Ubwino Wa Amayi
For The Good Of The Women
Ubwino Wa Amayi
Namitembo is a rural area in the south of Malawi that covers 40 square miles with a population in excess of 16,000. More than half of that population are under 15 years old.
Seven primary and two secondary schools cater for around 9,000 pupils in the Namitembo and wider Chingale area and whilst primary education is free, secondary school fees come in at a little over $25 a year.
For the female students, early marriage and family needs see many of them taking up subsistence farming. It comes at no surprise that in secondary school, boys outnumber the girls on average at 4:1.
Formed in 2006 by Blantyre residents, Mary O’Neill and Diane Calisse, Ubwino Wa Amayi (translates to ‘for the good of the women’) seeks to address the imbalance that applies to the female students by establishing an education fund to educate the girls through secondary school or to learn a trade at the newly established trade school.
“Girls drop out of school due to lack of funds, early marriage and pregnancy. We want to help them continue their education. We can do this primarily by paying their school fees.”
“Sending a child,to school, whether they are male or female requires a real sacrifice on the part of the parents and many simply cannot afford it. We are in a position to raise awareness and raise funds to help these young women.”
So far, Ubwino Wa Amayi has raised over 1.8 million Kwacha from the Dublin Marathon, private donations, St Patricks day celebrations and the annual Blantyre Pantomime. Funds are still coming in.
“We would like to do more to help make it normal for girls to further their education. As well as donations and fund raising events, we are looking for people with skills to donate at skills days in Namitembo. If you are interested, please get in touch via our website at www.ubwino.org.”
Written by Roz Edwards
Notes:
Malawi is a small landlocked country in southeast Africa nestled between Tanzania and Mozambique.
Female literacy is 62%, male literacy is 79%. (MDHS 2004)
Only 24% of women in the 20-24 year old age group have attended secondary school or higher.
It costs 8,000 Malawi Kwacha ($57) per year to keep a girl in secondary school. This is $228 for 4 years.
Mission Statement - The Mission of Ubwino Wa Amayi is to facilitate the further the education of girls of secondary school age in Namitembo without bias or exclusion on the basis of religion, political affiliation, disability or marital status.
Aim - The aim of Ubwino Wa Amayi is to create an opportunity for motivated girls to continue their education to form 4 who otherwise would have dropped out of school due to circumstances beyond their control.
Vision - The vision of Ubwino Wa Amayi is for gender disparity in schools to be reduced and more girls to attain MSCE. Girls will learn a trade at the Trade school, and as a result, overall health, equality and women’s empowerment will improve for the benefit of the community at large.