Lembapuli primary school
Sally first visited Lembapuli in July 2020 and was immediately surrounded by children eager to play and have fun, something which gave Sally great joy. Having a great interest in children and their education, something that obviously had come through Margie’s genes, Sally was keen to see the local school and walked the 2 miles to school and back most days with the children. Sally was taken aback by the overall school environment that the children were expected to learn in. The school was in a state of decay with cracked floors and walls and in some rooms, there were just dirt floors. There were several children squeezed behind each desk, the nursery children were all sat on the dirt floor and the nursery school blackboard & writing boards were completely broken and unfit for what they were meant for.
Spending time at the school and seeing how eager the children were to learn and engage sparked something in Sally and that was the real beginning of Margie’s Foundation although she did not know it yet!
Making a start...
Sally started off with buying a tin of blackboard paint & repainting the small nursery writing boards. She then went off and bought more blackboard paint & painted the main classroom blackboards. Having to paint over cracked plaster made her think further & the need to replaster the blackboards so the teachers could at least write in a straight line.
The start of Margie's Foundation
On her return to Scotland, sharing her stories and showing friends and family the photographs, many of them offered their support to Sally furthering her new found project and a crowdfunding page was set up.
The highest pass rate in 5 years
Work started in January 2022 and the first two classrooms were refurbished. It continued in July 2022 with donkeys bringing the water needed when the water truck sprung a leak. Following the classroom refurbishments, money was secured to fix the broken desks and buy some new ones, reducing the number of children per desk from 5 to 4. A solar panel was also bought allowing after school working which was a huge benefit to the standard 7 students preparing for their end of year exams. 21 of the 25 students who took the exams passed giving the school their highest pass rate in 5 years.
The school is now in a much better condition and the children are enjoying their new and improved learning environment.
