Community-Driven Efforts to Achieve Education for All in Malawi
June 15th, 2024 | Stories
On June 16, the world observes the Day of the African Child, a day that draws attention to the obstacles children in Africa face in accessing quality education. This day recognizes the over 200,000 South African students in 1971 who protested the poor quality of education and serves to celebrate children of Africa and inspire action towards addressing the challenges they face each day.
According to UNESCO, eleven percent of primary school aged children in Malawi are out of school. Contributing factors include household socio-economic status, parental education level, and available support from caregivers.
Through the USAID-funded Ana Patsogolo Activity (APA), World Education is supporting children in Malawi to return to school through Village Savings and Loans (VSL) groups. Students who are experiencing poverty receive funds and materials to go to school through an Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) fund.
The OVC Fund is a community-led social initiative that gathers funds from members, identifies children in need of support, and provides them with scholastic materials, school uniforms, and school fees to ensure they remain in school and progress to the next level. These communities have taken shared responsibility to fulfill Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that every child has the right to an education.
In one VSL group in Mangochi, member Rose George explained the impact of community-driven efforts on improving access to education.
We started our group in 2021 and through the financial and business training we got from APA we were able to mobilize resources and identify three children from our community. We managed to buy school uniforms and books, and send them to school.”
This group is just one of many supported by APA through trainings and mentoring by economic strengthening facilitators to mobilize resources and support students at risk of dropping out of school. These groups recognize the critical importance of school, and with many households experiencing financial instability, they are lightening the burden.
Since their introduction, VSL groups have helped 13,643 children. APA is not only addressing the immediate needs of OVC and AGYW, it is also fostering a culture of community responsibility to take an active role in supporting education.
On this Day of the African Child, we celebrate the progress made and renew our commitment to ensuring that every child in Malawi has access to quality education. Through the collective efforts of programs like APA and the dedication of VSL groups, we are making strides toward an inclusive and educated future for all children. The theme “Education for All” underscores the universal right to education and the collective responsibility to make it a reality.
