Shelby Goldstein Schoolhouse Dedication
The Shelby Goldstein Schoolhouse was dedicated on June 26 in a beautiful and boisterous celebration in Ndola, Zambia. The schoolhouse, which was built through Spark’s partnership with Hope Ministries, currently serves over 300 orphaned and vulnerable children in the community, providing free education to students who otherwise would not be able to attend school.
The schoolhouse was built with generous support from the family of Shelby Katherine Goldstein, a beautiful girl with a larger-than-life spirit who passed away in 2008 shortly after her fourth birthday. The gift from the Shelby Goldstein Memorial Fund has allowed Shelby’s memory to live on in the bright futures of the children who are educated in the schoolhouse.
The dedication, which drew hundreds of Hope Ministries and Spark Ventures supporters, included songs and dances from students who currently attend Hope Community School in the Shelby Goldstein Schoolhouse as well as speeches from leaders of Hope Ministries and the community it serves. Moving stories from students and their guardians highlighted the immense impact that the schoolhouse is already having on hundreds of lives. One of the guardians chosen to speak was Bernadette Bwalya, who was featured in a Spark Ventures Transformation Story after taking in three abandoned children who are now healthy, safe and attending Hope Community School.
The day was filled with many unique and memorable moments, including the presentation of a gift of a hundred rolls of toilet paper for the new school restrooms from a community leader enthusiastic about the new school. The strong support of the community was also evident in the presence of a news crew whose coverage of the event was later shown on Zambia's national news station, which also serves as one small indication of the incredible progress that the Spark-Hope partnership has been able to achieve.
The day was truly a celebration of both Hope's past progress and the limitless potential for even greater accomplishments in helping the children of Zambia.
To read staff accounts of the dedication, visit our Spark in Zambia blog here.
