For children in Chivuwo, going to school was once a journey that began long before the first lesson.
Some had to walk more than five kilometres to reach a full primary school. By the time they arrived, the distance had already taken its toll. For some children, the challenge of getting to school became part of a much bigger problem, poor performance, dropping out and, in some cases, early marriages and teenage pregnancies.
At Chivuwo Junior Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority Mbwatalika in Lilongwe, the problem was not only the distance. Even those who made it to school did not always have a classroom to learn in.
Some children studied under trees while others were taught inside a church.
It was a difficult reality for a community where education was supposed to provide children with a path to a better future.
Moyo Ngwathu chief executive officer Ringo Kanshulu says the lack of a nearby full primary school was having consequences beyond the classroom.
“Children were walking over five kilometres to access a full primary school and the distance affected their performance. A number of children were dropping out of school and there were also cases of early marriages and teen pregnancies,” said Kanshulu.
That reality is now beginning to change.
Through its K980 million Water, Agriculture, Women Empowerment, Education and Hygiene (Waweh 4) project, Moyo Ngwathu, with financial support from Zikomo Foundation of Germany, Open Hand for Malawi of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Government, has upgraded Chivuwo Junior Primary School into a full primary school.
Four double-classroom blocks have been constructed, alongside teachers’ houses and toilets.
The change is already visible in the number of children attending the school.
According to Lilongwe Rural West Chief Education Officer Grace Gulura, enrolment has risen from around 300 learners to 882 following the construction of the additional classrooms.
“Before this project, children were learning under trees and some in a church. The construction of the classroom blocks provided a conducive learning environment,” said Gulura.
For the community, the significance of the new classrooms goes beyond bricks and mortar.
A child who once had to travel several kilometres to find a full primary school can now access more of their education closer to home. The classroom that was once a tree or a church is now a permanent structure.
But education is only one part of the transformation being attempted in Mbwatalika.
The same project has installed 13 boreholes and supported 660 farmers with irrigation equipment, farming skills and farm inputs, linking education and access to water with the wider struggle for food security and household livelihoods.
During an inspection of the project activities, Lilongwe District Council District Water Development Officer Joshua Mpokwa urged communities to make full use of the facilities and turn the investment into lasting improvements in their lives.
Chivuwo’s story therefore is not simply about new classrooms.
It is about what happens when the distance between a child and a classroom becomes too great, and how removing that distance can begin to change the choices available to a community.
For years, five kilometres stood between some children and a full primary education. Today, the classrooms at Chivuwo are bringing that opportunity closer.
