The Other Side Foundation

At TOSF we believe in empowering and supporting the vulnerable by providing long-lasting solutions. We want to ensure continuity, sustainability and consistency to our project and to amplify our impact. For this reason, we are applying for The Elevate Prize so that we can do our bit in elevating humanity, inspire others and be the change we want to see in the world. If we are selected as winners, we would use the Elevate funding and support to advance several projects that will assure a brighter future for our community. For instance, we would expand our vocational courses so that every child has options even outside of academia and can continue to develop and build new skills. Furthermore, we want to adapt to the increasingly digital world by implementing more IT oriented programs so our learners can be prepared for the tech world. We also want to explore ways in which the school can generate income to sustain new projects and activities, to become self-sufficient and not solely depend on funding. Receiving this prize will not only guarantee the holistic grassroots outreach we do but will also empower and contribute positively to the mental and physical wellbeing of this community.

November 2005 saw my spouse and I arriving in Zambia as volunteers for an American NGO, to set up a care centre for children with AIDS. Daily, we drove passed an impoverished area where economic migrants squatted under plastic sheets held by sticks and poles. These makeshift shelters housed many single mothers. Their unschooled children aimlessly loitering and rummaging garbage dumps for food. Some were child headed families due to the AIDS pandemic. Poverty Hunger and rudderless Children: I responded reactively to the need of the hour and founded TOSF in June 2006. TOSF bought land and constructed a school providing free Values-based education, a nutritious meal (very often the only meal of the day for these children) and healthcare. Empowering orphans & vulnerable children and women through education, nutrition and healthcare brings about perennial changes in needy communities: Our goals being in line with the UN MDG.  Life skills taught through an integrated values-based syllabus, gives our students, bursars and single mothers a foundation and a purpose in life, effecting lasting changes in the communities they live in. 15 years on we are transforming lives through our goals: Every child should have access to education, a meal and healthcare.

In Zambia, 60% of people live below the poverty line, the highest rates being among female-headed households. Additionally, 40% of children lack access to health, nutrition and education. Primary school dropout rates are 44.5%. There are many obstacles that inhibit access and participation in education; poverty, disease, and hunger are just a few. Contributing to global impact, at TOSF we are doing our part by addressing several MDGs, providing free primary education, healthcare and nutrition in the slum area of Lusaka. To date we have provided over 6,000 children with primary education and sponsored 2,000 more to secondary schools through our bursary program. We have fed over 1 million 200 children and many more have received medical care through the school nurse. TOSF also supplies sanitary napkins for girls, winter clothing  blankets and food hampers to the families, school supplies, bicycles for the teachers to travel and 4G phones and laptops for all the teaching staff. TOSF is the only community school in Lusaka whose academic syllabus is based on Education in Human Values; values-based education, nutrition programs, medical care, vocational training and in-kind support have collectively created a community, in which all individuals feel valued and empowered. 

TOSF takes a completely community-based approach empowering all individuals. Through our Values-Based Education system TOSF has continuously aimed to innovatively and sustainably reinvent systems to diminish poverty and address social/cultural barriers that limit access to education. Through the Caring Hearts Club at TOSF school, students are taught to share whatever they receive, encouraging all to create a network of support within the Lusaka community. The Girl’s Club aims to address barriers created by societal superstitions and taboos in Zambia -such as girls dropping out of school when they start menstruating- by educating everybody on the importance of keeping young girls and women in education. We also address the lack of education, training and entrepreneurial skills that impedes families from earning a living. As a solution, TOSF empowers families headed by grandmothers, widows and single mothers providing them with resources and training to start small businesses, literacy programs and evening adult education classes. These steps are taken with the belief at TOSF that “A literate, educated mother is the source and pillar for better educated, happier and healthier children”. The work of TOSF has led every individual celebrating the successes of others and believe they can be a force for change.

It is estimated that 30 million children do not attend school in sub Saharan Africa, 54% of them being girls. And TOSF is having an impact on humanity by aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals to address the genesis of poverty. TOSF was founded on values and practices of commitment to poverty alleviation, improvement of healthcare and nutrition, and facilitation of access to education for all. To illustrate its commitment, TOSF invests in all individuals and their families within the community. To achieve these objectives, TOSF delivers viable and sustainable solutions to empower orphans of HIV/AIDS and vulnerable children (OVCs) through an integrated values-based education, developed in a nurturing environment where basic healthcare and at least one nutritious meal is provided. Our grassroots outreach program targets gender equality issues entrenched in these communities, by fortifying teenage girls via school clubs and training courses for single mothers and widows. Our collective voices contribute to identifying, addressing and tackling the systemic causes of poverty wherever we go, every day and in every way.