Baynards Zambia Trust awarded £50,000 DFID grant for transformational Education Project in rural Zambia

​

 BZT has been awarded a grant of £50,000 for its Education Officer Project from the Small Charities Challenge Fund (SCCF) - the Department for International Development (DFID) fund supporting charities to achieve sustained poverty reduction.

​

 BZT is a UK charity based on the Surrey/West Sussex border which supports poor and isolated rural Zambian communities become self-sufficient via a holistic approach. BZT has no paid staff. The charity is run by a group of Trustees so that every penny raised is sent to Zambia. They work with The Zambian Rainbow Development Foundation (ZRDF), a national non-governmental organisation based in Masansa in Mkushi District, Central Province of Zambia, to deliver holistic programmes to support the most isolated and impoverished communities; improving access to education, HIV and AIDS interventions, Village banks and Sustainable agriculture.

 

 The Education Officer project is funded with UK aid from the British people via DFID’s SCCF; the first DFID fund designed specifically with small UK based charities in mind. Funding will now enable BZT, in conjunction with ZRDF, to employ an Education Officer for 2 years, to oversee a programme to improve education standards through a comprehensive programme of teacher training, mobile support and the implementation of a safeguarding programme in schools and communities. The project will inform a new education strategy in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, dramatically improving the standards of education in the District.

 

 BZT believe that access to high quality primary education is both the right of every child born into the communities and the stepping stone to relieving the shackles of immense poverty for families there. BZT hopes that this project will lead to an increase in pupil numbers giving all children opportunities for further education and employment and therefore meeting the Global Goals of a Quality Education, Reduced Inequalities, leading towards the ultimate aim of No Poverty. The financial futures of each community member will be brighter, with employment from educated students, resulting in additional income for families and financial self-sustainability for the whole community. In addition, more children will be protected from harm via improved safeguarding processes with both boys and girls will be encouraged to attend schools regularly and complete their education due to much improved facilities and safeguarding processes.

 

 Prior to BZT and ZRDF working in the area, these South Mkushi communities had only basic schools with no trained or paid teachers, no educational materials, no toilets and limited access to water. The topography of the land creates a natural barrier resulting in limited access to medical facilities, no transport infrastructure and little access to employment outside the community. Severe deprivation exists in all communities and HIV and AIDS is rife with many young girls forced into early marriage and young boys into a life of child labour. This grant really is a stepping stone to a brighter future for every member of the community.

 

 International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said: “Every child should be able to go to school, and ultimately, we cannot end poverty without helping children to reach their full potential and build a brighter future for themselves and their families. I’m proud UK aid is supporting Baynard’s Zambia Trust (BZT) to give some of the world’s most vulnerable children the opportunity to go to school. Small British charities often punch above their weight and UK aid’s Small Charities Challenge Fund exists to make sure those organisations with big hearts get the early support they need to help end poverty.”

​

 Patricia Napier, Chair of BZT was delighted with the grant, ‘The Trustees of the Baynards Zambia Trust are very grateful for this financial support from DFID and the people of the UK. This funding to raise education standards will significantly improve the life chances for over 5,000 children and 14 very isolated schools in rural Zambia.’

​

For further information on the project and how you can support the work of BZT and their partner ZRDF, in isolated rural communities in Zambia, please visit www.bzt.org.uk. You can also follow them on twitter @BaynardsZT, Facebook/BaynardsZT, Instagram - baynardszt and see our projects in action on Youtube Baynards Zambia Trust.

If you are interested in applying for a Small Charities Challenge Fund grant, please visit https://www.ukaiddirect.org/apply/sccf/. Applications can be made at any time and are reviewed every

six months. The next review point is Thursday 28 March 2019.

​

​

• SCCF provides grants of up to £50,000 to UK registered charities with an annual income of

£250,000 or less.

• Applications can be made at any time and are reviewed every six months. The next review

point is Thursday 28 March 2019.

• SCCF was launched in July 2017 as part of UK Aid Direct and was designed to strengthen small

UK based charities working towards achieving the Global Goals.

• SCCF is the first DFID fund designed specifically with small UK based charities in mind, and

feedback from these organisations informed its design. For example, the SCCF operates a

one stage application process, a streamlined due diligence and a tailored payment in advance

approach.

• In the second round of SCCF, 90% of applicants had not previously received DFID funding and

62% of shortlisted applicants were based outside of London and the South East.