The small charity with big ambitions
Giving orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia the tools to change their future.Learn more
Learn more
Learn more
Changing the future for children
Menstrual Hygiene Day 2021
Around the world many girls miss school because they can’t afford sanitary products. Zambian girls we work with were missing 30 days of school each year – half due to their period.
At Zambia Orphans Aid (ZOA) know that girls in rural communities who’re educated are less likely to contract STIs or HIV/AIDS, tend to marry later, have smaller, healthier families and are more likely to ensure their own children are educated, so it’s crucial we help girls stay in school.
We’re doing this in a number of different ways: by running workshops for girls and boys, volunteers, parents, guardians, teachers, community leaders and peer educators to overturn stigma and bust period superstitions and by integrating making reusable sanitary pads into home economic classes.
We have seen a 49% drop in girls’ absenteeism after our menstrual hygiene management training teaching boys and girls about puberty and menstruation.
Right now 1.2 million orphans and vulnerable children are living in Zambia and don’t have the support or family structure they need to thrive. Many live in granny or child headed households, scraping by on less than £1.50 a day. Without access to school they face a lifetime of poverty.
We provide uniforms, books and tuition fees, fund nutritious school meals, help school leavers gain vocational qualifications, give mental health support to those that need it and provide girls with reusable sanitary pads to keep them in the classroom.
You can help us do whatever it takes to give orphans and vulnerable children the chance to go to school and reach their potential.
Our Work
We work with grassroots partners to educate the most vulnerable children in Zambia. Our approach is inclusive and holistic, providing good nutrition as well as social support to deliver the best results.
News
Keep up with the latest
news from our partners in
Zambia and what we’re doing to change childrens’ futures. Sign up to our newsletter and read our publications.
Education changes lives
If all adults completed secondary school world poverty would be halved but in Zambia only 1 in 4 children complete secondary school leaving them trapped in a cycle of poverty. Help us give pupils like Exillia the chance to change their future.
For every £1 you donate we spend:
81.5p on programme activity
12.4p on fundraising
6.1p on support costs
Help change a child's future
Your help can support children through primary and
secondary school, provide nutritious school meals so pupils
aren’t learning on an empty stomach and support those that can
through tertiary vocational training. We provide a holistic
approach so also provide mental health support and other inputs
where needed.