By Joyce Katsilizeni:
On a typical day at Nsalura Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) the campus bustles with activity: students engaging in group discussions, teachers marking exercise books and classrooms brimming with attentive learners.
One of these students is 16-year-old Doreen Msusa from Mayadi Village. Doreen is a sports prefect in her final year at secondary school and her ambition is to become a nurse.
Her journey took a positive turn in 2021 when she received education support from the Kids in Need of Desks (Kind) Fund bursary programme.
She received the much-needed scholarship from Kind Fund – a partnership between Unicef and an American news network, MSNBC, that provides desks to young learners in schools and secondary school scholarships to some of the most vulnerable girls in Malawi.
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After facing financial constraints that nearly stopped her from schooling as her mother who was supporting her education could no longer afford to pay for her school fees, Doreen found relief in the Kind Fund scholarship.
In Malawi, secondary education is not free and school fees stand as a barrier to the education of many girls from poor backgrounds.
Reflecting on her past struggles, Doreen explains: “During that period, my mother faced difficulties to financially support my education. As such, I had inadequate learning materials and outstanding tuition fees to be paid.”
She adds that the scholarship held her hand to continue with school.
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“It gives me essential support covering my school fees, examination fees, notebooks, writing pens, uniforms, school bags, sanitary pads, shoes and pairs of socks,” Doreen explains.
Previously, she would frequently miss classes because school fees was not paid.
This impacted her academic performance. However, with consistent financial backing from the Kind Fund, Doreen’s class attendance and performance have improved.
Lucy Tcheni, a 17-year-old girl in Form 4 at Nsalura CDSS, is another student praising the support from the Kind Fund for keeping her dreams alive.
Lucy comes from Mtukula Village in Salima and is passionate about mathematics. She aspires to pursue a career in banking.
When she received a scholarship from the Kind Fund in 2022 while in Form 1, she was excited knowing that she would no longer be chased from school for failing to pay her tuition fees.
“I completed application forms for the scholarship and waited for some time to hear the results.
“When I heard that my name was included in the scholarship programme, I couldn’t believe it. I was filled with excitement as this took away the threat of being expelled from school due to unpaid fees,” Lucy says.
Mary Kenani, a teacher at the school, says the scholarships are also having an impact on girls who are in primary school.
“The primary school girls see hope that they can complete secondary education when they come here. So, they are working hard because of these scholarships,” Kenani says.
She adds that the Nsalura CDSS used to register high rates of school dropout among girls due to lack of school fees and essential learning materials such as notebooks, school bags, pens and uniforms.
“But there is improvement now. The introduction of the scholarships has significantly reduced these challenges. Additionally, the girls also receive sanitary pads, which promotes good hygiene during their menstruation periods and give them dignity,” the teacher says.
Doreen and Lucy are just two of the young learners who Kenani says have been saved from the risk of early marriage.
“Many girls who drop out of school in this area end up getting married early, but the availability of these scholarships is writing a different story for girls and reducing their chances of going into early marriages,” she says.
About 57 girls are on Kind Fund scholarships at Nsalura CDSS, giving them a chance to receive their secondary education and to fulfil their ambitions. —Unicef Malawi
