Empowering a near-sustainable community in Zambia

Nakawa Community Village

Meet Cynthia & Silumba - an extraordinary couple living in the remote village of Nakawa, approximately 70kms from Livingstone. Recognising the need to educate children in the remote areas surrounding their community, Cynthia, Silumba and their dedicated team set up the Nakawa Community Academy providing meals and education for 120 children - and growing!

A formal education in Africa gives children and young adults the opportunity to develop skills that will allow them to earn a living and support themselves, their families and their communities in the future. Nakawa Community Academy is a preschool for children aged 3 to 5 years old.

How to Get Involved!

Visit Nakawa Community Academy as a guest of Chundukwa River Lodge. We invite our guests to visit this lovely community themselves to meet Cynthia and Silumba. When you visit Nakawa with us, we donate USD $20.00 per visitor directly to the School Fund.

Make a Donation with confidence, knowing 100% of all funds will go to Nakawa Community Academy. Thank you for your support!

Pack for a Purpose and donate goods to the preschool such as previously-loved books, sporting equipment and other materials for learning and fun.

Support the community by making a purchase from their Arts & Crafts Centre.

Volunteer your time or your skillset! Help in the gardens, help us to paint the classrooms or offer a helping hand with the children. There are so many ways to volunteer your time or your skillset! Chat to us for more info.

  • Our Student Feeding Programme has been fully sponsored for One Year!

    We are thrilled to share that one incredible donor has stepped forward to sponsor our Student Feeding Programme for an entire year! This incredible act of kindness ensures that students in our community will have access to nutritious meals, allowing them to focus on their education and build brighter futures. The same donor has also sponsored fuel and school supplies for the children.

    To our donor: your support is making an incredible impact. You are not just providing meals—you’re providing hope, opportunity, and the foundation for a stronger communit

    THANK YOU!

    If you would like to support this project by donating toward fees for the 2026 year, let us know.

  • Almost there: a school bus for the children!

    We are thrilled to announce the incredible success of our recent campaign to Buy a School Bus after witnessing 67 children from surrounding villages squeeze into a single vehicle. With the help of an amazing supporter, Marcus Scales, we launched a GoFundMe campaign that touched the hearts of thousands of people across the globe. One extraordinary donor has now committed to contributing the remaining funds needed to purchase the school bus!

    Safe transport will allow the children to focus on what really matters - learning and growing. To all who supported this campaign, whether by donating or spreading the word, we want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU.

  • Milestone Achieved: Access to safe, drinking water!

    Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, we are thrilled to announce that we’ve successfully drilled a borehole!

    This life-changing addition ensures access to year-round water for Cynthia’s pre-primary school, where she lovingly prepares daily meals for 120 children.

    Most donations we received in 2024 contributed toward this incredibly important project.

    We’re now raising funds for a new water tank and to replace the pump and piping on the old borehole, in order to maintain the fruit trees and vegetable garden - bringing even greater benefits to the school, the community and the environment.

    If you would like to support the next step of this project, let us know.

  • Milestone Achieved: Bringing SOLAR + STARLINK to Nakawa

    Installing STARLINK in a remote area like Nakawa is a big job - involving logistical coordination and overcoming infrastructural challenges. The installation is now complete - with a 5KVA inverter, lithium battery and solar panels - all donated by one incredible donor.

    The installation itself has been funded from donations from Friends of Chundukwa.

    This ambitious project is a game changer for Cynthia and Silumba’s school - providing electricity for the classrooms and connectivity to empower both students and staff.

    If you would like to support this project by donating toward the annual starlink fees, let us know.

Ongoing projects that need your support!

  • We have an exciting opportunity to expand our impact, but we need your help! To support our growing volunteer community, we’re raising funds to build simple, sustainable housing for 2 to 4 paying volunteers who want to contribute their time and skills to the school. Paying volunteers can help cover ongoing costs, ensuring the project thrives.

    We aim to build simple yet comfortable housing with basic amenities, such as:

    • Shared bedrooms with natural, eco-friendly materials.

    • Access to clean water, electricity, and Wi-Fi.

    Fundraising Goal USD 10,000.00

  • We’re now raising funds for a new water tank and to replace the pump and piping on the old borehole, in order to ensure that the volunteer centre and personal home of Cynthia and Silumba are getting water, as well as the gardens, which require water to maintain the fruit trees and vegetables - bringing even greater benefits to the school, the community and the environment.

