“You have not just built a school; you have built the future,” said Lukomano Sichiyasa to the 1,200 people who attended the dedication of the Mwami Secondary School on October 25, 2025, in Eastern Zambia. Sichiyasa is one of many primary students who anticipate studying inside Maranatha Volunteers International’s most recently completed school project. This large structure is what Maranatha calls an Education and Evangelism Center (EEC). It includes 14 classrooms and a central auditorium, which was packed for the Sabbath celebration. The event was attended by engaged community members, Maranatha leadership, and officials of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Zambia.
“This center you see here will not only be a school, but a transformational center,” said Evans Manjimela, Education Director for the Adventist Church in Southern Zambia. “Around this community in the Eastern Province of Zambia, most of the children don’t proceed into education to complete their secondary school.”
Maranatha agreed to help solve a significant educational gap at Mwami, in response to requests from Adventist Church leaders. It’s an Adventist hub on Zambia’s eastern border, with a hospital, nursing college, and primary schools. But because the community had no secondary school, children either walked several kilometers every day to distant schools or gave up on post primary education altogether. “We now have a chance for education close to home, without long and costly travel. This means more safety. More time to study. And more dreams within reach,” said Sichiyasa.
Mwami is an agricultural community where most families rely on farming for food and income. But unreliable weather conditions, like droughts, make household economies unstable. A secondary education opens doors for graduates to pursue more secure livelihoods and help support their loved ones financially.
Harrington Simui Akombwa attended the dedication at Mwami as President of the Adventist Church in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean region. But as a first generation graduate, he understands the impact the school will have on a personal level. “I am the son of two people–a man and a woman–who never went to school. And they died like that,” he shared during an interview with Maranatha’s media team. “But today, because of school, I have moved up. I’ve gone all over the world today. They even call me the president of the division. If it wasn’t for school, I would’ve wound up like my parents … So what you have done here, you’ll never be able to see how far it will go.”
The secondary school at Mwami will also bolster students’ spiritual health. ‘They are not only learning about mathematics, and social studies, and chemistry,” explained Manjimela. “They are also learning about this Jesus Christ, who is able to change their lives. So we see a situation in the long term that will not only be graduating children that are going to make it academically and intellectually in life, but children whose lives [are] transformed.”
Maranatha’s EEC at Mwami is called the Lisa Mack Education Center to honor the memory of a woman who was passionate about nurturing children’s potential. She was the late wife of longtime Maranatha supporter David Mack, who funded the project and shared a few words during its dedication. “Lisa loved Jesus … She wanted all of us to know Him too. That was the biggest desire that she had for those she loved,” he said. “I want to challenge all of the students and the staff of the Lisa Mack Education Center to live as Lisa lived.”
Maranatha worked in Zambia from 2009-2015, completing hundreds of projects. In 2018, Maranatha returned to Zambia in response to a request for more churches, schools, and water wells across the country.