Donuts to dissertations: UNICEF scholars make it to university

Tiffany Kapanda, 18, is studying arts and humanities at Chancellor College in Zomba
© UNICEF Malawi/2018/Andrew Brown

The sprawling campus of Chancellor College is on the edge of Malawi’s former capital city, Zomba, with the dramatic profile of Zomba Plateau behind it. It is only 120 kms from the dirt tracks, maize fields, and mud-brick villages of student Tiffany’s home in Mangochi, but it feels like a world away. Fashionably dressed students sit in groups chatting on manicured lawns in front of the modern library building and lecture halls. A young man in a Che Guevara t-shirt walks past two women in colourful Muslim head scarfs. Flyers on the noticeboard outside the library advertise everything from music concerts to a study tour of the Ministry of Finance. It could be a university campus anywhere in the world.

Continue reading “Donuts to dissertations: UNICEF scholars make it to university” →

Happy together: Mary returns to her family after seven years

DSC0079-edit — Mary Lingisoni, 11 (centre),with her sisters, father and step mother
© UNICEF Malawi/2018/Andrew Brown

Mary Lingisoni, 11, lives with her two older sisters, Agnes and Ellen, father and stepmother in a township on the edge of Lilongwe. It’s a very normal Malawian set up. The family rent a small brick two-bedroom house, with a sparsely furnished lounge and front porch. The girls sleep in one room and their parents in the other. Their father does odd jobs in construction. The township is like a dense village, with narrow dirt roads weaving between tightly packed houses. Chickens and goats roam freely and women walk to water kiosks with large plastic buckets on their heads.

Continue reading “Happy together: Mary returns to her family after seven years” →

Building blocks: Aness looks forward to her new classroom

UNICEF MALAWI CONSTUCT SCHOOL AND ADMINISTRATION BLOCKS AT NANKH — Aness observes construction of the new classrooms at Nankhali Primary School
© UNICEF Malawi/2018/Amos Gumulira

It is a hot, dry and windy day at Nankhali school, on the edge of Lilongwe. Most of the school is outdoors, with classes held under trees. Wherever there is a tree, dozens of children in blue school uniforms sit on the bare earth ground around a teacher, with a blackboard leant against the tree trunk.

Continue reading “Building blocks: Aness looks forward to her new classroom” →

Drones vs mosquitos: using high and low-tech to fight malaria

_DSC0720-edit — Michelle Stanton pilots a drone as part of the malaria prevention project
© UNICEF Malawi/2018/Andrew Brown

In the middle of a muddy field next to a reservoir in Kasungu District, a team of scientists are hard at work. Boxes of equipment lie scattered around a patch of dry ground, where Lancaster University’s Michelle Stanton programmes an automated drone flight into a laptop perched on a metal box. The craggy peak of Linga Mountain (‘watch from afar’ in the local language) looms over the lake, casting its reflection in the water. A local cattle farmer stops with his herd to watch the unusual activity.
Continue reading “Drones vs mosquitos: using high and low-tech to fight malaria” →

Leading role: Head Teachers Association improves schools

_MG_5150-edit — Headmaster Pemba (left) with members of Kwiputi Primary School’s Learners Council
© UNICEF Malawi/2018/Eldson Chagara

In the packed earth yard at the centre of Kwiputi Primary School, a group of girls gather to practice netball, ahead of a district competition. The pitch is rudimentary, with goal posts made from wooden poles with scrap motorbike wheel rims attached to the top. The girls shout out to each other, with team coach Samayat, 14, giving directions. Rain clouds gather ominously overhead, but the girls keep on playing. Suddenly Samayat gets a clear shot at the goal ring, throws the ball, and scores.

Continue reading “Leading role: Head Teachers Association improves schools” →

Back to school: Mother Group helps children get an education

_MG_3213 — Potato seller Rosie is a member of the Kampini School Mother Group
© UNICEF Malawi/2018/Eldson Chagara

An unusual sight greets visitors to Headmaster Emmanuel Mabwera’s house at Kampini Primary School, Dedza. The front room has been converted into a workshop for the Mother Group, which coordinates between the school and local community. Old fashioned sewing machines sit on desks, surrounded by old clothes and materials. The mothers are hard at work sewing sanitary pads for adolescent girls, to prevent them missing school during their periods.

Continue reading “Back to school: Mother Group helps children get an education” →

City under siege: preventing cholera in Lilongwe

_DSC0368-edit — Nazia Chimbenenga with her children Vanessa and Precious, who both had cholera
© UNICEF Malawi/2018/Andrew Brown

On Sunday 20 May 2018, Lilongwe became cholera free, following an outbreak that lasted four months, affected 388 people, and claimed 18 lives. Nationally, over 900 people were affected with 30 deaths. The outbreak was caused by unsafe water consumption and poor hygiene and sanitation practices. Unless these underlying issues are addressed, cholera is likely to return.

Continue reading “City under siege: preventing cholera in Lilongwe” →

Youth Out Loud: child journalism gives Rehema a voice

Rehema1 — Rehema (right) and her friend Rita record a radio interview at Radio Maria broadcasting station in Mangochi
© UNICEF Malawi/2017/Eldson Chagara

The town of Mangochi sits at the southern tip of Lake Malawi. A bridge arches over the wide river that runs south from the lake. On the Mangochi side is a roundabout that circles a square brick clock tower from the colonial era, next to the white walls and colourful garden of the former governor’s mansion, now a hotel.

Continue reading “Youth Out Loud: child journalism gives Rehema a voice” →

Reverend Banda preaches God’s plan for marriage

Reverend-1 — “I use verses from the Bible to teach people about the problems caused by child marriages”
© UNICEF Malawi/2017/Eldson Chagara

On a bright Sunday morning in Dedza district, Reverend Fastele Banda takes to the podium of a large church. The aisles are full of people from surrounding villages, dressed in their finest clothes. A group of gospel singers in shiny shirts get everyone singing to build their enthusiasm. Then Reverend Banda starts talking, his voice becoming more animated as he holds forth on a subject that he is passionate about: ending child marriage.

Continue reading “Reverend Banda preaches God’s plan for marriage” →

Chief Kapoloma fights to end child marriage in Machinga

Chief-1 — Chief Kapoloma wants young people in his area to benefit from education
© UNICEF Malawi/2017/Eldson Chagara

It’s a hot and sunny afternoon when Chief Kapoloma visits the home of teenage Fatima and her mother in Aisa village, Machinga district. He strides across the baked earth of a dried-out river bed, wearing a traditional robe and circular hat over smart shirt and trousers. The area is predominantly Muslim and there is a small brick mosque among the houses, adorned with a white star and crescent on the minaret. A cockerel calls out from a straw enclosure behind one of the mud brick houses.

Continue reading “Chief Kapoloma fights to end child marriage in Machinga” →