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“This Project Will be More Successful Than The First” – NU Farms

08-24-09

It was a cool morning at around 4:00 AM on the 21st of August at the Northrise Farm. A light truck from Hybrid Zambia pulled into the Northrise Farm premises. Bob Chewetu, the farm foreman, was at hand with other farm hands to receive the second batch of chicks. They totaled 3000 in all. For the next six weeks these chicks will be natured under very strict bio-security measures until they are ready for market as meat. These measures are aimed at protecting the chicks from disease. Only the poultry personnel will be allowed in and out of the poultry. They have to wear special poultry attire that is washed with a disinfectant. Before entering the poultry house they also always have to step in the footbath. The footbath is filled with a disinfectant that kills any pathogens that may be lodged in the soles of the shoes.

The chicks were put on a starter menu of Broiler Starter in crumble form for the first three days. After which they will be fed broiler starter in pallete form. “The reason we are using Broiler Crumble is because the chicks are eating for the first time, and so the particles of the feed should be very, very small,” Bob said. The chicks will be ready for market between the 5th and 7th of October. “A big number of the chicks when ready for meat will be sold on cold dressed rate.” This means that the abattoir will be used to process the chickens. Another advantage of this is that the chickens will be sold per Kilogram as opposed to the live weight-selling price. The live weight-selling price is usually a flat figure.

The use of the abattoir will create employment for the locals in the Northrise Farm surrounding area. Bob has mentioned that the abattoir may need at least four more hands to help in the dressing of the chickens. These people will be trained in the skills involved in preparing dressed chickens, a vocational skill that will enable them earn a living and uplift their standards economically.

The harvesting of bananas is still ongoing as the fruit is still plentiful and ripening. Bob said, “Harvesting is still on until maybe the middle of October”. Clients for the Northrise bananas include members of the surrounding community and retailers in Ndola town center. “I have started a small business from the bananas I buy here. The price is reasonable and I make a small profit which helps me and my family,” said Magret Chilufya, one of the clients from Twapia, a township close to the Northrise Farm.

Second Poultry Project

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Calpoly Delegation Visits Northrise Farms

08-20-09

By Godfrey Mpala

As the saying goes, ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step’, it would not be entirely accurate to attribute the statement to the coming of the Cal Poly team to Northrise. But when one thinks of the bright future of this God ordained University, the statement reflects vast degrees of truths.

On the 13th of August 2009, Dr. and Mrs. Baker from the Cal Poly toured the Northrise Farms for the very first time. They were accompanied by Dr. Pedersen, the dean of the school of agriculture at the Cal Poly and Steve Bowie and Allan smith who sit on the board of Northrise University Initiative USA. The visiting team was very impressed at the progress made at the land. Fully ripe bananas being harvested, and a very well informed Bob, the farm foreman, who was ready to share his knowledge and love for agriculture, welcomed them. The team took a tour of the poultry house, the workshop and the chicken abattoir that is about to be fully functional in the next few days. Having been satisfied with the agriculture progress at the land, the team decided to tour the business building. What the team found there was also very exciting. The building has reached roof level and should be done in the next 3 months. There was a lot of activity at the building with the construction workers working hard to beat their deadline.

The last stop at the land was the student dormitory. This too did not disappoint. They were very clean and stocked with cozy furnishing that resonated a mood of calm and tranquility that is very vital for students and their studying. A student who was present, Peter, briefed the team on how the dorms have made life easier for students like him who come from outside town. The visit to the dorm marked the end of the team’s tour of the Northrise future campus site.

Other places the team visited outside Northrise University include: seeds of hope; a borehole drilling company in Ndola’s Kansenshi area; Ndola Girls National Technical High School; Arising Life Ministries (ALM) children’s counseling center, run by a Northrise University student, Joyce Chimbila, who was presented with a gift of books for the children by Steve Bowie; Mapalo Community school also run by a Northrise University student, Ps. Emil Mukuka; and Lastly, the Arthur Davison children’s hospital (ADH).
Calpoly Farm Visit

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Calpoly President at Northrise

08-18-09

By Pimpa Simasiku

Calpoly Meets NU

Everyone was excited and curious to meet the significant guests that Northrise was receiving on the 14th of August. The president of California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly), Dr. Warren Baker, accompanied by his wife Mrs. Carol Baker made their first visit to Zambia and Northrise. Others were Dr. Mary Pederson (CalPoly’s academic dean of the school of Agriculture), Steve Bowie (the current NUI US board chairman) and Alan Smith (2010’s NUI US board chairman). Their mission was common and it was to meet with officials from the Zambian government in order to understand what Zambia’s educational development plan is and how CalPoly can assist. And also how the vision of Northrise University fits into the picture.

