Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In Zambia, Africa, over 1 million of the 6 million children are orphaned, and countless more are vulnerable from the effects of poverty, lack of education, HIV/AIDS, and community rejection. There are over 150,000 children in Lusaka, Zambia who apart from child sponsorship would not have an opportunity for an education. Currently we are educating approximately 1,000 new children annually.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Camp LIFE
Family Legacy's short-term missions program allows American volunteers an opportunity to serve the vulnerable children of Lusaka, Zambia, through week-long trip experiences. Our largest program, Camp Life, is a cornerstone of Family Legacy's mission. It is a powerful, week-long experience in which each volunteer is thoughtfully partnered with two Zambian team members to lead and minister to a group of 10 children through various activities. Camp Life allows relationships to be formed that will have a positive, lasting impact on the future of Zambia.
Legacy Academy
Family Legacy owns and operates 24 private, Christian academies in 17 communities throughout Lusaka, Zambia. In these schools, students receive a high-quality education and social support through dedicated Zambian staff. Each student is supported by an American family or individual who sponsors them on a monthly or annual basis.
We are unique in child education sponsorship in that we own or lease our own schools. In addition to an education, children attending Legacy Academy schools are provided with Christian discipleship, school uniforms, textbooks, classroom material and a hot lunch at school each day.
Tree of Life
Located just outside of the capital city of Lusaka, Zambia, the Tree of Life Children's Village is a 130-acre community of 64 homes designed for full-time care for 658 of the most at-risk children in our sponsorship program (as assessed by the GRZ Dept. of Social Welfare). These children attend school, have access to quality healthcare and social services, and have the opportunity to participate in church, sports and many other activities.
The Tree of Life Children’s Village is a safe haven where children have the opportunity to learn and experience the healing love of Christ with the intention of being properly equipped to return to their communities and create a positive change for the future of Zambia as well as for their own family and descendants.
Excel Beyond
Family Legacy's Excel Beyond program provides the opportunity for students who graduated from 12th grade in one of our schools to further their education through our Foundation Year program teaching them important life skills. Students, through sponsorship, then have the opportunity to enroll in a trades or university program through Family Legacy's partnership with accredited schools in Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Excel Beyond program is dedicated to supporting our brightest minds into adulthood and higher education.
Where we work
External reviews

Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We seek to alleviate this physical and spiritual poverty through our sponsorship program and mission trip experiences.
We connect American families to these children to alleviate both physical and spiritual poverty. We seek to transform the nation of Zambia into a lighthouse for Africa through sharing the Gospel of Jesus, providing high-quality private education, and by placing it's most vulnerable children in a safe home and community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Camp Life proclaims the gospel to Zambian children through American and Zambian camp counselors. Our sponsorship program empowers children through the power of Christian education at Legacy Academies and full-time residential care at the Tree of Life Children's Village. Family Legacy also helps young adults get into University and trade programs.
Family Legacy is committed to long-term transformation of the nation of Zambia. We believe that children who are extremely vulnerable or have lost parents are not only in need of assistance and support to impact their physical circumstances, but also in need of the love and care of a family. These children need hope.
At Camp Life, we have 650 Americans not only engage alongside of one another in a life-changing service experience, they also develop a long-term commitment to bringing about change in the lives of these children. The Americans who come to Zambia dedicate themselves to sponsoring children, raising funds for schools and homes, and to bringing new families to Zambia for subsequent mission trips. While our ultimate strategy for alleviating poverty for these children is through a child sponsorship program, providing a high quality education through our private schools, and rescue to our children's village for the most at-risk children, we strongly believe that it is the engagement of these American participants that equips our ministry to execute on these strategies.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have approximately 950 African staff that do the work of educating, providing spiritual discipleship, feeding, counseling, and providing medical care to our nearly 14,000 students in 24 schools.
Led by our African Country Director and African Associate Country Director, we have developed an organization that we believe impacts our nearly 14,000 children in a holistic way.
We have over 9,000 stakeholders, donors, board members, and volunteers that help us both financially and practically fulfill our mission.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
What we have accomplished so far:
• We have averaged 6500 children coming to our Camp Life program each of the last three summers.
• We have added 2700 new students have been added to our Legacy Academy school between 2018 and the end of 2020.
• The highest retention rate of teachers in our history
• We have built one brand new school replacing an old leased facility
• We upgraded and renovated 7 of our facilities to meet government standards
• Had a 25-percentage point increase in passing rate for our 7th grade students taking the government exam (62% to 87%)
• Had a 17-percentage point passing rate for our 9th grade students taking the government exam (33% to 50%)
• We have had our largest increase in students admitted into STEM schools for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math
• We pivoted to a system-wide food and education materials distribution program during the COVID-19 pandemic
• We have started a vegetable farm at our Tree of Life Children’s Village
• We will soon open a poultry house at our Tree of Life Children’s Village, providing a protein source for our children
• We have increased our trade school attendance by 30%
• We have expanded our medical reach from our 650+ children at our Tree of Life Children’s Village to providing some level of medical care for the additional students in the slum compounds
• We have opened a new 48-bed intake facility for vulnerable and orphaned children at our Tree of Life Children’s Village
Future Plans - what is next:
• We are providing Social Emotional Learning for all of our lower school students starting in late 2022 which includes training our lower campus students
• We are converting our education model to a classical Christian education model in 2022 with the goal of building a solid foundation for learning for our elementary students
• We are increasing our teacher training sessions to 90 sessions in 2021
• We will open a poultry house at one of our Upper Schools to train our students in poultry farming
• We are expanding our farm to 10 acres at the Tree of Life
• We are developing an extensive in-house trades program at two of our locations in Lusaka, Zambia
• We are developing a scholarship program for our college eligible students
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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FAMILY LEGACY MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL
Board of directorsas of 03/25/2022
Elizabeth Carlyle
Daniels and Tredennick, PLLC
Term: 2022 - 2022
Jeffrey Petty
Texas Roadhouse
James Lavelle
Houlihan Lokey's Industrial Group
Elizabeth Carlyle
Daniels and Tredennick, PLLC
Clifford Hickey
Anschutz Investment Company
Dr. Kelly Rush
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Ashley Edens
Sunny Sky Products
Tom Mason
Energy Transfer
John Orr
Centennial Peaks Capital
Valerie Boyt
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as: