Children in parts of Chikwawa are staying in school longer, classrooms are filling up, and fewer learners are dropping out, thanks to a school feeding programme that is changing lives one meal at a time.
The improvements have prompted Illovo Sugar Malawi Plc to inject K80 million into Mary’s Meals to sustain the programme at Nambesa, Namicheni, Mwanza and Chimbiya primary schools around its Nchalo Estate.
Speaking during the cheque handover, Chikwawa District Council Director of Education Services Getrude Zimba Jumbe said the feeding programme has transformed education outcomes in the district by attracting more children to school and keeping them in class.
She said the district’s school dropout rate has fallen from 6.6 percent two years ago to 5.7 percent, while learner attendance and classroom performance have also improved.
“The school feeding program is very, important specifically for Chikwawa when it comes to improving the quality of education. The school feeding program has helped the district increase the number of learners which go to school, which attend classes. The performance itself of the learners in class has improved as well,” said Jumbe.
Jumbe cited Nambesa Primary School as one of the biggest success stories, where enrolment has risen from about 300 learners to more than 850 because of the daily meals provided through Mary’s Meals.
She said despite the progress, the district still has 19 schools without a feeding programme and is encouraging communities to produce food on school land to support learners. She added that government is also providing resources to some schools to help them grow food for school meals.
Jumbe acknowledged that growing enrolment has increased pressure on classroom space and teachers’ houses but said the council is using the Constituency Development Fund, the Joint Sector Education Fund and the District Development Fund to construct new education infrastructure.
Illovo Sugar Malawi Plc Director of Corporate and Legal Affairs Maureen Kachingwe said the company decided to invest in school feeding because hunger remains one of the biggest barriers preventing children from completing their education.
She said evidence from the supported schools shows that learners are attending classes more consistently, dropout rates are falling and more girls are remaining in school, proving that school meals are making a lasting difference.
Kachingwe said supporting education goes beyond constructing classrooms and teachers’ houses, stressing that addressing hunger is equally important if children are to succeed in school.
“So we thought as advancing education is one of our pillars, we cannot just attack infrastructure or providing teacher’s houses. But we need also to intervene in some of the problems that are making the problem of school dropout become more prominent. So that’s how we came up with the decision to assist Mary’s Meal,” said Kachingwe.
Mary’s Meals Malawi Country Director Angela Chipeta Khonje said Illovo has supported the four schools for the past two years, reaching about 4,300 learners, and described the latest K80 million donation as a major boost to the programme.
She said school feeding is not only tackling hunger but also investing in Malawi’s future by giving children the opportunity to stay in school and become tomorrow’s teachers, farmers, health workers and leaders.
Meanwhile, Khonje expressed optimism that the renewed partnership with Illovo is expected to ensure thousands of children continue receiving daily meals, helping them remain in classrooms and giving them a better chance of breaking the cycle of poverty through education.