On this significant morning, Northrise staff assembled in the boardroom to meet with the guests. The air was jolly as jokes flew around and immediately met with bursts of laughter. The main agenda for the meeting was simply for introduction. Mr. Bowie began by introducing everyone and stated their purpose for coming to Northrise and Zambia. He said that they have always been interested in Zambia’s educational system. He also commended the Northrise staff for the work that they are doing, and that they too wanted to help Northrise achieve its vision and mission in a specific way.

Dr. Baker mentioned how glad he was to know that Zambia’s government recognizes that agriculture is the backbone of the economy. “Advancing in Agriculture”, he said, “enhances an economy greatly because at the moment world hunger is still a huge factor of today’s economy. On a higher level, if world hunger is eliminated, then basic needs are met and then world peace and harmony can easily be achieved.”

Before the meeting with the staff, they’d also met with a few Northrise students and were impressed with what the students had to say about the institute. The students had agreed to the principal of learning by doing and had also welcomed the idea of introducing an agriculture program. “We’re looking forward to developing Northrise to benefit students both at CalPoly and Northrise. We also wish to learn from Northrise as well, not only faculty exchanges but students exchanges as well,” Dr Mary Pederson had stated.

Alan Smith also made mention at how delighted he was to see former students working at Northrise. He has been with Northrise since the beginning of the vision and felt emotional at being a part of something big that God has ordained. He was awed at how much Northrise has achieved in just 5 years of existence which hasn’t been accomplished in other universities in Zambia for 50 years.

And on behalf of the staff at Northrise, Mrs Alice Simutowe, (registrar), Ps Victor Chibangula (instructor) Dr. Chilao Mutesa (academic dean) and Mr. Laston Hamoonga (business manager) made mention at how Northrise made an impact in the lives of all who were a part of it. Alice and Ps. Victor gave testimonies about how they had first heard of Northrise but were sceptical about joining the university. After joining, Alice stated that she was impressed with the integrity to work that all Northrise staff she came in contact with exercised. Now she supports the dream, the vision, and is giving of herself in order to be a part of what Northrise is doing. Ps. Victor ended his testimony by saying that “we have not reached the end yet but we are enjoying the ride towards the end.” He also said that Northrise will be one of the success stories in Zambia let alone Africa. People around the world are going to benefit from the humble people who are contributors to the Northrise dream.

Mr. Hamoonga, who has been a part of Northrise for a long time now, said, “it is a privilege beyond imagination that the president of Calpoly is here visiting us. This is another milestone that has been achieved by Northrise and from here on we are going to move to a higher dimension.”

The brief meeting ended on that note. And the staff went on to continue with their daily work of adding to the excellence that Northrise strives for. Of course, the visitors could not complete their day without paying a visit to the land.

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Dr. Warren Baker Visits Northrise

08-18-09

None of us at Northrise had ever met Dr. Warren Baker before apart from Dr. and Mrs. Zimba. He is president of CalPloy University in the USA. His coming to visit Zambia and to pass through Northrise was a truely humbling experience for all of us. Dr. Baker travelled to Zambia to see for himself how far Northrise has come since the first student walked through its doors in 2004. He had an opportunity to meet with some of Northrise’s students on the 14th of August and later met with Northrise staff.

Members of staff gathered in the boardroom and spent some time with Dr. Warren Baker and the people he had travelled with from USA.

Posted in Education, Events | 2 Comments »

Northrise University Student Accommodation and Life

08-13-09

by Enock and Banji

nu_student_accommodation

Isn’t it nice to look back at those old school memories after you’re all grown and out of University? Some of these, happy while others seemed sad and frustrating at the time, but now you can’t help but laugh when you think about them. Many attributes of school life contribute to these reminiscent memories. One attribute for most is accommodation. Apart from just providing a place to stay for students, Northrise takes extra care to provide only the best service at its dormitories

To enhance the memories of the students while also making their stay comfortable, Northrise has set certain standards. Northrise University dorms are one of the most immaculate in the country. It has been furnished with state of the art furniture. Lounge suits, a functioning kitchen, student’s rooms, etc; have been tailored to the students’ comfort. Students staying there admit it’s a good environment to study as well. Chibale Chibale, a student staying there puts it well when she says, “the rooms are spacious, clean, nice and quiet. I study so well there.”

The dormitory has been built to carter for a total of 56 students. One part of the dormitory allows for 40 male students while the other part, 16 female students. It is strategically located at the future campus site, along the Ndola-Kitwe dual carriageway. It’s only about 15 minutes’ ride from the current campus building in the heart of the Ndola town. Students are provided with transportation to and from the University at a small contribution. Accommodation priority is given to students coming outside of Ndola, and for returning students; GPA and previous behaviour play a role in this criterion.

