Built during the British Colonial era in the years before independence, it is little wonder that Kaweche Primary School in the Masumbankhunda area of Malawi was showing the signs of age.
Leaking roofs, collapsed toilets, inadequate teacher accommodation, and cramped classrooms were the environment in which hundreds of youngsters, and their teachers, had to work.
Built in 1956 and in permanent ever since, the school was recently the subject of a programme of improvements supported by Self Help Africa, with two new classrooms being built and existing structures restored.
The school repair programme was one of the priorities to emerge in initial baseline studies carried out before Self Help Africa started its area based programme at Masumbankhunda.
Prior to the work there had been a high level of absenteeising amongst pupils during the rainy season because the classrooms become water-logged and muddy, while there was also a cap of under 700 put on pupil numbers.
The local community provided bricks, river sand, water and unskilled labour on the contract.
Kaweche School was established in 1956, and for many years was run with support from the Roman Catholic Church, until all primary schools were taken in charge by the Malawian Ministry of Education, following independence in 1961. |
Self Help Africa in Malawi |
| Self Help Africa has been working in Malawi for close to 15 years. The organisation directly implements a series of area based development programmes in the south of the country, and works in partnership with local NGOs on a series of programmes in the north. |
