Scale Africa Inc

"BUILDING SCHOOLS AND FUTURES THROUGH THE POWER OF DESIGN."

At the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, SCALEAfrica announced a Commitment to Action "BUILDING FUTURES" to design and build a pilot community school in rural Mfuwe, Zambia. When it opened in December 2015, Vinza Community School is the first sustainably-designed, technology-based primary school in Zambia. 

Founded by architect, Erinn McGurn, and native of Zimbabwe, Guy Baron, SCALEAfrica is a New York-based non-profit organization designing, funding, and building green school infrastructure in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Through culturally responsive, sustainable architecture and an inclusive community participation model, SCALEAfrica leverages sustainable design to increase access to education and services, boost local economies, and preserve the natural environment.

The purpose of SCALEAfrica’s "BUILDING FUTURES" initiative is to actively demonstrate that effective “context” and “content” are inseparable necessities in community school development. Through well-designed learning environments and 21st century resources, Zambian students can be educated out of a life of poverty and armed with applicable knowledge and tools for survival. Currently, community schools serve the most impoverished children and are underperforming due to lack of space, resources and qualified teachers. As many as 500,000 students are estimated to attend community schools (approximately 20 percent of the total basic education enrollment), leaving behind a large swath of Zambia’s most vulnerable students. Zambia simply needs more healthy, effective classrooms!

Vinza Community School will serve 320 students from first through seventh grade, integrating early childhood education, tablet-based curriculum delivery and extensive teacher training, to present an effective alternative to the poor educational infrastructure and teacher efficacy endemic to the region. The 30-acre campus will be built out to include eight classrooms, a library/technology wing, administration space, art rooms, performance space, playing fields, and a girls' leadership training lab. The project will be constructed using local labor and suppliers, locally-sourced and renewable materials, and employing passive and technology-driven strategies for lighting, ventilation, solar power and safe water and sanitation. At every opportunity, the principles of sustainability will be revealed through the design, such that the buildings act as a learning tool and reinforcement of the school community’s role in conservation and environmental stewardship.