Ann McCulloch in Zambia

The Northrise Family has been saddened to hear of the passing of Ann McCulloch.  Ann lost her battle with cancer last week, going home to be with the Lord on Monday, November 1st.  Ann’s career included serving as a nurse in Houston, a children’s minister in Phoenix, and raising three incredible children.

Ann was a true friend of Northrise. She was a generous partner, traveling to Zambia in 2008 and 2010. She was one of our greatest prayer warriors and hosted gatherings in her home to introduce her friends and family to Northrise’s vision to transform Zambia one student at a time. Her generosity was unbelievable.

Memorial services for Ann McCulloch will be held at North Phoenix Baptist Church at 1:oopm on Saturday, November 12th.  Dr. Moffat Zimba will be in attendance, and all are welcome to come celebrate her life.  For those who do not live in Phoenix, the service will also be live-streamed here.

In honor of her passion for the kingdom of God globally and Northrise University, Ann’s family has set up a giving fund in her name to continue serving the people of Zambia. Contributions can be made on her behalf by clicking here, indicating “Ann’s Memorial Fund” in the designation.

Together, we celebrate a life well-lived, full of faith, hope and love for people all over the world.

Basic health care is everyone’s right and very essential to well-being – yet in developing countries, it is but a privilege. While targeted health policies and programs have enabled slight improvements in public health access and care, significant disparities remain. Countries like Zambia with limited access to education and employment, increasing poverty levels and illiteracy rates among other problems, find considerable health improvements a harder goal to attain.

Certainly, there are decisive ties between health and development. Without good health, a nation is robed of productivity. Students cannot attend classes, workers cannot report to work, policies cannot be made, programs cannot be implemented, and governments cannot be run… In fact, the solution to some of the problems faced by most developing countries strongly lies in curbing the health care problem.

To help give its students and staff the right to basic health care, Northrise University recently broke ground for a clinic to be called NUCare! Thor Development, a construction company in Zambia was awarded the contract and has since begun works. NUCare! will offer basic health care for Northrise University students, staff and the surrounding community. Having a health center on Campus means peace of mind… Peace of mind for the parents; being able to send their child to a university without over worrying when their child is sick. Peace of mind for students; being able to enjoy learning without the stress of how to access health care. Peace of mind for faculty and staff; being able to work with joy knowing that when they or their family member is unwell, care is available. Peace of mind for the community; it comforting to know that at last a clinic is within reach. Most importantly a peace of mind for Northrise University; knowing that it can offer basic health care, turning it from a privilege to a right because a healthy student is a healthy community; a healthy community is a healthy Zambia.

When this is your personal philosophy it should not be surprising that an accomplished editor, author, speaker, training guru and all-around quality guy came through in the nick of time to help the students at Northrise University in Ndola, Zambia, half way around the world from his home in Florida.

As soon as Kathy Siler (Scott’s assistant) heard about what our five-person volunteer media team was trying to accomplish as we embarked on our trip to Africa, she and Scott were quick to action.  In less than 24 hours, Kelby Training provided a generous number of books and DVD-based training programs to support the students of Northrise.  We’re talking about the nice stuff, the best-selling digital photography books, along with DVD’s to guide the group through Light Room, Illustrator, Photoshop and more.

Kelby Training cared enough to go the extra mile to help out underprivileged kids in Africa by giving the gift of learning. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Our appreciation goes out to Scott Kelby, Kathy Siler and all of the folks at Kelby Training for going the extra mile, its true what Scott says, “You never go wrong by doing the right thing.”  We agree, and so do the students at Northrise University who now can learn for themselves the art of photography, video, and the power of internet media as they work hard every day to better themselves and help their country.

After being to Zambia, we wish everyone could make the trip. The people are amazing. Their passion for God, humbling. The ambition and optimism, inspiring. While it is our absolute privilege to be among the students, we are reminded that making an impact does not require a 24 hour plane trip.

Thank you, Kelby Training, for being so gracious in your giving.

by Mukupa Musonda

It’s a new term, and everyone seems to be settling in well. The library is open and the students are already wrestling with assignments and exams. Nothing much has changed except this new young lady usually on a computer in the library. I get curious about her presence, so I approach her.

Her name is Chanda Phiri an intern from our state University (the University of Zambia). I get even more interested because having an intern is new for NU.
Why Northrise University? She explains to me that the spark that comes with running a private University led her to choosing Northrise. She wanted to have a feel of how things are generally run.

In the short time that she has worked here, she is highly impressed with how well organized the library is and how friendly and cooperative the students are. Overall, she looks forward to what she will walk away with from her attachment experience at Northrise.