Educate A Child program: Supporting vulnerable children in rural Malawi to attend and thrive in primary school

NewsPublished on: Sep 20 2023

CAMFED’s partnership with Education Above All's Educate A Child program passes significant milestones

In its first year, CAMFED’s joint project with Education Above All’s Educate A Child program has already reached 40,050 children at the highest risk of drop-out in 1,355 schools in nine rural districts of Malawi.

This achievement is all the more notable given the significant challenges as a result of Cyclone Freddy and the worsening macroeconomic climate.

EAC is thrilled to witness this partnership in action with CAMFED in Malawi. Already, thousands of some of the country’s most marginalized children at risk of dropping out of education are getting the support they need not just to attend school, but to succeed in school. We are so very happy to help push an initiative like this forward, working with the community and empowering role models along the way.

Dr. Mary Joy Pigozzi, Executive Director - Education Above All

CAMFED and Educate A Child’s year in numbers

To date — supported by Education Above All Foundation’s ‘Educate A Child’ program — CAMFED has:

Reached 40,050 children with holistic support, including 4,692 who were out of school at the point of selection. All 40,050 children supported through our partnership have received tailored packages of material support to equip them to attend and remain in school.
Trained 1,355 Teacher Mentors in safeguarding, child protection and the provision of psychosocial support. The Teacher Mentors are now acting as child protection focal points in schools and providing guidance and counseling to at-risk children.

Hear from Posha, a primary school student in Malawi

“Through education, I now know how to read and write. My ambition for the future: I want to be a teacher so that I can teach children how to read and write. When I become a game changer in my community, I want to get people who never [got to] go to school before and get them school needs so that they can go back to school.”

Posha has received support to enable her to attend and thrive in primary school in Malawi’s Mwanza district. Already, she is nurturing the ambition of becoming a teacher, and of supporting children with their learning as well as with the essentials they need to attend and thrive in school.

“The successes we are celebrating on the first anniversary of this partnership are testament to the commitment of our school, community and district stakeholders, and most especially to the CAMFED Association members who are giving their time as ‘Learner Guides’ and going the extra mile to keep vulnerable children in school and learning.”

Susan Silika, National Director, CAMFED Malawi

CAMFED and Education Above All Foundation share a vision for a world in which every child has the opportunity to stay in school and receive a quality education.

Through our four year-long project, we aim to unlock the powerful potential of the most at-risk children by supporting them to thrive in primary school. CAMFED is gathering lessons learned from the first year of implementation, as well as from our wider programming, to shape our approach to the next year of our partnership.

Discover the vital role of Learner Guides

Learner Guides understand the barriers to education and act as ‘first responders’ to help prevent drop-out. The young women trained through this project have received a phone and bicycle to better equip them to reach at-risk children in remote rural contexts.

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Lisinet, Learner Guide

“It’s very important for me to be a Learner Guide because I act as a bridge between school and my community. We join hands helping learners to go to school and ending child marriages.”

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Iness, Learner Guide

“I chose to become a Learner Guide because I want to help learners to write and read. I want to send children to school, especially those that dropped out… Many children have gone back to school through [my] guidance and counseling.”

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Mercy, Learner Guide

“It is so important to work with families and communities. It helps to limit barriers to education. During home visits, I involve parents to encourage their children to attend and work hard in classes.”

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Sarah, Learner Guide

“I was facing challenges to reach homes of our learners, especially those about to drop out of school. Receiving a bicycle has made my work easier. I am able to reach more needy learners with guidance and counseling. A number of them have managed to come back to school.”

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Rabecca, Learner Guide

“As a Learner Guide I’m a big sister, supporter, and a role model to the learners at my school. I deliver life skills and wellbeing sessions which cover issues of HIV and AIDS, sexual and reproductive [health], among other lessons. I provide [the] right information on prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, early pregnancies and pandemics like COVID-19 and cholera. The support I provide helps learners to stay in school and work towards achieving their goals.”

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Linley, Learner Guide

“As a Learner Guide, I help learners with disabilities by working hand-in-hand with the community leaders, to educate people in my community about the rights of children. Also, I deliver them to communities, stakeholders, where they can be assisted with hearing and visual aids. I’m conducting home visits as well, encouraging those parents and the learners with disabilities to proceed with their education.”