The opening of the school in Zambia reflects a community’s evolving understanding of how spiritual principles can guide collective action to address shared challenges.
KATUYOLA, Zambia — For years, the path to a high school education in Katuyola, like in so many rural communities throughout the world, led away from home—trekking to distant schools miles away down a road that returned young people to their families only on weekends. It was a journey that disrupted family life and exposed youth to harmful influences contrasted with the environment of moral education and spiritual development the community had carefully cultivated over decades.
However, at the start of the last academic term, the footpaths all led to Katuyola. A new chapter began, as the community took another step forward in addressing educational challenges, establishing the Kaseloki Secondary School—the first community secondary school in the Mwinilunga district.
The recent opening of the school represented more than the construction of a building: it marked the emergence of an educational center that will foster complementary initiatives for the spiritual, moral, and intellectual enrichment of young people and the wider community. It also reflected a community’s evolving understanding of how spiritual principles can guide collective action to address shared challenges.
Seeing beneath the surface of social challenges
The effort to establish the school was not a single decision but the outcome of decades of systematic learning about providing material and spiritual education from childhood onward.
Momentum grew after a national gathering of Bahá’í educational agencies in August 2022 that encouraged an expansive view of educational initiatives. In Katuyola, the Bahá’í Local Spiritual Assembly helped translate ideas from that gathering into action, forming a village education team the following month and creating regular discussion spaces for school representatives, parents, traditional and other local leaders, and representatives of other faith communities to consult together.
These gatherings enabled residents to examine their educational aspirations in view of complex local challenges.
Through patient consultation and reflection, residents, especially mothers, faced a painful reality: for their children to advance academically, they had to leave behind the very relationships and community-building activities that nurtured their growth. Many ended up renting cramped rooms and taking on informal work, undermining both their well-being and academic performance.
“We would see their grades fall and their spirits waver,” recalls Rwinia Kaumba, one of the mothers. “But a high school is not a luxury; it is the lifeline to our children’s future.”
The discussions in the community culminated with a women’s conference in December of 2022, which focused on exploring the part that women can play in social progress.
Driven by love for their children and a vision for their community’s development, many mothers in Katuyola became catalysts for establishing the school.
Marking a new chapter
More than 500 residents, traditional leaders, including two senior chiefs and government representatives attended the opening at the start of the Bahá’í new year.
Teckson Kaumba, a member of Katuyola’s Bahá’í Local Spiritual Assembly, remarked: “A new life is emerging in our community.”
Traditional leaders affirmed their support. Senior Chief Sailung’a took a strong stance against early marriage and pregnancy—barriers to young women’s advancement—insisting that all girls should benefit from the new school. “When you educate a girl child,” he remarked, “you have educated the whole world.”
Village Headwoman Maria Kangowani described the school as a new milestone: “Through moral and spiritual education, youth are better able to address harmful influences such as… alcohol and drugs and instead can contribute to the well-being of the community.”
From a wider perspective, Hamed Javaheri, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, noted: “We are now beginning to visualize a path, not of one child, but of many trained by a whole community, generation after generation strengthening their capacity to serve.”
Headteacher Geoffrey Chipatela emphasized Kaseloki’s integrated vision: “The purpose of education is not only to gain knowledge but to refine character and build moral responsibility and development.”
An unfolding journey
For the parents of Katuyola, the school represents a continuation of the moral and spiritual development that has already taken root in their community through decades of community educational efforts.
Florence Lumbilisa, whose child is enrolled in Kaseloki, reflected on the future of the school, stating: “The community will develop, generation after generation, as more individuals become more conscious of their noble purpose.”
The emergence of the Kaseloki Secondary School inspired support from the chiefs and officials for an additional secondary school in the area that is currently being constructed. Together, the emergence of the two schools is a source of joy for residents.
As Musonda Kapusa-Linsel, another member of the Board of Counsellors in Africa, observed during the opening ceremony, the school embodies Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of the vast potential of human beings. “Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.”
