By Albert Mulizakamba

Balaka, November 28, Mana: Action Aid Malawi has disclosed that over 137,000 children across six Traditional Authorities (TAs) in Balaka District have been enrolled in pre-primary schools under the School Readiness Initiative.

The Organization's Programme’s Manager for Early Childhood Development, Anderson Moyo, said this on Tuesday in Balaka when presenting the phase one and two project's progress to District Executive Committee (DEC) members.

He noted that the programme has managed to prepare vulnerable preschool children for education in the district, citing strong collaboration among various parties as a leading factor.

"Phase two has enrolled 137,471 children and we have seen improvements in children’s developmental domains, and also communities are willing to support their children. The construction of Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, particularly in Traditional Authority Nyanyala, has been a great success," he said.

However, Moyo noted that Cyclone Freddy and El Nino posed significant challenges, affecting learner attendance due to hunger in the community.

He added:" The initiative has also recorded 1,640 male and 739 female dropouts with 19,364 male and 19,044 female repeaters"

Balaka District School Health and Nutrition Coordinator, Fabiano Mbendera emphasized the project’s importance in the district saying that the programme remains dedicated to ensuring vulnerable children receive a solid foundation for their educational journey.

"Action Aid School Readiness Initiative has demonstrated its commitment to enhancing education in Balaka, despite facing challenges and a radio programme, “Breach to School,” which was also featured in the programme further supported pre-primary children and parents," he commended.

The initiative was launched in 2020 and phase one started from 2020 to 2022, followed by phase two from 2022 to 2024 and now it is in phase three targeting eight TAs in Balaka.