By Benjamin Maona, contributor
About a three-hour drive from Mangochi Boma to Ntonda, lies a striking structure one would mistake for a house for a head teacher of some primary school.
But it is a Community- Based Childcare Centre (CBCC).
Traditional Authority (TA) Ntonda calls the structure ‘ku tauni’ (town) and discloses that people around the village patronise it for wedding photoshoots during weekends because it has transformed the face of the village.
- Advertisement -
Such is the case with other four centres: Kalira in Mitundu and Chilowa in Kasiya, Lilongwe, and Kapandajuba at Ekwendeni in Mzimba.
- Advertisement -
There, the new structures, comprising two classrooms and an office for caregivers, lie some yards away from the dilapidated ones which were being used by children aged between three and six years.
The four centres are part of Yamba Malawi Early Childhood Development (ECD) projects funded by National Bank of Malawi (NBM) to the tune of K100 million.
Christina Izeki, a caregiver at Ntonda CBCC, says last academic year, they had 103 children.
This year, they have registered over 70 children with more coming every day.
- Advertisement -
“The structure we were using is thatched with grass and does not have cement on the floor. It was so inconveniencing especially when it was raining because we would suspend classes for as long as two weeks until it stopped raining,” Izeki narrates.
At Chilowa in Kasiya, Lilongwe, chairperson of the CBCC, Henry Mponda, says they started working with Yamba Malawi in 2020 where they realised the importance of early child development (ECD).
“The new structure has ignited interest among the children to be in class and we expect this to help improve their performance when they shift to primary school,” he says.
Martha Silumbu, a caregiver at Kapandajuba CBCC in Ekwendeni, Mzimba, expects enrolment to increase from 42 children because the new structure is able to accommodate more children.
“The old structure was not suitable for a classroom because it had cracks and parents feared the room could collapse on their kids.
“This new structure gives confidence to parents to send the kids to learn as we prepare them for primary studies,” Silumbu says.
At Kalira in Mitundu, director of Luzi Community Based Organisation where Kalira CBCC falls under, discloses that the structure is now a model for 114 other CBCCs under his jurisdiction.
“We expect children from other villages to enrol at this school once it is opened because we demolished the old and sub-standard one.
“However, I can confirm that other CBCCs have started mobilising materials with the hope of finding funders for their projects just as Yamba Malawi did with Kalira CBCC,” he says.
Yamba Malawi Grants Manager, Sothini Ziba, hails the support from NBM. He says the organisation has 96 CBCCs in its catchment and that less than eight of them have improved structures.
With the ECD week hosted by the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare coming early November under the theme ‘Nurturing Bright Futures: Promoting Access to Integrated Early Childhood Development Services’, the ministry’s spokesperson, Pauline Kaude also praises NBM for their commitment in promoting education from grass roots.
“What National Bank of Malawi has done is exactly what the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare is expecting from the corporate world, to support early childhood education in this country.
“If you read through our policy, it is the role of every individual, companies and government to support and promote ECD.
“ECD is an investment that gives back to society. To address economic challenges, there is a need to improve educational performance as a way of building vibrant human capital in Malawi,” Kaude says.
NBM Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager, Akossa Hiwa, says their commitment to aid ECD is one among many of the bank’s initiatives of developing the nation and giving back to customers.
“We believe that the support we have given to Yamba Malawi will improve service delivery for the development of children in need.
“Because ECD is an important component of an individual’s subsequent development and education, we felt it right and proper to commence our expansion through this avenue.
“We value child development, because we believe that well-developed children will grow into productive citizens that will develop our country and benefit the bank,” she explains.
NBM and Yamba Malawi signed the agreement in December last year and the project is expected to benefit more than 300 children per intake.
