Children in Malawi, Zambia push to change school calendar in response to climate change

Children in Malawi and Zambia are urging their governments to change the school calendar and close during the winter months of June and July, as colder temperatures cause students to lose concentration and skip classes, according to to Save the Children.

Schools in both countries currently close for the winter between mid-August and September because many classrooms lack heating.

However, climate change has made winters colder, and children want the holidays to be moved forward so they can stay at home where they have a better chance of staying warm.

In both countries, average temperatures in June and July range from 9°C to 23°C**.

While such temperatures are not considered freezing in many parts of the world, southern African nations are not accustomed to them, and homes and schools are not built with adequate heating or insulation.

While winter climate data for Zambia and Malawi is limited, there has been an increase in the frequency of extreme cold events across Southern Africa as a result of changes in regional climate patterns, such as the number of cold fronts moving over South Africa.

Since the beginning of winter in June, children in Southern African countries have complained of extremely cold days wreaking havoc on their lives and preventing them from exercising their right to an education.

Faith, a 13-year-old Malawian child rights activist, is passionate about climate change and how it affects children.

She told Save the Children that she has noticed a shift in weather patterns in recent years.

“The cold was there, but it was not like this one we are experiencing now. It was cold, of course, but sometimes the sun could be there. But this cold we are experiencing… it's hard to withstand,” she said.

Malawi and Zambia are among the most vulnerable countries to climate change, with the full impact of the crisis already manifesting itself in extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and landslides.

In 2021, they also topped the list of the world's unreported crises.

Save the Children reported earlier this year that Zambia is experiencing a slow and silent climate crisis that has forced about 13% of the population into severe food shortages, with 1.58 million people - including an estimated 821,000 children - facing an underreported environmental disaster that includes late rains, prolonged dry spells, extreme high temperatures, devastating insect swarms, and floods.

In Malawi, a third of the population - 5.4 million people out of a total population of 16.6 million - is on the verge of going hungry due to poverty and food system shocks caused by climate change.

However, while their parents struggle to feed their families, children like Faith struggle to stay focused in class and to keep their dreams alive.

But as parents struggle to feed their families, children like Faith are struggling to stay sharp in class and to keep their dreams alive.Faith said: *“Climate change is affecting me a lot because I'm skipping classes and my right to education is being disturbed because I'm not enjoying my education as I used to. And another thing (it) is affecting is my right of aspiration and inspiration of what I want to become … I want to become the president of Malawi. *

“It's a cold time, of course, but the cold is beyond because it reaches the extent where children don’t go to school and I'm learning at a boarding secondary school. And then it happens that we have to bath with cold water. It’s too much for us to handle so we skip classes sometime."Pohamba, 14, lives with his mother and brother in Lusaka, Zambia. He said that he has noticed a rapid change in the weather pattern which is affecting children in many ways, including those living with disability like himself.“In Zambia weather patterns have really changed … maybe from seven years ago. I was young, but I still have a bit of a memory of what was happening. When it was raining, it wasn’t raining as it is raining now. And when it is summer, it wasn't this hot. The weather right now is just changing,” said Pohamba.

"People that have disabilities are affected by climate change in a lot of ways. When it comes to school as I said, it’s cold or it’s too hot and it’s hard to concentrate. They (extreme weather events) could get worse if we don't start treating our environment the right way."

Faith called on her government and other African governments to revise the school calendar so that children have a winter vacation in June and July at last month's inaugural African Children's Parliament in Zambia. Her message was met with a thunderous applause from her peers, potentially setting a precedent for other countries on the continent.

Jo Musonda, Save the Children Country Director in Zambia, said:

“The* extreme weather conditions including the cold seasons have become regular for Southern Africa and a cause for concern for families and children. Save the Children stands with children in their quest to have the school calendar revised and we will pick up this call and include it in our on-going advocacy and dialogue with the Ministry of Education and look forward to achieving positive outcomes for children.”*Save the Children’s Country Director in Malawi, Kim Koch, said:“We know that climate change affects children first and worst and stands in their way of enjoying their basic rights including the right to education. With the number of climate-related disasters tripling in the past 30 years, frequent and recurring climate shocks – such as flooding, and cyclones – are repeatedly putting the lives and dreams of children, our future generation, at great jeopardy.“We are calling on African governments and world leaders to listen to children and give them a seat at the table in decisions that affect their lives now and, in the future.”

For nearly 40 years, Save the Children has operated health, nutrition, education, and protection programs throughout Zambia. Save the Children is responding to the climate crisis by providing education support, emergency cash and voucher assistance, and school feeding programs to children and their families affected by drought and flooding.

Save the Children works in 25 of Malawi's 28 districts, delivering programs, advocating for children's rights, and building emergency response capacity.

Save the Children, in collaboration with partners, is empowering children to become child rights campaigners and providing advocacy on a variety of issues affecting children in Zambia and Malawi, including climate change.