Ecobank Zambia Invests in the Future of Vulnerable Children at Bauleni Legacy Academy

By Alain Kabinda

For a child sitting in a classroom in Bauleni today, the future can seem both close and impossibly distant.

A computer may open a window to a world the child has never seen. A science laboratory may turn a lesson from something read in a textbook into something that can be tested, questioned and discovered.

Even learning how to save a small amount of money can introduce a young person to an idea that may shape decisions years later.

It is around these possibilities that Ecobank Zambia and Family Legacy Missions Zambia have built a new partnership aimed at transforming the learning environment at Bauleni Legacy Academy.

The partnership is backed by a ZMW 1.5 million investment over three years, with interventions ranging from infrastructure improvements to financial literacy, mentorship and career guidance.

Speaking on behalf of Ecobank Zambia Managing Director Aina Moore, Ecobank Head of Customer Experience Rejoice Ntini said the bank had invested more than ZMW 3 million over the past three years in Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

The investment has covered education, financial literacy, health, environmental sustainability, community development and youth empowerment.

Mr Ntini said Ecobank’s education commitment was being strengthened through its Pan-African “Transforming Africa Through Education” campaign, under which Ecobank affiliates across Africa have worked to improve educational outcomes and expand opportunities for young people.

The bank’s three-year commitment will be implemented in phases, beginning with the upgrading of the school’s Information and Communications Technology laboratory.

For learners growing up in a rapidly changing digital world, access to technology can mean more than simply knowing how to operate a computer.

It can provide access to information, new forms of learning and skills that are increasingly important beyond the classroom.

A science laboratory gives pupils an opportunity to experiment, make observations, ask questions and learn from both success and failure.

The third phase will involve the development of a dedicated feeding shelter, providing learners with a more appropriate and dignified environment for meals.

And speaking at the same MOU Ceremony Family Legacy Missions Zambia Interim Country Director Ms. Annie Zulu Banda, the partnership ultimately comes down to one thing—the child.

“There is a child,” Ms Zulu Banda said, describing the young person sitting in a classroom, learning, asking questions and dreaming about what the future might hold.

Family Legacy currently serves about 10,000 children across 18 Legacy Academies, particularly children from vulnerable communities in Lusaka.

Ms Zulu Banda said the organisation believed every child had potential, but that potential required opportunity and support to become reality.

That philosophy is reflected in Family Legacy’s approach to education, which considers the spiritual, intellectual, physical and emotional dimensions of a child’s development.

It should prepare young people with confidence, character and practical skills that can help them create opportunities for themselves and others.

But learning the difference between something that is wanted and something that is needed, understanding how to save, or learning how to plan for a future goal can establish habits that extend beyond school.

Financial literacy also introduces children to the language of economic participation at a time when many of them are beginning to think about careers, employment and entrepreneurship.

The bank says its employees will also participate in mentorship programmes, financial literacy initiatives, career guidance sessions and public-speaking programmes during the three-year partnership.

The same applies when a learner sits behind a computer and discovers information that was previously beyond reach.

This is the wider ambition behind the partnership: creating an environment where children can encounter opportunities rather than simply being told about them.

The partnership also comes against the reality that many children in vulnerable communities face challenges that extend beyond academic performance.

Access to adequate learning facilities, nutrition, technology and exposure to career opportunities can influence a child's educational experience.

Ms Zulu Banda said vulnerable children needed support systems that enabled them to thrive.

She also stressed that addressing these challenges required more than one organisation.

Families, communities, government, schools, civil society, faith-based organisations and the private sector all have roles to play.

For Ecobank, the value of the ZMW 1.5 million commitment will ultimately be measured beyond the infrastructure created.

Mr Ntini said that decades from now, the success of the partnership should not only be considered in terms of the money invested, but also in the number of lives transformed.

Ms Zulu Banda said the organisation’s real “signature” would ultimately be seen in the lives of the children it serves.

As Ms Zulu Banda put it, the organisations may have put their signatures on paper through the partnership, but the more lasting measure will be found in the lives of the children they serve.#ecobankzambia #Ecobank