...Emergency needs such as repairing and expanding vital water supply services...consolidating and recommissioning village bores in those areas and adjacent villages so that demand and repairs are equally spread..arranging advance repair systems through local community contributions.
....buying land and planting crops that'll act as income earners as well as providing food security and self-sufficiency to many communities....
Given we have two schools...one a primary and the other a secondary... in the Nogwe/Shaibu area, we've looked ahead and funded the purchase of land, seed, plantlings and tools to establish a foodbowl, using 10 one-hectare plots.
They're set for a wonderful harvest. See for yourself at www.aids.net.au/aids-global-malawi-nogwe-20080712.htm
Having regard to the critical shortage of books throughout Malawi , we need to turn our thoughts to linking our schools to the Internet...and providing much needed computers...and that's going to requre some lateral thinking in those areas where there's no electricity supply.
Should we turn to solar power or diesel generators? We are hoping to obtain up to 50 desktop computers for our various schools this year...somehow!
* The Australian Primary School at Msema is now catering for up to 650 children, thanks to the financial assistance of the Australian government which helped us fund its expansion and upgrading from a Grade 4 to an Grade 8 school. We've built 3 extra houses & facilities for 3 more teachers, bringing to 7 the number of onsite teacher houses & also adding 2 more classrooms.
It needs an extra classroom block to ease crowded classes
Visit the website page at www.aids.net.au/aids-global-malawi-education.htm
* Our Kambona Junior Secondary School has also been upgraded to a full Secondary school thanks to the ongoing support of a key supporter involved in all our school projects & it has an enrolment of 302 teenagers. It's now accredited as a regional examination centre...with extra and special facilities added, including toilets,housing and extensions.
Visit its webpage at www.aids.net.au/aids-global-malawo-kambona.htm
It's in particular need of computers...
Here's its latest report:-
"There are 320 students now studying at The Australian Secondary School at Kambona. We have no places for more students. Many more would like to be enrolled. We are making good progress and have a promising future. The Malawi Revenue Authority now wants our school to pay taxes, which is difficult for us at this time.
The results of Malawi School Certificate of Education [ MSCE] were out last week(early February). The national pass rate was 46 percent. Many students from other schools failed. But our school has managed to get 65 percent pass rate. Neighbouring schools were very low 10 percent, 5 percent, etc. Even the Education Office praised the teachers and many of its officers are sending their children to it.Just imagine, I tell you this school will be recognized well highly on a national level one day, especially when it will become a full boarding school."
*The Nursery school we built for 150 children at Chilunga is now in service.This school sits on the same site as the Transhaven Chilunga Secondary School that we've also helped...and the Chilunga Primary school.We brought electrical power lines to the site some 18 months ago and finally it's being connected. The step-down transformer has just been installed and the power has now been connected to the Secondary school.!
This will be a real life-changer! Browse the webpage at www.aids.net.au/aids-global-malawi-200706d.htm
*********We're built a primary school at Nogwe/Shaibu...also known as The Australian Primary School at Nogwe...It opened in late June 2008 to cater for 400 students. It now has an enrolment of 602.....for which we've had to hastily add some vitally needed extra facilities, such as toilets, etc.Browse the webpage at www.aids.net.au/aids-global-malawi-nogwe-primaryschool.htm
It's urgently in need of an extra classroom block...and a small library.
The solar/LED lighting sustems imported from Canada are now installed at the Nogwe school...allowing studies at night!
The Malawi government seeks to provide at least one main meal at all primary schools but asked us to do this at our Nogwe school for two terms of the 2008 year, after which it would be the provider.
But with the malawi goverbment unable to step in until April this year, we were asked to extend this help until then. But with our financial cupboard just about bare, we had to urgently turn to the Australian government for help just days before Christmas. Thanks to the personal response of Federal Assistant Treasurer, Christopher Bowen, and Federal Parliamentary Secretary, Bob McMullan, this emergencyhelp was very quickly provided through an embassy in Africa.
The Australian Secondary School at Nogwe/Shaibu is now scheduled to open its doors on April 20 to some 400 teenagers.
Due to the sudden devaluation of the Australian dollar and the global financial crisis which affected our corporate donors, we weren't able to complete the construction to enable it to open, as originally planned, in January, and it was only through the emergency financial assistance of the Australian government's overseas development agency, AusAid, that we were actually able to pay for the final two construction stages....the toilets and teacher housing.
See the latest photo reports at www.aids.net.au/aids-global-malawi-nogwe-secondaryschool.htm
******Our mini-learning centre at Njoho now comprises a fine,verandahed, brick building plus modern toilets..its own brick kitchen building and...wonderfully.. its own water bore.This centre is caring for some 100 younger children.Visit the webpage at www.aids.net.au/aids-global-malawi-njoho.htm
A wild storm that ripped through southern Malawi in mid-February all but destroyed a church and demolished the roof of the Mwai Primary School in the Churadzulu District, forcing its children to abandon it in wet weather.The school caters for 850 pupils. They appealed to us for help, and we met their emergency appeal to fund a new school roof.
The school is now back in business (April 2009)...with a new roof and when the youngsters do take classes outside it's because it's their choice to go outdoors from time to time! But it's good to be dry inside.
* In the urban slum area of Ndirande, on the outskirts of Blantyre, our Multi-Purpose Hall is being kept busy as a learning centre, a haven for the chronically sick and aged, a medical library, and an event function centre. In addition, nearby, we've had 3 pipelines (each up to 4k) dug to bring water down a mountainside & provided three 70,000 litre storage tanks to fix an acute water crisis for up to 6,500 people.
***We're hoping to extend this with a further pipeline and storage tank so as to cater to cater for a total of some 10,000 people, given that government water infrastructure in Blantyre can't cope.
Visit the webpage at www.aids.net.au/aids-global-malawi-ndirande.htm |
