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Mtendere Organization provides education support for underprivileged Mzimba students
The Mtendere Organization in Ekwendeni is assisting underprivileged students in Mzimba with their education, writes Alinafe Sambo.
Mzimba, Malawi - Needy students in the northern district of Mzimba are receiving help to continue their education from the Ekwendeni-based Mtendere Organization, writes Alinafe Sambo.
The organization has taken on over 40 students and is providing them with school fees, writing materials, and other basic needs.
According to a 2020 UNICEF report, poverty is one of the many challenges that prevent many children in rural areas from proceeding with their education.
The upper secondary completion rate is very low, at 4 percent, especially among the poor.
The initiative by the Mtendere Organization is helping to reduce cases of dropouts at the schools, especially among girls, who were on the verge of leaving school due to a lack of fees.
The project is currently helping over forty students at Ekwendeni Community Day Secondary School, Euthini Secondary School, and Msiki Community Day Secondary School in the district.
Mickness Tembo, a form two student at Ekwendeni Community Day Secondary School, explained how poverty had disrupted her desire to attain education and how Mtendere Organization had brought about a change in her life.
"As a girl, I need a lot of things in life, and for me to concentrate on my education, I need to eat, bathe, and dress presentably, something that has been a very big problem for my parents to provide," she said.
"The coming in of the Mtendere organization has brought a change in my life, as they provide all the things that my parents could not provide for me, and I am able to focus on my studies. Now it is easy for me to achieve my goals."
Uchindami Mwanza, a Form 1 student at Ekwendeni Community Day Secondary School, also explained how the Mtendere Organisation had changed his life.
"With the coming in of the Mtendere organization, my life has changed a lot because they are paying for my studies and giving me the necessary materials that are helping with my studies, and this has helped me to focus on my education because now I have all the things that I lacked," said Uchindami.
The headteacher for Ekwendeni Community Day Secondary School, Ntchachi Mwandira, revealed that the project has been beneficial to the school and has brought back many students who were on the verge of dropping out of school due to a lack of fees.
"Now many students have been able to complete secondary education," she said.
Clement Silwamba, the project officer for Mtendere Organization, said the project is helping to provide necessary materials to needy students, including sugar for porridge, writing materials, and sanitary pads for girls.
"A child can only work hard at school if they are provided with all the necessary materials, so as an organization, we make sure that every child does not go to school on an empty stomach," he added.
Thanks to the Mtendere Organization's initiative, needy students in Mzimba district are receiving the help they need to continue their education and achieve their goals.
As Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world."