupils Initiative Stove

Traditional School Cooking Stove

Simoonga Thandizani Trust School children and teachers came up with an amazing initiative!

During one of the lessons in Science, Energy and Electricity, the pupils realized the need to save energy in everyday life activities, one of the most important being cooking.

Previously, the school was using open air cooking where a lot of the heat was lost due to the wind, resulting in too much firewood usage.

The students together with the teachers realized that energy saving stoves introduced to the school kitchen would reduce firewood consumption massively. In fact, when it comes to energy saving stoves, almost 90% of the heat goes directly to the pot, hence taking less time to cook, cutting down on firewood usage.

One of the children, Choolwe Mweetwa, talked about small energy saving stoves that her father was making in Simoonga Village using local materials consisting of clay and cow dung. The children and teachers decided to make a similar stove in the school kitchen. The team used cement, bricks, sand and metal bars for this basic energy saving stove. Two energy saving stoves were introduced in the kitchen, which costed 600.00 USD per stove.

The use of this technique helps Thandizani School reduce deforestation, common in the local community, and also lower the cost of buying firewood, which is now better spent on educational materials for the children. Furthermore, the children have learned a lot from this project.

School Core Social Responsibility Project

The school has initiated a project to help build houses for the elderly people who are currently living in ramshackles. We have identified those in need and are advocating for donations to help rehabiliate their home. We issue an open invitation to everyone to extend a helping hand towards this project.

So far, the school has helped to build one house for Mrs Margaret Nakwenda through the kind donation from Miss Kathleen Kampa Vilina from Tokyo, Japan (kampavilina@gmail.com). The projected cost was 5,230.00 USD. 

The house has now been handed over to its proud beneficiery. 

Mrs Margaret in her completed new house.

Pending Projects

The school needs to complete projects in excess of 10 houses.

Currently, we are soliciting for funding to help build a new house for Miss Hilda whose current dwelling condition is not pleasant. Let us all join hands and put a new roof over her head.

Miss Hilda in her current mud hut. Let us help her get a new home like Mrs Margaret.