17 November 2011

While on holiday in Zambia, visiting family and seeing first-hand what The Limapela Foundation is doing, we met 21 year-old Ringo Piliwe, who is a past pupil of Cedric’s School. He is a bright young man, speaks excellent English and has a winning smile.

Ringo’s parents were farm workers and he started school at 7 years of age. He attended Cedric’s School for 7 years, passing his Grade 7 exams and going on to Malela High School, 20 kilometres away, where he eventually completed and passed Grade 12.

Game Guide Ringo Piliwe at Nsobe Game Camp

Ringo’s two youngest siblings and a niece currently attend Limapela Cedric’s School. He commented that he is very proud of how far the school has come since his time there. When he attended, there were only 2 classrooms so most of his primary schooling was done under the trees, exposed to the harsh weather.

When we asked Ringo what he liked about the school he said that he learned how to be humble, from both the owner (Cedric Whittemore), and the teachers. The school has always had a good reputation and many families in other school districts prefer to send their children there. Ringo’s excellent English is due in part to playing with the children of English speaking settler farmers when he was young, and also from the encouragement of the headmaster, Mr Mwanza.

Ringo has worked at Nsobe Game Camp for a year now — he was lucky to get the job there because of his good school results. He enjoys all that he is learning in the job, particularly stock control and wildlife management. He commented that working at Nsobe is like being in another sort of school where the other employees are never too busy to teach him new things and help him to do his job better. He is saving hard in order to follow his dream of going to college to study either wildlife management or accounting.

We were inspired by Ringo — his educational background and drive to succeed have given him a great platform to work from. We hope that he will be a good example to other children in Zambia, and that he will continue with his education, contribute to his local community and build a great career in Zambia.

— Angus and Alana Ramsay, Auckland

The Limapela Foundation

Two trustees, Terry Webster and Bryan Ivamy have resigned, and we thank them both for their committed contribution over a number of years. We welcome Judy Maguire as a new trustee and accountant for the Foundation. She joins existing trustees Geoff Wiklund (now Chairman), Ben O’Connor, Gordon Stewart and Matthew Raymond. Please download the prospectus from our website if you would like to know more about these trustees, or more about the profile of the Foundation.

—Matthew F. Raymond, Trustee

Webby Malyo
grade 1, age: 8

David Sakala
grade 8, age: 14

Charity Siapeya
grade 3, age: 12

Ruth Nkhuwa
grade 5, age: 12

Christopher Chifwanikeni
grade 3, age: 10

Michael Kabwe
grade 6, age: 16

Fee Sponsorship

We now have 161 pupils sponsored, and are slowly reaching our target. Please contact me (matthew@limapela.org) if you, or someone you know, would like to commit to a monthly payment of NZ$20.00 (US$15.00, Aus$15.00, £10.00 or ZMK80,000) for one of the students shown here. Sponsorship from the USA and the UK is tax deductible, but not from NZ, Australia or Zambia.