ZOE Zambia

For some children that means living with a surviving parent. For others it means grandparents, aunts, uncles or another guardian taking responsibility for an extra child in a household already living on very little.

ZOE works alongside those families rather than replacing them. The support is practical and long term, helping children remain in education, access medical care when needed and grow up with more choices available to them.

The name ZOE comes from the Greek word for life, often translated as abundant or full life. That remains a good summary of what the team hopes to see for every child it supports.

Local head teachers are often the first people to identify families who may need help. Stephen and Charity then visit the household, speak with guardians and understand the child's circumstances before the wider ZOE team decides what support may be appropriate.

Support is given in kind rather than as cash. Depending on the child, this can include school fees, compulsory uniforms, shoes, books and other school supplies, everyday clothing, medical care and, where circumstances are particularly difficult, food.

Education is treated as a partnership. Families receiving support are expected to help children attend school consistently, while the ZOE team keeps in touch with teachers and guardians and follows each child's progress over time.

Regular sponsorship provides dependable funding through those years and allows sponsors to receive appropriate updates as the child they support grows.

Mwazyangulu. In 2015 more than 100 children were being taught in a thatched community school with a cement blackboard and seats made from mud. Local families had already made bricks and laid foundations for something better. Vineyard25 and ZOE supporters helped them complete two classrooms, an office and later a teacher's house, allowing the school to secure a trained government teacher.

Mercer's Kindergarten. A small community building constructed in Makhasa village in 2015 quickly became a kindergarten serving around 80 children. It gave younger pupils a much stronger start and eventually became the first part of what is now the John Hunt Primary campus.

John Hunt Primary School. Following a donor visit in 2018, a group of supporters funded a purpose-built primary school. Between 2020 and 2022 the site gained seven classrooms, an administration centre, toilets, a solar-powered borehole, teacher accommodation, running water and solar electricity.

The campus has continued to grow. Around 435 pupils now attend, a second kindergarten provides a dedicated space for around 90 younger children, and two large tanks provide 10,000 litres of water storage for the school.

Mary's Meals also operates a feeding programme at the school, with local volunteers preparing food in kitchen space supported by ZOE. HOPE provides nursery care for younger children locally.

Many villages relied on poor-quality water some distance from home. Women and children could spend a significant part of each day collecting heavy containers, while unsafe supplies contributed to preventable illness.

Much of the Chiefdom sits above an aquifer that can provide clean drinking water directly from the ground. Donors have enabled ZOE to fund nine wells in communities connected with the programme.

Each well has a protected concrete surround and a manual pump. Spilled water is channelled towards a lined pit so it can also be reused for nearby gardens rather than simply being lost.

John moved to rural Zambia with his parents as a young boy. As an only child, much of his time was spent alongside local farm workers' children, learning bushcraft, local customs and language. That knowledge was later deepened during his time in the Zambian Army.

After later careers in the British Army and golf-club management, retirement eventually drew him back towards Zambia and towards the question of how he might use his experience to help.

In July 2012 John and Chris Taylor travelled around 2,000 miles through Zambia looking at different approaches to caring for children who had lost parents. The principle John kept returning to was one rooted in the culture he already knew: wherever possible, keep children within their extended family and support that family to care for them well.

ZOE Zambia grew from that conviction. What began as a children's support programme gradually expanded into education, clean water and wider community projects as the team encountered needs that could not sensibly be ignored.

John later handed the day-to-day leadership of ZOE on to the next team. His name lives on at John Hunt Primary School, while his wider legacy can be seen in the children, families and communities whose opportunities have changed through the work.