Student Housing Underway

The Dwankhozi School is a K-12 school in the Dwankhozi Community in the Chipangali District of the Eastern District of Zambia. The school started about 15 years ago with 2 volunteer teachers instructing nearly 100 children under a tree, using a mud wall as a chalkboard.

In the last 15 years, Dwankhozi Hope USA has partnered with the local community to build primary school buildings (K-8) and to complete the first local secondary school high school in the community which serves students from grade 9-12. The school now has 30 government-trained and paid teachers, clean water and sanitation, and a medical clinic that serves about 1,000 patients a month.

As the school’s reputation has grown, more and more children have been coming to the school–so many that school administrators identified the need for student housing at the Dwankhozi School. Currently the school has a girls dormitory that houses around 40 secondary students. But it is not nearly enough to house all of the promising students who are currently attending the school from far areas. On a recent visit, our US team saw firsthand that students are living in science classrooms because there is not enough housing in the areas surrounding the school.

Dwankhozi Hope USA partnered with the local community and the Deputy Education Minister for the Eastern District of Zambia to provide a solution. Our initial goal was to raise $40,000 to build one additional dormitory to house 40 more students at the school.

On March 10, 2024, Dwankhozi Hope USA held “Hoops for Hope” charity basketball tournament in Seattle Washington. Over 100 basketball players registered and played on 24 different teams in a double-elimination tournament. The tournament featured 4 different brackets including middle school, high school, mixed-age, and adult brackets complete with trophies for winning teams and Hoops for Hope jerseys for all players. Over 150 people came to play and root on their friends and family in the tournament which also included a 3-point contest.

At that event Dwankhozi Hope USA raised $65,000 net of all expenses and we are well on our way to build two dormitories to house up to 80 kids at the school. Thank you all who donated and participated in the event. If you would like to donate to finish the project, please contact us at [email protected].