BACKGROUND
SOCH was originally founded in 2004 by Alouis Mwansa (former Headmaster of Serenje Technical School) and Kevin Gilbert (Australian teacher volunteer) to care for vulnerable orphaned children. It has been managed since 2009 by Angus Kamandete Chuma under a local Board of Governors.
Up until the end of 2023, SOCH (under its former name 'Serenje Orphans Childrens Home') has operated primarily as an orphanage caring for about 20 children who lived on the site during the school term. During holidays, these children returned to their legal guardians. Older children who had left the orphanage continued to be supported in their secondary education at boarding schools and local high schools through provision of their fees and school uniforms. Some who dropped out of schooling were offered a training in carpentry skills (following the launching of the project through a visit by Melbourne Polytechnic staff and students in 2018).
Since January 2024, SOCH (now known officially as 'Serenje Outreach for Childrens Help') has been transformed into a private primary school providing an excellent education for the local community through significantly smaller class-sizes (30 pupils maximum) than other Serenje schools. Our charitable goals require that 10% of all student enrolments in each class are reserved for disadvantaged children who will receive full bursaries for their education at SOCH Private Primary Charity School. Furthermore, children with disabilities may also be accommodated as boarding students on full bursaries for their education.
HOW ARE THE RUNNING COSTS OF SOCH MET ?
There are currently 3 sources of income which maintain SOCH operations, apart from the school fees paid by 90% of children enrolled in our SOCH Charity School. These are the two school-based charities ZOA and SOA, and SOCH self-sustainability projects:
ZOA ('Zambian Outreach Appeal') which was formerly the 'Zambian Orphanage Appeal' is a school charity of St George's British International School in Rome, Italy. It was established in
2005 by Kevin Gilbert as a means to support SOCH through the provision of funds for construction of buildings and annual running costs. The current ZOA Coordinator is John Talbot.
A ZOA student committee is elected each year and provides leadership across the campus for the annual fund-raising initiatives. Every two years, there is a student trip to Zambia where participants get to know the SOCH children and work at various projects identified by the SOCH leadership. Their most recent trip was in June 2023.
SOCH ('Serenje Outreach for Children's Help') has two self-sustainability Projects which have been in operation for several years - SOCH Inn guesthouse, and SOCH maize mill. These activities had been providing about one third of the total running costs of the former orphanage. From 2024, they have continued to support SOCH in its new focus on the provision of a quality primary education in Serenje with special support provided for disabled and other vulnerable children in its SOCH Charity School . This is done through onsite accommodation for these children, with disability rehabilitation possible through our health sponsorship. Another fundamental of the private SOCH Charity school is to use the income from fee-paying day students to provide bursaries for disadvantaged children to attend the school as full students.
The immediate goal for SOCH is to become fully self-sustainable and independent of regular
overseas donor support.
SOA ('Serenje Outreach Appeal') which was formerly called the 'Serenje Orphanage Appeal' is one of the school charities of Collège du Léman, Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 2009 by Kevin Gilbert, SOA students and families were heavily involved in the establishment of SOCH Inn and the SOCH Maize Mill sustainability projects.
The Teacher Coordinator of SOA, currently Philip Shaw, works with SOA High School students to raise funds and awareness within the Collège du Léman community. Every 2 years, there is also a student trip to Zambia, very similar to the ZOA one. A trip is being planned for July 2024.
Children who complete secondary school are usually not formally supported further by SOA Geneva and ZOA Rome fundraising, since the top priority of SOCH has been to give young vulnerable Primary School children a solid educational foundation through good diet, loving care, and the best local Primary School education. The second priority is to support those ex-SOCH children who continue to succeed at Secondary School, and also to try to assist others who have not succeeded at Secondary School. Payment of tertiary fees are unfortunately beyond the financial capacity of our fundraising base and these have to be sourced separately from private sponsors.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP A YOUNG PERSON TO RECEIVE A TERTIARY EDUCATION,
PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING LINK:
ALL FUNDS ARE FULLY ACCOUNTED FOR AND ARE TRANSFERRED TO SOCH.
IT COSTS ON AVERAGE ABOUT £800 PER YEAR (TUITION FEES PLUS ACCOMMODATION) FOR A STUDENT TO ATTEND A LOCAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY
SOA ('Serenje Outreach Appeal') is our officially registered supporting charity
in the UK (Number 1127234). Charity status allows SOA to use charity websites like JustGiving.com when raising funds. The SOA charity trustees are volunteers, chaired by Molly Shearer, herself a former UK teacher volunteer (VSO) in Serenje at the time of the founding of SOCH.
How to Donate
to SOCH
For further information, please email us at:
