CHINGOLA.

Chingola is one of the seven mining towns on the Copperbelt in the Diocese of Ndola - Zambia.

The Salesians opened their first presence there in 1983 taking over two parishes: Sts. Peter and Paul in town itself and Kacema Musuma in Kasompe. The Copperbelt Region is a unique place in sub-Saharan Africa.

In comparison with other provinces of Zambia, the Copperbelt Province is quite well developed because of the number of mines there and thousands of people employed in them. Chingola situated on the Copperbelt Region was thus a suitable place to establish a trade school for the young people of the area. As the plot of the parish was too small to establish such a project there, the bigger plot was acquired from the City Council.

Work on the construction of the school premises started immediately. The first salesians move there in 1991 and in the following year, the first students were accepted for training. When the main buildings were completed and the school was well established, the Bishop of Ndola, Dennis de Jong, blessed it solemnly on the 24th of May 1996. Later on, some more buildings were constructed, like a huge multi-purpose hall, the chapel and three staff houses for nine families.

Today the school runs six different courses for around 150 students. Our mission in Chingola also has a big oratory, where hundreds of children and young people develop their different talents and spend their free time in a positive way.