We believe education is a key to our local children reaching their potential and spreading their wings in the wider world.

At Sach we have a government run primary school for children up to grade 9, and a preschool. The primary school has more than 300 children registered, and the preschool regularly registers between 40 and 50 children.

There are also a number of teaching staff houses at Sachibondu. Government funding is often not enough to cover the costs of educational needs and the day to day running costs of the school. There is currently a funding base set up for Education at Sachibondu under the name ‘FOPS’, please see below for further details on this.

Primary and Pre School

We have set up a fund called FOPS (Friends of the Primary School and Preschool at Sach) which is used to support the needs of the school. FOPS has provided thus far:

1. Maintenance of buildings and equipment.

2. The introduction of vital services. FOPS has funded projects to bring electricity to each classroom and office, and to bring running water to the school and preschool.

3. The construction of new buildings. FOPS has built new toilets, two washrooms, a strong room, a large extension and the grounds around the preschool have been turned into a safely fenced play area.

4. Extra teachers. We are able to sponsor a number of extra teachers in the primary school, and for some time all the staff in the preschool have been sponsored by FOPS

5. Learning and play resources. FOPS is able to regularly buy small amounts of books, paper and other vital resources. Some IT equipment has been provided for senior staff.

Our aim is to provide the best possible environment for children to learn so that they can graduate and move on to the next stage of their education.

Trade school:

Gordon Suckling had a vision for the Trade School, it was to be a place of training towards the holistic discipleship of an individual alongside spiritual maturity. The Trade School was thus birthed in order to facilitate this vision, to assist people to develop skills that would enable them to work and create an income, and also to serve the community.

The Trade School, no longer runs as a school but the houses are used to accommodate staff from the hospital and the school. These very old Trade School houses, are in desperate need of restoration and renovation.

It is our vision for the future that the Trade School would once more become a hive of activity and learning. A place where different trades and higher educational facilities are available to enhance the discipleship opportunity for those that come to Sachibondu, to be able to learn and go out and serve the community and the nation.

Vision for a new School and Orphanage

Here at Sachibondu we believe in excellence in all the different spheres of activity that provide for our local community.

Before he passed away, Brian Bentley began to explore the possibility of building a new private primary school to serve the many children and families in our area. It became clear that there would be support for this project from local education authorities, so a plot of land was identified and we have begun to pray that if this dream is from God, he will enable it to become a reality. The priority would be to make the school available to every child in our community. For this to happen children will need to be sponsored. The best Zambian and overseas staff will be appointed by School Governors and as a private school, the governors will have complete control of the running of the school.

We also have a joint vision and stirring in our hearts as a team, for a home for children without a home. This is a great need in the locality to due to many unwanted pregnancies, early deaths, and poverty. Alongside the private school, this is a dream that we continue to pray about and seek guidance on for the future.