Malawi: Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) is implementing an Educate a Child (EAC) programme. The organization is hosting the event in partnership with Education Above All Foundation.
The aim of the Educate a Child Programm is to improve education for the vulnerable children in Thyolo District. The organizations will be providing essential learning materials to the students who need this support.
Senior Data Analyst from Education Above All Foundation, Joshua Maina expressed satisfaction over the programme. He made these remarks when a district level monitoring team toured Mkaombe Primary School.
During this visit, the team interacted with teacher mentors and other education stakeholders to appreciate EAC progress. Maina acknowledged some challenges as the programme had resource constraints, limiting its ability to reach more learners.
“The practical work on the ground is more reassuring than what we read in reports. The dedication shown by learner guides, teacher mentors, and other stakeholders is truly impressive. The programme is having a real impact,” said Maina.
Chief Education Officer for Thyolo, Rabecca Misili has also applauded the two organisations for jointly implementing EAC in the district. Misili said that the programme has helped to improve enrolment and retention of learners in the targeted schools.
“The introduction of entitlements, learner guide sessions, study circles, and home visits has brought significant impact.
“Since its introduction, Educate a Child has enabled 545 learners (296 girls and 249 boys) to get selected to secondary school. This is a clear sign of improved performance,” added Misili.
She noted that other schools borrowed a leaf to introduce child protection guidelines in their own working, The rules include the use of complaint boxes to address concerns in their respective schools.
Teacher mentor at Mkaombe Primary School, Asireni Jeffrey, said EAC has a psychosocial support component that helps to address challenges such as child abuse and other negative factors that affect child education.
She also acknowledged that EAC programme reduced absenteeism, particularly among girls who previously missed classes during menstruation, saying the programme introduced ways and means of addressing menstrual health and hygiene among girls in schools.
Launched in 2022, the EAC targets 103 primary schools in Thyolo, providing students with essential learning materials such as uniforms, shoes, and sanitary pads for menstrual health and hygiene.