You have the power to transform a deaf child’s life in Livingstone, Zambia
The Power of Coming Together
A full scholarship at DeSanto covers one student’s complete education, meals, and transportation for an academic year, everything they need to learn, grow, and thrive, for $4,320.
To make this level of impact accessible to every donor, we offer Scholarship Circles. For $30 a month ($360 per year), you join a small group of twelve donors who together fund one student’s full scholarship. No single donor carries the full cost, but every child receives everything they need.
As a Scholarship Circle member, you will receive updates about the student your circle is supporting and see firsthand how your contribution becomes part of something transformative. When donors come together, a deaf child gains not only an education, but language, confidence, belonging, and a future filled with possibility.
Join a circle today
Join a Scholarship Circle and be part of the community that makes education possible for Deaf children.
Can’t commit to monthly giving? One-time scholarship contributions of any amount help us serve more students.
Endowments - build a foundation for forever
What began as a dream in 2002 has transformed into a thriving community where Deaf students and their families have access to the resources that connect them to the world: language, education, and the support of a caring and inclusive community. Right now, brighter futures, ones filled with limitless opportunity, await all 23 of our students. But we can do more.
Why an endowment?
Seeking security for our future
A robust endowment is vital to make our dream of expanding access to a life changing education, a reality. An endowment represents our ability to expand capacity, enhance programming, and serve the hundreds of Deaf children throughout Livingstone and the surrounding rural areas who desperately need support, not just today, but for years to come.
Endowed gifts are the perpetual engine that power our mission year after year, regardless of economic conditions or funding fluctuations.
"Our students arrive from incredibly diverse backgrounds, many having faced immense challenges gorwing up in extreme poverty. Yet when they walk through our doors, something remarkable happens; they arrive with renewed hope and boundless possibility."
What do endowed gifts provide?
Financial Stability
Predictable annual income allows confident long-term planning and program expansion.
Operational Security
Ensures teachers recieve consistent salaries, students have reliable resources, and facilities can be properly maintained.
Independence & Flexibility
Reduces dependence on year-to-year fundraising cycles, allowing leadership to focus on education excellence.
We can break the silence of isolation
In rural African communities, Deaf children have lived for generations without any means of communication, unable to connect even with their own families. The DeSanto Centre for the Deaf is transforming this devastating reality into hope.
Since our founder Lisa Zahra moved to Livingstone in 2015 to establish what is now the DeSanto Centre for the Deaf, the Centre has become far more than a school. It’s a comprehensive community where students emerging from extreme poverty access nutritious meals, life skills coaching, organized sports, vocational training, and creative arts alongside their academic education.
Our vision—to expand programming through Grade 12, build dormitories for students and housing for teachers, and reach the hundreds of Deaf children still waiting for the education they deserve—is ambitious, but it’s achievable.
How can I learn more?
Your endowment gift ensures that no Deaf child’s potential goes unrealized, not just today, but for generations of future learners and leaders.
To learn more about the role you can play in bringing this transformative vision to life, contact us Laura Johnson at laurajohnson@desantocentreforthedeaf.org or submitting a contact form below.
Monthly Giving
Monthly giving is one of the most powerful ways to support Deaf children at the DeSanto Centre for the Deaf. It provides stability for students and flexibility for the school, ensuring that essential programs continue without interruption.
Your monthly gift helps us:
Plan responsibly for each child's education
Reliable funding allows us to budget for teachers, meals, learning materials, and support services throughout the year.
Ensure children never go without essentials
From daily meals to classroom supplies, monthly support helps meet ongoing needs that cannot be paused.
Reduce Administration
Monthly gifts are more efficient to process, allowing more of your contribution to go directly to students.
Share the responsibility of full sponsorship
Monthly giving makes it easier for individuals to participate in a Sponsorship Circle and collectively support a child’s full annual cost.
Build long-term impact, not one-time help
Education is a journey. Monthly giving sustains progress, confidence, and continuity for every child we serve.
Even a modest monthly contribution becomes life changing when combined with others. Together, monthly donors help ensure that Deaf children receive the consistent education and support they need to find their voice and their future.
Volunteering with DeSanto
By volunteering at the DeSanto Centre for the Deaf, you will have the opportunity to:
- Learn from qualified Special Education teachers at the Centre
- Help teach classes for all ages of Deaf students
- Learn Zambian sign language
- Learn Zambian culture and experience new environments
- Live in a Zambian town near Victoria Falls, safari parks and more!
What does volunteering at DeSanto look like?
Volunteers have an opportunity to learn and utilize their skillsets for a rewarding experience at the DeSanto Centre for the Deaf. As a Volunteer, you will help with day to day assistance at the Centre, including teaching classes to our students, one on one tutoring with students who may need extra attention, helping create activities and lesson plans, and partaking in sports and other activities throughout the school week. If passionate about certain topic areas, you’ll have the opportunity to create teaching plans with staff and to teach these passion areas as well. Volunteers need to be flexible and adaptable, willing to help out where needed with students.
Expectations of all volunteers are to show respect to different cultures and people, especially to the deaf students and community. A commitment to working within culture, being open minded, working hard to learn the language and to act professional and responsible at all times.
Livingstone is the “Tourist Capital” of Zambia, and the “Adventure Capital” of Africa. Housed uniquely where one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World are located– Mosi-oa-tunya (The Smoke that Thunders) or Victoria Falls. During your free time, go for a safari at several parks, where the border town meets 2 other countries: Botswana and Zimbabwe. Go bungee jumping by the falls, micro flighting over the Mighty Zambezi River, or take the day white water rafting down it. Test your adrenaline with a zip-line across the gorge or a swim at the edge of the 35 story waterfall. Livingstone has several tourist attractions to offer, and is a gateway to Southern African tourism for both Zambia and its neighboring countries.
All volunteers must possess a Bachelor’s degree in teaching. Training will be given for a week and your level of Sign Language will be assessed. Zambian Sign Language will be taught to all volunteers. Cultural training will also be provided, including local greetings and practices. All ongoing team workshops will include volunteers as well. All DeSanto programming is non-religious and focuses on education and well-being for deaf children.
As a DeSanto volunteer, you will recieve:
- Meals cooked by our in-house kitchen staff during work hours on weekdays
- Airport pick-up and drop-off to the Centre
- Experienced international and local staff members who live and work with you every day
- A full introduction, orientation and training session to ensure you can contribute successfully to the program
- Internet and Air Conditioning
- All necessary project equipment and resources you’ll need for your work