2005

Rotarian District Governor, Frank Arnold, was responsible for a massive fundraising drive in 2003/4 for Lifeline radios to go to Zambia for Learning at Taonga Market, an interactive radio instruction (IRI) programme designed to make learning fun.

The Rotarians in just one district - 1160 - in Ireland rallied local schools, choirs, youth clubs, and business contacts and raised £82,000 for the project. Frank visited Lusaka to see for himself the impact of the Lifeline radio and what a difference it has made to the children of Zambia. He reports as follows:

"I was very impressed by the way documentation for every single radio is formalised with each partner knowing exactly where each one is.

The school was catering for its maximum of 645 pupils. There were 66 in the class I spent time with - in truth there was room for only 40 - with a Lifeline radio at the back and one at the front controlled by one mentor. Imagine trying to control 66 kids in a class in the UK! I saw several children sharing a pen as they received the broadcast, in a humble spirit of sharing as they wrote down various parts of the exercises. While this facility was doing wonderful work in Chainda, it really is only a drop in the bucket as there are 5000, yes 5000 kids in the area not in a school programme.

In another rooms, mothers were weaving rugs to sell. UNICEF feeds pupils at the compound twice a day. Ten children sleep over and night and receive another meal. This was a depressing, unsuitable location and there is no alternative. However, they will soon receive a consignment of Lifeline radios. There was also some good news. We visited a formal school, Charlestown Basic School - primary/secondary to you and me - and met a boy who had come through the IRI school and had achieved a place in Charlestown. He was doing well in maths and science and wants to become a doctor. I am so pleased and proud of our District 1160 contribution. Having witnessed, and now with a reasonable understanding the programme I am certainly not walking away from it. 700,000 innocent children remain outside the education loop, simply because of AIDS and poverty. There is just such a need for basic education which will ensure the cycle of poverty is broken."