Child Care donates food and writing materials to needy learners in Machinga

Machinga, May 9, Mana: A non-governmental organization, Child Care through Malawi Children project, provided books and pens on top of 50 kilograms bags of relief maize to learners from targeted vulnerable households in Machinga District in an effort to address educational disparities among needy learners.

Apart from maize, Child Care distributed ten note books and two pens each to 32 learners from Liwonde and Naungu primary schools on Thursday.

Rebecca Thomas, a standard 5 learner at Liwonde Primary School hailed Child Care for providing educational materials and relief maize in the wake of food scarcity.

“My parents could not afford to buy me writing materials. I could only use three exercise books against nine subjects. This was challenging but I am glad that I am equal to my classmates that have adequate materials,” she added.

A parent, Malita Andiochi from Ntonda Village, Traditional Authority Sitola appreciated the support saying it will motivate her child to concentrate on education.

“My child is a hard worker and bright but lacks writing materials. This pulls him down. Scarcity of food at home is another challenge, this results into prolonged absenteeism,.

“The donated items will definitely help him attend classes each and every school day. I believe good health, leads to a healthy mind,” she added while commending Child Care for responding to plight of most needy learners.

Naungu School Head teacher, Watson Mmanga, lauds the organization's gesture, saying their donation was a timely intervention.

He added that the support will motivate learners to work hard in class, observing that financial challenges at household level affect child education

“Financial constraints triggers absenteeism and drop outs. Such donation is a sigh of relief and hope for learners and I am sure this will motivate them to remain in school,” the school head teacher added.

Team leader for Malawi Children project, Victor Julius said Child Care was obliged to support the needy learners in a bid to promote child education.

“Our primary focus is child protection against issues that hinder academic success, both in schools and at home. By providing the educational support, we aim to promote child education outcomes in Malawi, ultimately empowering children to thrive,

“To ensure that our goals are met, child protection workers conduct regular follow ups at households to monitor effective use of resources that we provide,” he added.

Machinga District Commissioner, Rodrick Mateauma, also applauded the organization for providing educational materials and food to needy learners, saying this will ease school related challenges among learners.

“I know these learners come from marginalized households that only rely on farming. With unfavourable weather in the district, most households did not harvest enough food and this brought a lot of challenges,

“The items will help to ease some of the problems," he said and urged other non-governmental organizations to collaborate with Machinga District council to champion quality and inclusive education for children from marginalized households.

The organization implements child focus project in various districts in the country including, Zomba and Chiradzulu with financial support from the Catholic Church.

In Machinga, the organization provides educational support to 60 learners in five primary schools with assistance worthy USD 20,000 per school term.