Simonga Village Projects

In 2000, The River Club, an upmarket lodge on the Zambezi River in Zambia, established a partnership with a nearby village, Simonga, in order to give something back to the local community. Since then, The River Club has carried out a range of projects in the village, which have been funded by the generous donations of lodge guests, in conjunction with the Wilderness Safaris Wildlife Trust. These have included sponsorship of students and teachers to further their education, construction of a school library, provision of school supplies and books, digging of wells for the village and construction of a police post in collaboration with neighbouring lodges.

Projects to date have focussed particularly on assisting women and children, although the project has branched into projects which help the village inhabitants (some 4 000) in general generate an income and therefore help the entire community.

In order of priority, focus areas are sanitation, health, education and improvement of the village through construction of buildings.

Water: The water project was begun a few years ago where a borehole was sunk and a pump, pipes and storage tanks were installed. In addition, distribution points for running water were installed in the village. Since June 2006, the water project provides 50 000 litres of water per day to Simonga's inhabitants. Ongoing costs, donated by guests and The River Club, include diesel for the generator, maintenance for the water system and water carrying equipment for the villagers. Where in the past villagers walked 3km down to the Zambezi River to get their water, today there are taps dotted throughout the village.

Education: Education is key to the future of any community and no less so in Zambia. Here, schooling is government assisted until Grade 7, at which point it must be paid for by the students/families. Most families do not have enough money for this and so schooling for many children ends here. The School Project of Simonga Village ensures that at the very least those children able to pay for schooling do not have to pay the additional fees for their examinations, removing some of the financial burden from their parents. The exam fees for all Grade 8 and 9 school children at Simonga are sponsored on an annual basis.

Since the school in Simonga is a Basic School ending in Grade 7, the School Project also funds transport to 16 children so that they may get to their schools in Livingstone. 20 Simonga schoolchildren attending secondary school in Livingstone (Grades 8-12) and 5 teachers are all being individually sponsored. The School Library continues to receive donated books from South Africa, the USA and UK from guests staying at The River Club. 

Health: A Health Post is being constructed, and equipment bought for this. See updates.

Construction: So far, school buildings, a library, a medical clinic and a police post have been a few of the structures that have been built.

Contributions coming through the Trust assist Simonga in its collaboration with The River Club so as to continue to finance the projects currently in progress, as well as to begin new ones. The ongoing projects are primarily aimed at uplifting the quality of life of everyone in the village.