Celebrating a milestone like an anniversary, a birthday, a great set of grades, can be an amazing feeling. And it feels even better when your achievements are noticed and acknowledged by others through an award or public recognition.

Achievements are the building blocks for success. Celebrating achievements boost confidence and increases motivation, be it at work, in school or in an organization. Recognition and appreciation boost an organization’s reputation and attracts talented individuals who want to be part of the team.

The Other Side Foundation School (TOSF) has been one such organization; recognized and rewarded for its success in different areas. Several awards have been presented to individuals and groups from TOSF and the school itself has also received numerous awards. Standing by its vision of “Realizing the potential of the underprivileged to be a generative force for good”, TOSF has not limited itself to classroom achievements but has also embraced extra-curricular activities in order to fulfill this vision.

Since 2014, TOSF has received awards for several accomplishments. Most of you will agree with us that, being able to pursue an interesting high-quality career that has a positive impact comes with a lot of hard work. Therefore, TOSF encourages its students to participate in a wide range of activities outside the classroom to realize their full potential. Recently, the school has been involved in various extra-curricular activities such as Quiz at Zonal Level, Athletics, Ball Games and clubs like Aflatoun, to name a few.

Here, we talk about some of our greatest and proudest moments:

Academic Quiz Competition

In 2015, TOSF took part in the Zonal Quiz Competition. The zone has twenty-two schools, all of which attended. TOSF managed to scoop the second prize – a brilliant achievement! This was an exhilarating experience for the participating staff and students as it reflected their hard work and dedication. It is also worthy of mention that TOSF – a community school – out-performed several private schools in the zone. This was possible thanks to all our devoted teachers that committed their time and resources to support our students and encouraged them to work hard and aim high.

Athletics

Sports has been central at TOSF and our students have been participating at all levels, achieving incredible results. For example, in 2014, the TOSF Athletics team came in second position out of twenty-three teams in the Lilanda Zone, Lusaka district.

TOSF believes in nurturing the talents of our learners at a tender age; hence students below the age of twelve years also take part in kids Athletics which is held yearly and organized by the Zambia Athletics Armature (ZAA)in association with International Athletics Armature Federation (IAAF).

Encouraging children to take part in sports and physical education activities is essential for TOSF. We strive to help our students to realize what they are good at, outside of academics, and we encourage them to show case their talents and abilities by participating in races and competitions. We further help them find the right studies-to-sports balance so that they remain concentrated and motivated in their schoolwork but are also able to build their sportsmanship capacities. In this way, we help them grow their talents, widen their skill set and strengthen their confidence.

A clear example of this is the achievements of Cecilia Mwale. Cecilia is one of our pupils who was declared a winner and rewarded for being the best 200 meters runner at 2019 kids Athletics. From there on, Cecilia’s self-esteem and confidence has really increased. External recognition brings about achievements that are tangible and help to build self-confidence.

Ball Games

TOSF’s strong netball and football teams have long decorated the head teacher’s office with trophies, making staff and visitor very proud whenever they see these. In 2014, our football team came out second and in 2015 and 2017, our netball team won first position. These are amazing records to hold and TOSF is extremely proud of its players.

Aflouton Club

Aflouton Club is one of our many clubs that teaches children to be good future  entrepreneurs. After its inception in 2016, Aflouton Club members participated and won first-prize in a quiz competition. Similarly, in 2019, the Club came third in the “Sow a Coin” competition in the Lusaka province, organized by the Bank of Zambia (Boz). This club has started yeilding through one of the boys who started selling scones during COVID-19 to raise money for the family.

Organization Award

TOSF has also been recognized for its work and commitment. For instance, in 2016, TOSF was awarded the status of cleanest community school in the Lilanda Zone in the Lusaka District. Being acknowledged for our efforts as and educational institution, alongside those of our students, has given us the strength and power to withstand and challenge hard times. As a school we have learnt that showing resistance when under pressure is just as important as the reward itself. This has taught us to work hard and do our best so that we can continue to celebrate our achievements as we have done today.