The People

 The UK Trustees

The four UK Trustees meet regularly to plan and monitor the progress of the charity - joined by the Headteacher and School administrator in Zambia via Zoom. They ensure that the core principles are implemented, financial planning is prudent and appropriate assistance is given to the Headteacher of Family Futures Community School and his team.

The trustees personally fund the UK costs of the charity and self-fund all visits to Zambia.

 

Barry Gransden – Chair of Trustees

My background is in education. I started as a teacher of Mathematics, worked my way up to senior management posts, leading 2 schools for 10 years as a Headteacher and then moving into higher education with 9 years at Oxford Brookes University, teaching on the postgraduate programmes before retiring.

I am a committed Christian and I am an active member of New Life Church in New Milton, having moved to Barton on Sea in 2021.

I am married to Becky and we have 2 grown up children. In 2005 we visited Zambia for the first time and since 2012, we have been visiting Zambia every year for around a month, leading conferences for headteachers and subject teachers and doing some teaching in two universities.

Since 2017, we have been visiting the Family Futures Community School (FFCS) in Kabwe, providing professional development opportunities for the teaching staff. In 2018, I was invited to become a trustee for FPZ and in January 2020 became Chair of Trustees.

My contribution to realising FPZ’s mission statement is to impact on improving the educational opportunities available to, and the standards achieved by, the children. To achieve this, it is essential to improve the quality of teaching, and that means improving the quality of teacher recruitment and the effectiveness of school leadership – creating a forward-looking, purposeful, professional and caring school culture. 

Peter McAughey - Treasurer

I’m Peter McAughey, a chartered accountant for the past 30 years. I live in Cornwall with my wife Fiona. Having worked in the Charity and Education Sector I was seeking a new challenge in 2015 and I was invited to visit Kabwe. What a profound impact that first trip had on me. My eyes were opened to the huge challenges faced by children, young adults, teachers and tutors. I felt a deeper appreciation of the lottery of being born into the relative prosperity of the UK.

I returned to Kabwe in May 2017 and a month later we formed FPZ to support the Learning Campus. I have made three further visits, undertaking financial audits to ensure our funds are spent appropriately; but I’ve also found time to organise sports days - great fun, reinforcing teamwork and inclusivity.

Rosemary Stanbury - Safeguarding

I am very proud to be a Founding Trustee of Future Pillars Zambia.

I made my first visit to Zambia in 2006. It was a life changing experience. I am very pleased to be a Founding Trustee of Future Pillars Zambia. As a retired teacher, mother and grandmother, my main focus as a Trustee is concerned with our onsite learning campus, safeguarding and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all pupils, students and staff at the school. We have long standing and very positive relationships with many of the families in the school and compounds - that is something I treasure.

Emma Berry – Digital Communications

I live in West Oxfordshire close to RAF Brize Norton with my partner and Cocker Spaniel. I work full time as a Product Manager for Oxford University Press, managing a digital education product that is sold into schools around the world. In my free time I love keeping active and spending time outside. Volunteering and fundraising, particularly for disadvantaged young people,, has been a part of my life for many years and it was when I took part in two large FPZ fundraising walks that I realised how special this charity is. I had never come across a small charity with such a large impact!

I made the decision to visit Family Futures Community School in July 2019 and witnessing the poverty experienced firsthand was an eye opening experience that had a huge impact on me. On my return I took the necessarily steps to become a proud Trustee.

 
 

Anneli Meeder - Trustee

I grew up in the town of Soest in Germany, and my love for books and reading led me to become a librarian. My first post was in Potsdam, Germany, then I lived and worked for eight years in British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada. 

I moved to Devon in the UK in 2005, and have since been involved in senior management positions in finance, warehouse and retail operations. In my spare time I read, and I like to travel.

A visit to the school in Kabwe in the summer of 2023 with Rosemary, Peter and Emma was my first experience of Africa. I joined the board of trustees following this trip. It was an unforgettable experience, and I look forward to supporting the school with my experience where I can, and there is much more I want to learn from our Zambian friends.


