Elizabeth has a vision to transform her community—starting with its youngest members.
Elizabeth Mutosa says that her neighborhood, Section 10, in Roan, Zambia, has gained a reputation for being a challenging place to live. “Section 10 has been characterized by … activities, like drinking beer, early marriages for young girls, and other activities that rob the peace of every child,” she shares. “There are vulnerable people that need to be helped.”
But today, the sound of children singing praises to God is filling the neighborhood. “Parents are testifying that their children sing,” she says. “Parents are able to note that change is taking place. These children attend Elizabeth’s preschool, which she established in her own home after receiving a loan through her savings group in 2019.
Before joining a savings group, Elizabeth had been a private school teacher. There were times when she went months without pay from her job. Life became even more difficult when her husband lost his job, and the responsibility to provide food for their three children fell to Elizabeth alone.
Things began to change when Elizabeth found a savings group program through a friend. Elizabeth soon joined the Twafwane savings group (“let us help one another”) and took out a loan, which she used to open a preschool in her own home. “The way it started, it was a surprise,” Elizabeth recalls. “I only started with one table and five children through this savings ministry.”
Now, the school has grown to 40 students. Elizabeth and the two other teachers she’s been able to hire instruct the children in singing songs of praise, praying, and learning numbers and reading. They also provide the children with three meals a day. When a child’s family isn’t able to pay tuition, Elizabeth covers the costs, saying, “When I started running this school, I dedicated it to God and gave myself to help anyone who may lack.”
The community has noticed a difference. “Parents are testifying that their children sing …. [they] are able to note that change is taking place.”
Elizabeth has begun building a foundation around the current school with plans to build a two-story building that will house students through grade 12. “I have trusted God more because of my school, which was small but now it is growing every day,” she says. “I can only see the power of God at work in my life.”
This story was written by Katherine Gish for HOPE International.
If you would like to join innovative men and women like Elizabeth in transforming their communities, please reach out to Matt Baehr, executive director of Homes for HOPE, at mbaehr@homes4hope.org or 717-719-0313.
