Benson (20) has been attending a local community school not far from us here in Baluba. In 2024 he sat his Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ) Grade 9 exams but only passed three of the eight subjects he took. So this year he repeated five subjects and passed four of them. When a student repeats, the ECZ requires the results to be combined onto one statement of results with one candidate number, and the charge for this is the equivalent of NZ$20.

Last week I offered to take Benson to the ECZ office in Kitwe to have this done. I knew that this could mean several hours waiting in a queue in the hot sun, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the ECZ office closed and a notice to say that all such transactions are now to be done online.

I had errands to run in town, so I dropped Benson close to the city centre where he could catch a bus back to Baluba. But no sooner had he set off for city centre than three thugs attacked him, knocked him to the ground and made off with his brand-new mobile phone and all his money. Despite calling for help, no one came to his rescue. So he made his way to report to the police, who took pity on him and gave him enough money to get the bus home to Baluba.

This story serves as a stark reminder of how much is stacked against our young people here in Zambia, and of how many hurdles they need to jump — poverty, overcrowded classrooms, poor teaching, inaccessible services, self-serving bureaucracy and dangers in public places.

Happily, helping people in these predicaments is not hard for those of us who have resources and contacts. And improving IT systems in Zambia are saving a lot of time and discomfort for us all. So getting Benson’s results combined turned out to be a relatively easy task.