Students of Odsherreds Boarding Secondary School in Denmark last week handed over two newly renovated boys’ hostels to Bandawe Secondary School in Nkhata Bay.
DanChurchAid (DCA) Malawi office handed over the structures on their behalf.
Bandawe is one of the country’s oldest government secondary schools established in 1965. The school has an enrolment of 369 students.
DCA coordinated the cooperation between Bandawe and the Danish Odsherreds School.
Each year students from Odsherreds visit Bandawe to interact and exchange culture with their fellow students.
Concerned about the sad state of the boys’ hostels at the school, the young Danes decided to renovate hostels.
The headmaster for Bandawe Mr Clement Nyirenda applauded the Danish school for their timely assistance.
“As a school we’re very grateful. The appalling state of our hostels and ablution block was a health hazard. That has now become a story of the past. The hostels are looking great and toilets are functional,” he said.
Nyirenda, however bemoaned shortage of funding to the school as the major drawback towards maintenance of the infrastructure at the school.
Fraha Zabweka Manda, students’ representative was all smiles during official handover. He said the renovated structures would motivate them to work hard and realise that peers can also bring positive change among themselves.
“I’m so grateful to our Danish peers who have renovated our hostels. We will now happily live in well-maintained hostels without the scare of bedbugs and fear of diseases due to poor sanitation. Before, these hostels were an eyesore and the ablution block was a no-go-zone,” Manda recalled.
Manda called upon his fellow students to own and take good care of the renovated structures.
According to the headmaster of the school, the enrolment at the school has increased against the available bed space and classrooms as some students sleep in a classroom block.
DCA works to alleviate the suffering of the poor of the poorest in Malawi. The organisation does not work in the education sector but in food security, active citizenship and humanitarian response.
However, from time to time DCA coordinates school exchange programmes between Malawi and Denmark as one way of exchanging skills, ideas and culture among teachers and students.
This year two Malawian teachers will be exchanged to Denmark for them to appreciate the Danish education system and share with the Danish schools their Malawi experience.
