Keeping kids in school

First Quantum has sponsored 327 students in all grades at schools near our Kansanshi and Sentinel Mines to help support and encourage them to continue with their studies. Our primary and secondary scholarship programs are aimed at helping the most vulnerable children – those who are most at risk of dropping out of school early.

Help where its needed most

We find and help children of unemployed parents, children from single parent households and orphans – and we focus on girls, who have a particularly high drop-out rate in Zambia, due to early marriage and pregnancy. Of the scholarships, 200 were awarded to girls at Kansanshi. We sponsor a number of different types of scholarships to meet the needs of children and families. We make cash payments to schools for families of primary and secondary scholars to encourage them to be kept in school.

Our scholarship program doesn’t end at school. As Zambia’s largest private sector employer, we know the importance of excellent vocational training. We sponsor about 150 students and interns in various trades and vocational training programs. The 2017 and 2018 intakes have been 100% female, in order to address the gender imbalance in the mining industry.

Beyond scholarships

We support teachers with a Continuous Professional Development Program, which provides training and mentoring to around 260 teachers. And we support student attendance by providing school meals every day for 6,000 school students. This nutrition support contributes to the improved performance of children in class.

Teachers’ professional capability is one of the key factors that determines educational attainment. We are helping teachers to teach children to understand, as opposed to teaching children to remember.