How Amos Youth Centre Is Transforming Entire Families
By Annabel Mumba
Annabel Mumba is AYC’s Donor Relations Coordinator. She is a Scholarship Fund recipient, and a graduate of Mulungushi University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Journalism), and also one of our Success Stories.
Co-written by Pamela O’Brien, African Education Program’s Development Director, who is mentoring Annabel.
The first thing you notice when you come to the Amos Youth Centre (AYC) Learning & Leadership Centre is the energy. You will see children in classrooms learning while others practice reading aloud, and laughter fills the outside area as students learn through play. In another corner of the Centre, high school graduates prepare lessons for younger students, giving back to the very organisation that once invested in them.
To many visitors, it looks like an after-school programme where children come to learn. But spend a little longer here, and another story begins to unfold. Behind every child attending a lesson is a parent who no longer carries the burden of raising their family alone, and for every student who graduates from high school, there is a younger sibling who now believes college is possible; for every university student, there is a family whose future has been transformed through education, opportunity and hope.
At AYC, we have always believed that when you invest in one child, you invest in an entire family. That belief comes to life in the stories of two families whose lives have become deeply intertwined with the Centre over the past decade.
For Clifford Mphalo, the father of five, the dream of seeing his children receive a quality education once felt almost impossible.
Today, two of his daughters are pursuing higher education. One is studying Plant and Environmental Sciences at the Copperbelt University, while another is completing a degree in Electrical Engineering. His son is preparing for college through AYC's College Prep Programme, and his two youngest daughters continue attending the Centre's programmes.
Chrisister Mwiinga tells a remarkably similar story. As a single mother raising five children, there was a time when she questioned whether any of them would complete school. Today, her eldest daughter is studying for a Diploma in Education, another daughter serves in the Zambia National Service, her son is preparing for college, and her younger children continue building bright futures through the Amos Youth Centre.
“I know the future of my family is secure,” he says with confidence. “Education has opened opportunities that I never had. They are respectful and responsible. They help each other at home, and they encourage their younger siblings. I know they learned many of those values at Amos Youth Centre.”
Where It All Began
The Mphalo Family smiles for the camera.
There was a time when Clifford Mphalo stayed awake, worried for the children's future. As a trained chef, work was never guaranteed. Some weeks, he found temporary jobs; other weeks, there was nothing. Every day was a struggle to provide for his family.
Like every parent, he wanted his children to receive a good education. But as school fees approached year after year, that dream seemed to slip further out of reach.
"I was not working, and the burden of looking for school fees was eating me up," he recalls. "I stayed awake thinking about what I was going to do."
At the time, his two eldest daughters, Mary and Modester, were still in primary school. The family had first heard about Amos Youth Centre through their church, and after learning about the academic support available, his wife enrolled the girls while they were in Grade 3.
At first, the Centre simply became a place where the girls could spend their afternoons learning instead of staying at home. But before long, the girls attended academic tutoring, joined clubs, built friendships, and discovered a community that believed in their potential. As they progressed through school, Amos Youth Centre became a constant presence in their lives, encouraging them to work hard, dream bigger and believe that their circumstances did not have to define their future.
When Mary passed her Grade 7 examinations, she was awarded a Secondary School Scholarship from AYC to support her secondary education. For Mr. Mphalo, it was one of the happiest days his family had ever experienced.
Without stable employment, he had spent months wondering what would happen if his daughter performed well in school. He feared that financial hardship would determine whether she continued her education. That scholarship lifted a burden he had carried for years. Soon after, Modester also received support to continue her education, allowing both sisters to remain focused on their studies.
"The scholarship gave us hope," Mr. Mphalo says. "I knew my daughters could continue learning without me worrying every day about how I would find the next school fees."
Education, however, was only one part of the support the family received.
The girls attended academic tutoring after school, receiving extra help in subjects they found difficult, support that would otherwise have been far beyond the family's reach. The Centre's Nutrition Programme also became a quiet but significant source of support. During difficult periods when food at home was scarce, he knew his children would receive a full, nutritious meal after classes. It meant they were never expected to learn on an empty stomach.
