Temwa Malawi Improving Education Standards in Nkhata Bay North Through Community Literacy Project

Eight-year-old Jesse Mkandawire always has been passionate about learning, but she struggled in school due to a lack of resources and support. Jesse who is now in standard three at Khutu Full Primary School in Nkhata Bay was unable to read or write, as her school could not provide her with the help she needed to improve her literacy skills.

Luckily enough, her school is now part of Temwa Malawi’s literacy project in the northern part of the district, a situation that has excited Jesse at the prospect of receiving support and resources to improve her reading and writing skills.

She is now attending classes and is thrilled to have access to books, learning materials, and well-trained teachers.
Throughout the project, Jesse has seen significant improvements in her academic performance.

She can now read and understand more complex texts, and her writing skills have also improved greatly.

Commenting on the impact of the literacy project one of the teachers at Khutu Primary school, Francis Kalikuzi says he has seen firsthand the impact that the project has had on the learners.

Before the project, Kalikuzi says he saw many of the learners struggling in school due to a lack of resources and often had to teach large classes with limited materials, making it difficult for students to receive the individual attention they needed to improve their literacy skills.

“The project has had a positive impact on how we teach our learners. As teachers, we now feel more confident in our teaching abilities and we are proud to be a part of a project that is making a real difference in the education of our children,” he said.

Overall, Kalikuzi believes that the community literacy project by Temwa Malawi in Nkhata Bay north has been a tremendous success, and is excited to continue working on the project in the future.

Speaking on behalf of the community on the impact of the literacy project, the ward councilor for the area Brown Vyatonda Yekha Chizeze thanked the organization for its efforts in uplifting education standards.

“We thank Temwa Malawi for their assistance in providing resources for our schools. We have seen the organization provide resources for our teachers and children in reading camps. The organization is also assisting in improving girls’ education in this area,” he said.

Chizeze also applauded the organization for working in improving inclusive education, which he says will go a long way in making sure every child has a chance of achieving their ambitions and reaching their full potential through education regardless of their handicap.

According to Blessings Nyirongo who is Temwa Malawi Project Officer for Education, the aim is to achieve equal access to education and basic information among people in Nkhata Bay North.

He says the community literacy project more particularly aims at improving literacy levels of people in the project area.

“We want to see improved prioritization towards education, we want to see improved early grade reading in schools and we also want to see an improvement in the way communities engage in reading.

“Inorder for us to improve these we have a number of activities that we implement, we also support schools through spelling bees and literacy fairs. Through these activities we want to create a platform for learners to demonstrate different literacy skills they learn from school so that the general public can appreciate how schools are benefitting the learners,” he says.

Temwa Malawi through the community Literacy project under the education program is also supporting literacy fairs in the district where primary schools compete on various elements of literacy from their curriculums.
The project has also fostered a sense of community and collaboration among teachers and parents as communities around schools are following up on learners who are supposed to be enrolled in school and as a result of the follow-ups, enrollment in early-grade classes has improved as well in all schools under the project.

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