Mercy Community School

Mercy Community School

Entrepreneurs

Jester Chifumbule

Jester Chifumbule

Director & Project Manager

Jester Chifumbule is a Director & Project Manager of Mercy Community School.
$ 0 K
$ 0 K

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Idea

Mercy Community School is a community-driven education initiative based in Linda Compound, Lusaka, Zambia, established to provide inclusive and equitable basic education to orphans and vulnerable children who are excluded from mainstream government schools. Operating since 2006 and affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the school seeks to reduce high illiteracy levels, improve school attendance, and strengthen community ownership of education. The project proposal focuses on constructing and upgrading school infrastructure between January 2025 and January 2027 to create a fully functional community school that serves as both a learning institution and a local development center.

Challenge

Mercy Community School is addressing critical challenges affecting access to quality education in Linda Compound, including overcrowded government schools, long walking distances exceeding four kilometers, high dropout rates, poverty, and the increasing number of orphans due to socioeconomic hardship and disease. Despite Zambia’s free primary education policy introduced by the Ministry of Education, structural constraints such as limited classroom space and inadequate teacher–pupil ratios continue to undermine education quality. The project responds to these systemic gaps by expanding local infrastructure, reducing barriers to enrollment and completion, restoring vulnerable families, and creating a safer, more conducive learning environment to prevent child delinquency, exploitation, and long-term socioeconomic marginalization.

Solution

Mercy Community School is implementing a comprehensive solution that combines infrastructure development, educational support, family strengthening, and income-generating activities to ensure sustainability. The project includes the construction of classroom blocks, ablution facilities, and a teacher’s house, procurement of furniture and teaching materials, and sponsorship of vulnerable learners with essential school supplies. In addition to improving the physical learning environment, the school will provide psychosocial support, entrepreneurship training, and production units such as poultry and vegetable farming to enhance household resilience. Through structured monitoring and evaluation systems, capacity building for school management, and active community participation, the initiative aims to reach approximately 1,000 children and strengthen the institutional capacity of the school.


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Mercy Community School's News (1)

FasterCapital’s EquityPilot to support Mercy Community School’s expansion in Linda Compound
27 Feb 2026

FasterCapital’s EquityPilot to support Mercy Community School’s expansion in Linda Compound

Lusaka, Zambia & Dubai, UAE — Feb 27, 2026

Access to safe, local primary education remains a pressing barrier for vulnerable children in many peri-urban communities. In Linda Compound (Kanyama constituency), long distances to schools, overcrowded classrooms at nearby government schools, and acute household vulnerability have resulted in high dropout rates and low completion. Local initiatives that combine infrastructure, household support and income-generation can materially improve attendance, learning conditions and long-term outcomes for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

What the Startup Delivers?

Mercy Community School (Plot C14, Linda Compound, Chilanga) has operated since 2006 to serve OVC and other children excluded from nearby public schools. The school currently supports approximately 760 children (about 415 single/double orphans and 345 vulnerable children) and provides community-led governance via a Parent Community School Committee. The project supported through EquityPilot will deliver: - Construction and refurbishment of classrooms, an office, teacher housing and ablution blocks; - Teaching and learning materials, furniture and recreational facilities; - Household-strengthening activities, entrepreneurship training and a school-led production unit (poultry and horticulture) to create sustainable income streams.

Why Now?

Government policy and recent changes to free primary education have increased enrollment near Lusaka, but local capacity has not kept pace. Mercy Community School sits within a high-need catchment where many children still walk more than four kilometers to attend class or drop out entirely. Strengthening community-run infrastructure and household resilience now helps reduce immediate barriers to learning while aligning with national priorities to expand equitable access.

Program Plan (first 30–60 days)

Under EquityPilot, FasterCapital will provide execution-focused support to accelerate Mercy Community School’s planned construction and operational milestones. Initial activities in the first 60 days include: - Validate baseline numbers and finalize a prioritized implementation plan with the Parent Community School Committee; - Facilitate procurement planning and technical scope for classroom, ablution and staff housing workstreams; - Establish a monitoring framework and milestones for education, household support and income-generation pilots; - Introduce Mercy Community School leadership to local ecosystem stakeholders and potential in-country service providers.

Leadership Comment

“Hesham Zreik, Founder and CEO of FasterCapital, said: ‘We’re excited to support Mercy Community School through EquityPilot. Our team will focus on execution milestones and connecting the startup with the right ecosystem stakeholders.’”

Founder background

Mercy Community School is led by Jester Chifumbule, Director and Project Manager, who convenes community parents, teachers and local leaders through the Parent Community School Committee. The school is registered with the Ministry of Education (Registration No: ORS/102/80/178; TPIN 101692949) and has operated multiple community initiatives to support OVC since 2006.

Ecosystem relevance

This intervention is designed to complement government primary education objectives in Chilanga zone and to demonstrate a replicable model for community-managed schools that incorporate short-term household support with sustainable income-generation components.

Next 90 Days

Over the next three months FasterCapital and Mercy Community School will: - Complete baseline assessments and stakeholder alignment;

- Mobilize initial procurement and clear scopes for construction and equipment;

- Launch pilot entrepreneurship training and set up a small production unit (day-old chicks and vegetable seedlings);

- Begin community outreach to enroll and re-integrate out-of-school children.

About Mercy Community School

Mercy Community School is a community-run primary education initiative based in Linda Compound, Lusaka district. The school focuses on enabling orphans and vulnerable children to access quality basic education while strengthening household capacities and promoting community ownership of services. Mercy Community School emphasizes life skills, entrepreneurship training and linkages to health and social services.

About FasterCapital

FasterCapital is a global venture builder and online incubator dedicated to co-funding and co-founding innovative startups. Established in 2014, we are now #1 venture builder in terms of number of startups that we have helped, money invested and money raised. It supports startups worldwide through various programs, including funding assistance, business development, and technical support. The EquityPilot program is designed to help early-stage startups build scalable solutions with mentorship, strategic guidance, and network support.

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