"We could never have afforded extra lessons," He explains. "The teachers at Amos Youth Centre helped them improve in the subjects they struggled with, and their grades became stronger."
John, Mary and Melody are excited to be a part of the AYC Family.
As Mary and Modester continued progressing through school, something remarkable began to happen. Their younger brother, John, and sisters, Mercy and Melody, started following in their footsteps. What had begun with two children soon became a family journey. Today, all five of Mr. Mphalo's children have been part of Amos Youth Centre. Thanks to AYC’s College Scholarship Fund, Mary is now in her fourth year studying Electrical Engineering, while Modester is pursuing Plant and Environmental Sciences at the Copperbelt University. John is spending his gap year giving back as a student teacher while preparing for university through the College Prep Programme. Mercy and Melody are enrolled in the Young Learners Programme.
"I know the future of my family is secure," he says with confidence. "Education has opened opportunities that I never had. They are respectful and responsible. They help each other at home, and they encourage their younger siblings. I know they learned many of those values at Amos Youth Centre."
For him, the greatest achievement is beyond seeing his daughters attend university. He is watching his children become young adults who are already inspiring the next generation within their own family. Perhaps that is the greatest measure of impact, not when one child succeeds, but when success becomes part of a family's story.
“There were days when food at home was scarce,” Chrisister recalls. “Knowing my children would eat at Amos Youth Centre gave me peace of mind. They were able to learn without being hungry.”
Hope Found a New Home
Loveness and her mother, Chrisister.
For Chrisister Mwiinga, as a single mother raising five children, life was filled with uncertainty. After her divorce, she found herself carrying the responsibility of providing for her family alone. Every decision revolved around one question: How would she keep her children in school?
Her greatest fear was not simply poverty. It was watching her children, especially her daughters, leave school before they had the opportunity to build the futures they deserved.
"I have four daughters and one son," she says. "My biggest fear was that my girls would become pregnant, get married early, and never have the opportunity to finish school."
Then a neighbour told her about Amos Youth Centre. Her two eldest daughters, Loveness and Miyoba, joined the Learning & Leadership Centre while they were in Grade 6. When both girls successfully completed Grade 7, they received scholarships that enabled them to continue their secondary education at a time when school fees remained one of the greatest barriers for vulnerable families. This was before free education was introduced and signed into law in Zambia.
Her younger daughter, Choolwe, joined the Young Learners Programme while she was in Grade 2. Her son, Amos, followed a few years later, and before long every one of her five children had become part of the Amos Youth Centre family. The children attended after-school academic tutoring that strengthened their performance in the classroom. They participated in leadership activities, built confidence, formed lasting friendships and benefited from the Nutrition Programme, ensuring that even during difficult times, they could concentrate on learning without worrying about their next meal.
"There were days when food at home was scarce," Chrisister recalls. "Knowing my children would eat at Amos Youth Centre gave me peace of mind. They were able to learn without being hungry."
As her children continued to grow, Chrisister also found opportunities to rebuild her own future. In 2021, she enrolled in AYC's Women Business Training. Over four months, she learned financial literacy, customer care, budgeting, and entrepreneurship, skills that would later help her start small businesses and eventually begin growing and selling vegetables within her community.
Today, one daughter is studying for a Diploma in Education at Evelyn Hone College while another has graduated from the Zambia National Service and now helps support the family financially. Her son is preparing for college through the College Prep Programme, while her younger children continue excelling in school.
"I don't think my children would be where they are today," she reflects. "AYC gave us hope again."
At Amos Youth Centre, our work has never been about helping children in isolation. Children flourish when families are supported and that belief shapes every programme we deliver.
For families like the Mphalos and the Mwiingas, Amos Youth Centre has become more than a place where children come after school. It has become a trusted partner, walking alongside parents through uncertainty, celebrating milestones, and helping families believe that tomorrow can look different from yesterday.
We are building a generation of young people equipped to become the leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and change-makers Zambia needs. Because when you invest in a child, you never change just one life, you help rewrite the future of an entire family.
