Children, staff, and parents at Essendene Lodge School in the United Kingdom sold cakes to raise £660 (about K800,000) to support Msalura Primary School in Salima.
The funds add to thousands of pounds the UK school, Essendene Lodge School located in Surrey, has raised for the Malawian school since the partnership began in 2011.
According to Independent Education Today, a UK online site, over the years Essendene has supported Msalura sports and computing equipment, staff visits and contributions to the ‘gifted girls fund’ which helps girls to continue into secondary education and progress onwards towards university.
In 2018, a gala dinner organised by Essendene Lodge’s parents raised over £5,000 (about K6 million), enabling Msalura to dig a well and install a water pump, giving the school its own fresh water supply, which transformed the lives of children and staff.
In recent years, the school has also supported the ‘days for girls’ project with parents putting together basic sanitary packs, helping provide girls with the resources they need to manage their periods, stay in school, and continue their education.
Independent Education Today further reported that In June, following an appeal, the UK school was able to send by shipping container five large boxes of toys and learning materials donated by parents and pupils for use by children with special needs which is a new department at Msalura.
Kishwar Ali, headteacher at Essendene Lodge, said the annual cake sale fundraiser is part of her school’s ongoing support to Msalura.
“Despite being in an extremely poor area, the school performs exceptionally well. The partnership is mutually beneficial. We learn as much from them as they do from us,” she said.
Kishwar visited Msalura in 2017 and is also planning to visit the school in May 2023, to re-establish the partnership and to meet the school’s new headteacher to discuss joint teaching and learning activities including facilitating live classroom links.
In a related development, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has funded the construction of eight new classrooms and teacher preparation areas.
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