Our impact
ZOA is a small charity with BIG ambitions for the young people we work with. We pride ourselves on being a small, nimble charity that can adapt our approach as necessary, working closely with our local, grassroots partners who are our ear to the ground. COVID-19 has proved the importance of our approach. It has meant we’ve been able to respond quickly to the changing situation to keep reaching the most vulnerable, despite the challenges involved.
The number of people receiving our emergency food package support this reporting year almost doubled. For so many of our pupils their daily school meal is a vital part of their nutritional intake. This year these packages were even more important because not only were children missing their lunch while schools were closed but families were increasingly struggling to make ends meet with economic activities curtailed during lockdowns.
Another devastating effect of COVID-19 has been the increase in child protection issues. As lockdowns have gone into effect to prevent the spread of the virus, many girls have been trapped at home in close quarters with abusers, with limited or no access to support services. Our protection work has never been more important. As part of our support we have reached 1018 young people with counselling.
In 2020/21 we supported 94 students at college and university. A further 38 of our students have completed their course this academic year with a further 29 new students starting courses. We are proud to be a part of these inspiring students’ journey to break the cycle of poverty.
Accountability
The way we work means we can keep our support costs low allowing more of your donations to be spent in Zambia on the orphans and vulnerable children who need our support the most.
Our supporters are what make it possible to give a helping hand to the children we work with. Without your help, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.
Our annual Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements show how, with your support, ZOA is helping orphans and other vulnerable children to change their future through education.
Our annual report includes our audited accounts, explaining where our income comes from and how we’ve spent it.
Download our latest Trustees’ Report and Financial Statement.
Sustainability
We engage with communities to achieve long-term change, empowering orphans, vulnerable children and youths through education to contribute to Zambia’s development.
Although we have sent £2 million in grants to Zambia since 2006, we ultimately want to take ourselves out of the equation. We don’t want to create donor-dependency, which is why we partner with grassroots, community-based organisations who are our valuable partners.
We work with our local partners to develop their capacity and, when appropriate, encourage them to develop other income streams to help them move towards financial sustainability.
For example, we supported our local parter, Chibolya Community School (CEHOZ) start a fish farm to provide an income to help become more self-sufficient. Surplus fish are cooked as part of the free school lunch provided for vulnerable children at Chibolya School in Southern Province, an area that often experiences food insecurity.
How we work
- ZOA-UK employs rigorous governance and accountability structures to ensure donations are used effectively.
- We work in partnership with our sister charity, ZOA-Zambia, who are based in Lusaka. They lead on strategic programme development and management, monitoring and evaluating. We support them to fulfil programme objectives and work with them to build capacity where needed such as regional resource mobilisation, technical support, impact assessment and research.
- Since 2018 we’ve been evaluating our impact using the Child Status Index so we can make evidence-based decisions on the allocation of our limited resources.
- We are governed by a Board of Trustees, including British Zambians, and led by a small team of part-time, home-based staff, a structure that keeps our over-heads low allowing more donations to be spent in Zambia. Zambians are involved in decision making across the organisation.
- All our grassroots partners are registered NGOs and have their own bank accounts and the ability to provide documentation proving funds have been spent appropriately.
Meet our founder
ZOA was founded by Dr Shimwaayi Muntemba, an inspiring Zambian lady, as a response to the AIDS crisis that decimated the country.
Read our latest Annual Report
Find out more about what we achieved in our latest financial report.
Get involved
There are so many different ways to get involved in our work. Check out the options and see what you can do to help orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia.
Meet our partners
Meet our grassroots, community partners in Zambia and find out more about the amazing work they do.
Meet the team in Zambia
Meet our small team in Zambia who lead on ZOA’s strategic programme development and management, monitoring and evaluation.
Meet the team in the UK
Meet our small team of part-time workers based in the UK and our board of trustees.
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.