Z Graduation 2024

Unlocking potential

Empowered young adults lead their communities into a brighter tomorrow

Zambia - Transforming communities through education

Our programmes in Zambia provide not only academic knowledge to the poorest children, but also focus on essential social skills like empathy, critical thinking and creativity so they become self-reliant young adults. In addition, we have a strong emphasis on vocational training, teaching in-demand skills, leading to sustainable futures.

Why we are here

Extreme poverty, early marriage, and cultural expectations keep young people, particularly girls, out of school. Even when education is accessible, it often lacks the critical vocational training that could empower students to secure sustainable livelihoods. With digital skills in demand and agricultural science critical to Zambia's growing economy, the gap between what is taught and what is needed continues to widen.

Welcome to our Lusaka campus.

Laika Prisca and Fridah Zambia

Comprehensive support for future leaders

Our flagship Future Leaders Programme offers residential scholarships to children from the most disadvantaged communities who have the potential to be future changemakers. Students in this programme receive holistic education, leadership training, and vocational skills, ensuring they are academically prepared to help themselves and become leaders who can uplift their communities.

Learn more
SkillsHub class in Beauty in the garden on Pestalozzi campus Zambia

SkillsHub

This initiative equips teenagers - including young mothers - with essential vocational skills in digital literacy, hospitality, tourism and agricultural sciences, paving the way for sustainable employment. In addition to providing childcare and basic supplies like menstrual products, we particularly focus on giving young women the tools to thrive in modern Zambia.

Get more insights
Young people learning with tablets in the Edulution programme Zambia

Edulution

A key SkillsHub partner, Edulution, employs many Future Leaders alumni to deliver innovative, tablet-based numeracy programmes to children nationwide.

More about Edulution

My life has been shaped by Pestalozzi. I learned how to use my head, heart, and hands. With this knowledge, I initiated a ‘Girl Up!’ team in Maheba refugee camp, focusing on helping girls uplift their standards, especially those who became pregnant but still want to continue with their education.

Denise Kisimba, Zambia

A worldwide network of leaders and changemakers

Our support does not stop with the completion of our programmes. Our worldwide alumni community receives training and mentorship opportunities shall help them succeed in further studies and as social entrepreneurs and agents of positive change.

More on our Alumni Programme
Prisca Mulongo

"I got the love and care I needed at Pestalozzi Zambia...

"...and that transformed my life. The skills and values I learned—using my head, heart, and hands—helped me become a clinical instructor and midwife. Now, I help thousands of women and teenagers understand their sexual health and ensure safe births."

Prisca Mulongo graduated from our Future Leaders Programme and is a clinical instructor and midwife at a hospital in Luapula Province.

Read Prisca’s story

99%
of Future Leaders students

completed High School versus 3% in the rural areas they are from

15x
more likely

to attend university than the national average. Our Zambian Future Leaders students significantly outperform their peers.

66%
of alumni

are in careers of public service, like teachers, doctors, civil servants or working for NGOs.

Children learning with books on their tables at Pestalozzi Zambia

Let's unlock their potential

Your support enables marginalised children to become leaders in their communities.