Temwa - Schools Support

Schools Support

Temwa's schools support projects have taken many forms including the building of a community library and primary school block; the starting of a scholarship programme to help pupils through secondary school; and the provision of well needed educational materials. We have also started a Temwa Schools Magazine project in the UK to help educate young people about the problems faced in Africa and help facilitate them in making a positive contribution through activities such as fundraising and twinning with Malawian schools.

Library Project

On the 15th of September 2007, Temwa proudly opened the first community library in Usisya, which was funded with proceeds from the 2006 CVS Ball.

The idea for the project was put forward by the Usisya community committee under the tenure of Sam Clark – the previous Project Manager. The committee identified a library as an important tool in helping people to maintain and improve upon the literacy skills learned at school, to increase their knowledge in a variety of areas and, last but not least, to learn to enjoy reading.

Since opening, the library has received an encouraging number of visitors and has generated significant interest. Many suggestions have been put forward as to what materials people would like to see on the shelves and Temwa has been putting down plans for encouraging as many people as possible to use the library. We are looking forward to seeing membership grow and to giving the people of Usisya the access to information they have lacked until now.

School Blocks

With funding from the Nick Webber Trust, Temwa has constructed and furnished a double classroom for a newly created primary school in teh village of Sangano in order to improve the educational environment and support education in Usisya. We are hoping that this will also improve the educational achievement of the students at the Primary School.

Since completing the Sangano school block in early 2008, funding was received from CVS to build another block in the village of Nkhutu. This block has been under construction since the summer and we are very happy to report that the whole project will be completed in early 2009 and that the school will be ready to use during the next academic year.

The previous primary school huts do not provide a good learning environment, they do not stand up well to the elements and they are not attractive to teachers, who are in short supply.

School Support & Scholarship Program

The Nick Webber Trust (N.W.T.) have been funding a joint school support and school scholarship programme that has been implemented in Usisya since the beginning of 2008. This project will be funded by The Nick Webber Trust and will be implemented on the ground in Malawi by Temwa’s staff. The project proposal involved detailed consulting with Temwa’s Community Committee, staff from the Usisya Community Day Secondary School (C.D.S.S.), the local Primary Education Advisor and the District Education Department.

The project includes a scholarship scheme to provide 20 scholarships for able and willing students to attain their secondary school qualification as well as a plan to provide financial resources to improve the educational facilities available at the 18 primary schools in Usisya. The 20 scholarships, to be know as N.W.T. Bursaries, have been split up into three types; four for exceptional students to attend the government or mission-run school to which they are selected; 12 for able students who might not be able to pay for their secondary school education to attend the C.D.S.S., and a further four term-by-term bursaries to be provided by the C.D.S.S. to encourage competition within classes and raise overall performance. An additional focus of these N.W.T. Bursaries will be to attempt to redress the gender imbalance within the educational system in Usisya.

The improving of the educational facilities of Usisya’s primary schools has taken the form of the provision of educational materials such as workbooks, stationary and calculators as well as the building of a new school block which was completed in January 2008. Before the assistance took place, questionnaires were sent to school heads asking them to detail their material and construction needs and our assistance will be tailored to address these needs as best as possible.

The N.W.T. Bursaries began at the start of the 2008 school year in Malawi, which was in January 2008, and are ongoing.

Schools Magazine

The schools magazine that has been in development in conjunction with an organisation called Young Bristol has recently rolled off the print machines.

The Temwa schools magazine was printed in 2007 and is ready to be used by schools and youth groups throughout Bristol and its surrounding areas. Created by Millennium Volunteers at Young Bristol, a youth charity in the city, in partnership with Temwa, the youth-orientated magazine is aimed at young people between 13 and 19 years old and is intended to be used in schools to encourage young people to learn about sustainable development, get involved in volunteering and assist the work of Temwa in establishing community projects in Malawi.

CLICK HERE to visit the School Magazine's page on our website.