An international charity has laid a foundation for the construction of a multimillion kwacha secondary school in Nkhatabay district.
The charity, TX Foundation, has funded construction of the new school TX Chipunga Community Secondary School to the tune of US$100, 000 (about K74 million).
When completed, the school is expected to be the first boarding secondary school in the remote location of Chipunga area in the district.
Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony of TX Chipunga Secondary School at Chipunga ground on Monday, Sub-Traditional Authority Mnyaluwanga said the coming of the school will enable more girls to continue going to school as the girls will no longer be expected to walk long distances to attend secondary education.
“The nearest secondary school is 15 kilometres away from this area and the girls have to walk a total of 30 kilometers to and from school through thick bushes and hills.
“Many girls in this area are forced to stop school but with the coming of TX Chipunga Community Secondary School, more girls can continue to go to school,” the chief said.
Mnyaluwanga also announced that the community, which is one of the project partners, has provided over 12 acres of land for the school project and they anticipate a speedy completion of the project.
Member of Parliament for the area Ephraim Mganda Chiume welcomed the school which is expected to cater for 200 students, describing it as necessary to improve education in ‘ an otherwise hard-to- reach area.’
Representing Project Manager, chairperson of Mzuzu Entrepreneur Hub Wangiwe Joanna Kambuzi expressed her gratitude to TX Foundation.
“We are grateful to have partners that support education not just in Malawi but in Africa. This school will get entrepreneurial and technical support from Mzuzu E-Hub and will make sure the students have an entrepreneurial mindset as well as the practical experience when they finish their MSCE level,” said Kambuzi.
International Development Advisor for TX Foundation Freda Miriklis urged girls in Chipunga to utilize the school to complete their secondary education rather than rushing into marriage.
“Education is a right for all and this is very important to us at TX Foundation. Education is the way we are going to develop Malawi. For the girls, I think that marriage can wait. We need more education,” Miriklis said.
After being moved by the reports from the local traditional authorities of the number of pregnant women in the area who die on their way to hospital due to lack of a full medical centre in the area, Miriklis also informed the meeting that TX Foundation will fund the renovation of a clinic structure in Chipunga in order to improve delivery of medical care especially to expectant mothers.
TX Foundation is an international private charity organization that supports building of education facilities in over 30 countries in Africa.
TX stands for “Tzu Xing, which means ‘kindness walking’.
The ground-breaking ceremony was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education, Northern Region Education Division office who are giving technical guidance to the school project, specialists from TEVETA who will help with a skills development curricula and, other partner organizations working with Mzuzu E-Hub.
Once completed, Chipunga Community Secondary School will be handed over to the Malawi Government for management. The School is expected to also offer technical vocational skills training in agribusiness, artisan and the arts as part of equipping the students with entrepreneurial skills.
That’s awesome
Which part of Nkhata-bay
Well done