Learning Campus Management

 

Moses Kopa - Family Future Community School, Headteacher

My name is Moses Kopa, a trained teacher both in primary and secondary teaching. I am also an ordained Reverend in the Church Family Mission in Zambia Central province in Kabwe district.

My teaching career has given me a chance to be the Headteacher at Family Future Community School. My appointment at FFCS came in 2017 September and the journey has been so interesting. I am almost clocking up 5 years at FFCS. 

From the time I came at FFCS my main focus has been on improving the quality of teaching and learning. so that quality learners are produced from our school. 

I began  normalising the enrolment levels because they were too high for quality teaching and learning. Secondly we embarked on addressing the literacy levels which were also too low and there has been steady progress, especially at lower primary level. The other thing was to start working on building the secondary school block in order to give an opportunity to all our learners to finish their schooling in the same campus. 

I work  5 days a week and my day begins at 06:45 and ends at  17:00 hours. 

In our school , I have  made it clear to our staff that teaching and learning is paramount. 

My ambition is to see to it that the low literacy levels by all learners are conquered and all the learners complete their education within our campus with good grades. This will be achieved with stable and committed staff and effective use and management of resources.

Patrick Sichilima - Administrator of the School

I am in charge of resources. My job is to ensure that the institution is provided with the requirements to run a School and I am also in charge of finances, I ensure that the teachers and other staff are paid on time and send back the financial report to the UK for auditing. I also ensure that the budget for the training materials are in place and I  recruit trainees for the Skills Center. I also produce reports for other supporters, such as Work Aid and Teveta.

I supervise the feeding of children every day at the school and at the boys and girls house.

I started this work in 2006 when the school started. I live in Chimanimani, which is nearby.

I feel happy when I see a poor child smile and achieve a lot in terms of education and skills. Empowerment helps children become independent and start to make  money.

I plan my day in advance and at the end of my day I evaluate my performance to see if anything is left behind and  I will then start from where I ended the following day!

Family Care and Orphan Board

 

Rev Bwalya Frank    Chair of FCOB

My Background - I was born in the Copperbelt town of Ndola in 1969.

I am educated and a Holder of an Associated Degree in Theology with the Bible College of Theology of Sikeston of USA which is affiliated with our Church Bible School at Church family Mission in Kabwe. I joined the Church Family Mission, where the school is located, in 2002 with our Late Founder Bishop Rev. Charles Makungu Nkole, may his soul rest in peace. I first served as an Elder of a cell group and later served as a Church Administrator.

Ministry Work - I was Ordained as a Pastor in the Church family Mission in 2008. I was given a Branch Church where I served as Minister in Charge, while serving in that portfolio I was also selected by the Church National management Board to serve as the Men’s Ministry National Coordinator and a Projects Secretary for period of 4 years. Later I was transferred to another Branch Church called Family Harvest Congregation, in 2019 where I am currently serving as the Minister in Charge.

At the beginning of this year, I was appointed as FCOB Chairperson.

Family Life – I am married to Agnes and blessed with four children, two boys and two girls and have one grandchild.Three of my children have finished school. My ambition is to see to it that FCOB is registered with the Register of Societies in Zambia and facilitates the raising of funds and other necessities to support the programmes at the school. 

My vision for FCOB and FFCS - I see FCOB as a strategic partner with FPZ and a critical friend of FFCS. The future of FCOB and FPZ is blossoming into a powerful network of experts in both the UK and Zambia.The school has so far made an enormous impact in the surrounding compounds and Kabwe as a whole. I am very much aware that FFCS has produced: Electricians, Teachers, Nurses, Doctors, Clinical Officers, Entrepreneurs amongst many others. 

My inspiration comes from my conviction that supporting a weaker person to become a stronger person in the community leaves an indelible mark. This was initially shown to me through the vision of The Church Family Mission where the founder made it clear that our Church shall not just preach the Gospel, to the poor alone, but also empower all the people in the community and surrounding areas.