    Fundraising Goal USD 10,000.00

  • Nakawa Community Academy is making a meaningful impact in the lives of students and the community, but we need your support to sustain and grow our programs. With 16 dedicated staff members working tirelessly to provide quality education, financial aid is critical to ensure the continuity of our education programs and staff salaries.

    The team of 16 staff members is at the heart of the Academy. Your aid helps provide fair wages, ensuring they can continue their vital work of educating and mentoring the next generation.

    The Chundukwa Foundation has been able to support the teachers, but it is an ongoing and vital expense. We need your support!

    Fundraising Goal - USD 2,050.00 per month

  • The staff face challenges in integrating technology into the classrooms and administrative tasks.

    To address this challenge, we kindly request your support in the form of two desktop computers and two printers. These resources would significantly enhance their ability to:

    • Improve administrative efficiency and record-keeping.

    • Provide teachers with the tools needed to print and photocopy high-quality learning materials.

  • In the remote villages surrounding Nakawa, many children do not have access to running water, making basic hygiene a challenge. To address this, we’re embarking on a project to build an on-site shower facility at the Academy. This shower room will provide a clean, safe, and sanitary washing solution for the children and staff members who care for them.

    Fundraising Goal USD 2500.00

  • The children at Nakawa Community Academy come from remote and underserved villages. Many are orphans living with extended family or caretakers who struggle to provide even basic necessities. For most of these children, owning a toy of their very own is a distant dream.

    We’re calling on all Friends of Nakawa to make a difference! We are seeking donations of teddy bears and soft toys for the children. Whether it’s a gently loved bear, a handmade stuffed friend, or a brand-new toy, your gift will bring immense joy to these children.

    Our goal is to collect 120 teddy bears, and the countdown has begun!

    You can send a teddy bear on a heartwarming adventure by post through DHL or other carriers. Contact us today for more information on how to donate and make a child's day brighter. Together, we can fill their hearts with love and their arms with teddy bears!

  • Imagine a classroom where the walls come to life with vibrant colors, storytelling images, and scenes that inspire curiosity and joy. With carefully crafted murals, we can create a magical learning space that not only sparks the imagination but also fosters values like creativity, inclusivity, cultural awareness, friendship, and a love for nature. Let’s make this vision a reality!

    Fundraising Goal - approx USD 8,200.00

    Are you an artist with a flair for characters, nature themes, and cultural representations? Please get in touch if you’d like to share an idea or if you are able to come and help bring the four classrooms to life.

  • A library for the children of Nakawa would provide access to books, educational resources, and a safe space for learning and creativity.

We encourage visitors to donate goods to the preschool such as age-appropriate books and other materials for learning and fun. The Wish List also includes sporting items such as soccer balls, a favourite pastime at Nakawa!

We are proud members of Pack for a Purpose, an initiative that allows travelers like you to make a lasting impact in the community at your travel destination. If you save just a few kilos of space in your suitcase and take supplies for the projects we support in need, you’ll make a priceless impact in the lives of our local children and families. Please click here to see what supplies are needed for our project.

“Our feeding program has continued to thrive, thanks to your generous support.

This term, we have been able to provide nutritious meals to over 115 children, many of whom rely on these meals as their primary source of nutrition. We are grateful for your partnership in helping us nourish the minds and bodies of our kids. Oftentimes, our lunch is the only meal that our pupils have in a day, so we are aware of the significant importance of our feeding program.

It has been a great success since it has improved the attendance by 80%.

This initiative also fosters a sense of community among kids and teachers, and the children highly appreciate it. Recently we had two volunteers from New Zealand, who stayed with us for two weeks. Our kids have worked hard and we are proud to report excellent results in our end of year exams (2024 year)

Our kids have shown significant improvement in their academic performance, and we are confident that they will continue to excel in the coming year. We celebrated our last day with games, music, dancing, and some treats for the kids. The teachers also had their end of year celebration.

Cynthia writes…

We extend our gratitude and thanks to you for your unwavering support. You will make a difference in the lives of our children. Together, we empower communities.

If you plan to visit our Nakawa community, you are more than welcome, we are very looking forward to seeing you. If you would also like to meet the children in the school, please be in touch so we can share the school calendar.”

-December, 2024

We are deeply grateful to our incredible community of donors.

The greatest gift we have is the collective kindness, dedication, and passion of people like you who believe in our mission.

Thank you for making a difference!

A special thank you to Ian Middleton, whose mentorship made a lasting impact.

Become a Friend of Nakawa