Transcript Malawi ‘the warm heart of Africa’

Malawi - ‘the warm heart of Africa’
Where is it?
Some facts
• Population 15.6 million
• Major languages: English, Chichewa
• Life expectancy: 56 years (men), 57 years
(women)
• Main exports: Tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton
• GNI per capita: US $280 compared to
South Africa’s GNI per capita: US $5,770
and UK’s GNI per capita: US $41,520
(World Bank, 2009)
Education
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Highly valued – Government priority
Children start at age 6
Primary for 8 years
Secondary for 4 years
In order to progress to the next year you have to
pass exams. If you don’t pass then you repeat the
year
• Very little early years provision – not within remit
of Ministry of Education
Challenges for Education
• Not enough schools
• Not enough classrooms – children taught outside, sent
home during rainy season
• Not enough toilets/pit latrines
• Not enough teachers
• Almost no resources – textbooks, jotters, paper, pencils
• Huge drop off rate from standard 1 to standard 8 as
children have to work at home looking after siblings,
working in fields or early pregnancy in girls
Holyrood Project
• 4 years of senior pupils going to Malawi
• Improving infrastructure
• Building classrooms and painting rooms,
including learning resources on the walls
Holyrood and other schools across the city
• Sending out backpacks
• Raising money for Mary’s Meals
Lord Provost’s Malawi Fund
• Improving ICT resources
• Health projects – building clinics
• Support from Access and City Building
• Mary’s Meals
Mary’s Meals
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Working in a range of countries
Feeding programs in primary schools
Run by Mother Groups
Delivering backpacks to primary school pupils
Supporting volunteers to run early childhood development
centres for under 6s – feeding them twice a day
• Increasing the number of children coming to school
Malawi Leaders of Learning
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In partnership with Link Community Development
Ages 6 to 18 – primary and secondary
Literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing
School improvement planning
Building the capacity of staff in Malawi to improve
learning and teaching
• Working with Mother Groups, School
Management Committees – the local community
Building capacity by investing in
Malawi
• Employ a project manager
• Background in education who would be line managed by Sr
Eunice
• Mentored by Link Community Development Malawi
• Work with schools, teachers, primary education advisers to
improve school improvement planning
• Make arrangements for Malawi Leaders of Learning
• Identify schools and areas of improvement, including
access to electricity through Solar Connect
Solar Connect
Glasgow City Council Response
• What can you do as part of the Glasgow family?
• Ideas?
• Every child to bring £1 once a year
• Each department to have a Malawi Day - you
choose what that looks like
• Business involvement ...