In a village called Masopo in Zambia’s Choma province, 40 children could not enroll in the first-grade this year because the only school did not have space to educate them. Those children are among at least 200 shut off from an education in a region where classroom space can’t match the number of people hoping to go to school. In a country where the literacy rate is 61 percent, CALS alumnus and Peace Corps volunteer Ross Hathaway ’13 is hoping to make a difference by raising funds for a new school building.
“Currently, there are 654 children are in the school’s nine classrooms, far exceeding the national limit of 45 children per classroom,” said Hathaway. He he has worked in Zambia as a Forestry Extension Agent with the Peace Corps for the last two years since finishing his B.S. in plant sciences in 2013.
The school in Masopo currently has 17 teachers, but both teaching and learning are hindered in the limited space of nine classrooms. An extra building will give the educators room to teach and help the school conduct adult education classes, Hathaway said: “Our goal is to have everyone in the community literate by 2030.”
He hopes to raise around $18,000 to help the local community to build new classrooms. So far, the campaign has raised close to $10,000. The money will help reduce class sizes and allow more students to join a class, he said.
“When I first arrived here, I found out that the parent-teacher association had decided that their school needed a new classroom building and had approached USAID for funding. Their proposal was declined, but USAID suggested they ask a Peace Corps volunteer for help,” he said about his motivation to help the village build the school they need. “I am now trying to connect them with the resources they need to accomplish their goal,” he said.
What motivated him to take on such a lofty goal, and one that goes beyond his mandate as a Forestry Extension Agent? “Education could help people understand and trust information, and is inextricably linked to getting people to try new things. It would give them faith in their own capacity to know why and how, for example, a new farming practice works,” Hathaway said, adding that his experience and focus has been in the field of agriculture and the environment.
Ithaca was recently ranked first among metropolitan areas with the highest number of Peace Corps volunteers. Ross is one of 11 volunteers from Tompkins County currently serving abroad.
More information and steps on how to donate for the school building can be found here: https://donate.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/new-classrooms-for-the-local-school/
