What are we about?
The organisation:
Our ambition is to enable 15 students to complete their primary
education each year. We are a small organisation and will not
allow funds to be wasted on administration costs. Any donations
will provide direct benefit, paying for salaries or purchasing
resources. We rely on donations to fund this very beneficial
work.
This is not about providing aid, it is about assisting a
developing nation to become self sufficient.
The children:
The majority of the children come from disadvantaged homes, which for many reasons prevents them from being able to attend government schools. Lack of education has resulted in a cycle of poverty. To quote Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." It there fore stands to reason that in any community education leads to capacity building and self sufficiency.
Community schools are a recent concept to help these children get the basic education they need to break the cycle and improve their quality of life.
Additionally the organisation provides uniforms for the students. Uniforms are not imperative, however we have decided to provide student at the two community schools with uniforms for the simple reason that this engenders feelings of confidence, self esteem and a sense of belonging. Uniforms are donated from Australia and shipped to Zambia by DHL at no cost.
The teachers:
Zambia had a pool of teachers who were unable to find employment in the Government schools. Wanting to keep their skills current some of these teachers volunteered to work in community schools. This continues
today, along with volunteers from outside of Africa who graciously give their time to help make the quality of life better for these students.
Our tax status:
In 2006 Phillip and Henrietta Bandah School Inc. was registered
as an association with the NSW Office of Fair Trading (New
South Wales, Australia). The organisation is also
registered with the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (a New
South Wales Government Agency which authorises public
fundraising by charities in New South Wales, Australia).
However the organisation's initial application with the Federal
Government for tax deductibility under the Overseas Aid Gift
Deduction Scheme was unsuccessful. The Federal Government
allows for resubmission of applications until successful.
A fresh application is currently in preparation of resubmission.
