Cookware: A Gift of Time for an 11-year-old Chrizeria
Chrizeria, an 11-year-old girl from Shimputa village in Kapiri Mposhi district, knows that education is her best chance to break the cycle of poverty. But the journey to achieving her dreams has never been easy.
The nearest secondary school, Mpunde Secondary, is over five kilometers from her village. To make learning more accessible, the school introduced a weekly boarding system, allowing children to stay on campus during the week and return home on weekends. While this helped students like Chrizeria stay focused on their studies, it also presented new challenges.
Life as a weekly boarder was tough. Coming from a family that struggles to make ends meet, Chrizeria left home with only a small bag of maize meal, soya chunks, and dried vegetables, barely enough to sustain her through the week. But there was another problem.
“I could not bring pots and other cooking utensils from home because we do not have enough to split for me and my family,” she explained.
She was not alone. Many of her classmates faced the same situation. Without enough cookware, the students had to improvise. They formed small groups, sharing the few pots and plates available. This made cooking take longer, often leaving them little time to rest or study.
At night, Chrizeria would stay up late trying to finish her schoolwork until her solar-charged light ran out of power. She was determined to succeed, but the lack of basic necessities made it difficult to concentrate on her studies.
That all changed when World Vision Zambia, through its Gifts-In-Kind (GIK) programme, provided cookware to support the students. One day, the learners were called to a school assembly, where neatly arranged pots, pans, and trays awaited them.
“I was very excited to see shiny pots, pans, and trays being displayed in front of us to collect. I knew our cooking problems were coming to an end,” Chrizeria said, her face lighting up with excitement.
The new cookware meant they no longer had to wait for hours to use a single pot, giving them more time to focus on their studies.
“The gift is more than just metal and plastic it is the gift of time because now we will spend less time cooking and more time with our books,” Chrizeria added.
With cooking time reduced, she could now dedicate more hours to revising her lessons and even helping her classmates with their homework. The once stressful meal preparation process had turned into a time of laughter, teamwork, and bonding.
For Chrizeria and her friends, the cookware was more than just a set of utensils it was an opportunity. It gave them the chance to study, dream, and build a future beyond the struggles of today. Thanks to World Vision’s Gifts-In-Kind programme, these young learners now have one less barrier on their journey to success.