Students are given the opportunity to plan their own budget, menu, cleaning and extracurricular activities. They also do their own cooking and buying of groceries. So yes, life at the dorms is pretty much like a big family rather than “each one for him or herself.” As a way of strengthening their spiritual faith, students at the dorms scheduled meetings for Bible study when school opens in the third term. “We plan to meet on Saturday afternoon’s when school opens again,” said Chibale. Students are encouraged to be in doors by 8pm every day. For security, Northrise University has put in place an efficient security system, an electric wire fence, which is kept on at all times. The system is built with its own power saving mechanism. This safeguards any security breach when a power outage occurs. In addition, security guards are present at all times to ensure that everything is in order.

Because of the excellence (Being excellent at what is good) that Northrise University offers, students come from all over Zambia and Africa! Accommodation is available for them. More dormitories will be built in the future. The next dormitory building will commence soon.

Posted in Building Projects, Events | 2 Comments »

Northrise tells the Story to Chiwala: “Not Afraid to Tell Our Story”

08-07-09

by Chibozu

northrise_at_chiwala

A team of 3 members of staff and 5 students from Northrise University visited a secondary school located in the outskirts of Ndola. The school is called Chiwala Boys Technical High School and is a single sex school. When the Northrise University team got there, the secondary schools’ members of staff who had been expecting them welcomed them. Preparations to give the twelfth grade a talk were already underway. Sooner than later everything in the school hall was ready.

The twelfth graders sat anxiously waiting to hear what the Northrise University team had for them. The first speaker was Mrs. Alice Simutowe, the registrar of Northrise and also a Northrise University graduate. She talked about the founders of Northrise, Dr. and Mrs. Zimba, and how the institution came into existence. She also briefly presented their background and the challenges they had faced in order to realize their dream. Secondly, Miss. Rabecca Nguni, the personal assistant to the Zimba’s, talked about the courses Northrise offers and qualifications that are required to become a Northrise student. As the pupils continued to listen attentively, Mr. Banda, the Northrise University systems administrator, and also a Northrise graduate presented on the University’s infrastructure and facilities. Aided by a PowerPoint presentation, the presenters made it easier for the pupils to envision Northrise.

The Chiwala pupils were as well very keen to listen further to the experiences of two Northrise University students. Kambole Kabwe, a 2nd year student studying Business Administration and Chibozu Maambo, a 1st year student studying Information Technology. This gave the audience an insight on what it really means to be a Northrise student. The Chiwala pupils were also given the chance to ask questions, which the team in turn responded to.

After the presentation, some of the Chiwala pupils shared what they now thought about Northrise with the team. They expressed how they felt encouraged to work harder academically so that in future, they can be part of a very reputable institution. Apart from this they also acknowledged that being a Northrise student is really being a quality student. The Chiwala students were additionally excited about the infrastructure they had seen on the PowerPoint slides.

When it was time to leave the Chiwala members of staff took time to thank the Northrise University team for having visited their school and encouraged them to visit again soon. This was the second visit the team had made since the beginning of this year. The first visit was made in the beginning for the first term to Nsansa High School and was also deemed successful. The team is yet to tell the story to more secondary and high schools throughout Ndola and possibly even other districts. “We are not afraid to tell the story of Northrise University to others so that they too may share in it,” declares a member of this team.

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Resurrection of Sports at Northrise University

08-05-09

by Kambole

re_intro_of_sports_nu

A sports club has recently been re-introduced to the Northrise university package, comprising of four sports, namely Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball and believe it or not chess.

This club has a committee and the administrative representatives are Mr. Isaac Banda who stands as the leader, Mr. Rex Mpala in charge of the basketball team, Mr. Suganani Kaira head of Soccer and a student representative for all the sports, Edward Banda.

The Northrise sports club is mainly interested in the students well being and health. “Physical fitness is a very important factor in one’s studies,” said Mr. Banda in an interview. He also pointed that the club was a way of improving social interactions among the students outside academic discussions, as well as being a form of entertainment.

One major challenge is the lack of sports facilities in terms of sports grounds; however, the University has agreements with Zamsure Sports complex in McKenzie and the Adult center along Independence Avenue were students occasionally gather for practice.

One might ask who can take part in this sports club. For a start, it is free for all, and as time goes by, academic performance of students will determine who is eligible for whichever sport. Mr. Banda emphasized on the importance of the school drawing up a write up concerning this rule.
Low GPA no sport ☺

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