“Someday I would like to see a girl from Jathu Village in Traditional Authority Bwanyambi, here in Mangochi, donning the nurse’s uniform, and that girl will be me.”
This is the ambition of 18-year-old Mariam Yahaya, a teenage mother who once dropped out of school for an early marriage but returned after experiencing unbearable hardships in the makeshift home.
“I must be honest, I wasn’t ready for marriage. It was a combination of factors that led me into a teenage marriage, with poverty in my family being the chief reason. As a girl, I got trapped in peer pressure and thought an early marriage was the solution. But now I realise education is the key, and I come early here at school because I know I will have my breakfast before attending classes,” said Yahaya.
Not only Yahaya can testify to the hardships teenage mothers experience when they drop out of school, but also other girls we interacted with at her school echoed similar sentiments.
They said, “It’s not a practical solution to evade poverty through early marriage. There are many challenges there, but we get into that mess because most of us come to school without having breakfast.”
The World Food Programme (WFP), in collaboration with its partners, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), are implementing a multifaceted project in Traditional Authority Bwanyambi to tackle the challenges school-going children face.
The Joint Programme for Girls’ Education, which includes a school feeding component implemented by WFP, sexual and reproductive health by UNFPA, and initiatives to protect children by UNICEF, has helped to keep girls in school.
Primary School Education Advisor (PEA) for Nkumba Zone in TA Bwanyambi, Mangochi, Redson Bwanali, said no child, including girls, can learn well without taking food in the morning.
“Good nutrition is key to producing the best performance from students. The porridge they receive has additives like vegetables, and they are also given fruits. This makes a difference in their overall well-being.
“The School Feeding Programme has also significantly reduced school dropout rates, which previously exceeded 15 percent but have now dropped to 5 percent. It has led to remarkable improvements, with students working harder, and dropout rates have become a thing of the past, as evidenced by Nkumba Zone’s stellar performance in national examinations, ranking it at the top of 22 zones in the district,” said Bwanali.
A 12-year-old girl in standard seven at Nambande Primary School in TA Mlumbe, Zomba District, attested to the fact that most girls in her village are now attending school because they are assured of food before attending classes.
“Unlike previous years, I see that most of my friends are still in school, and others got selected to national secondary schools. In future I want to become a bank manager. I believe I will make it since more girls are being motivated by the School Feeding Programme,” she said.
According to the Headteacher of Nambande Primary School, James Makale, school enrolment has also increased at his institution due to the programme.
“”When we opened the school this term, the total enrolment exceeded 1,000 learners.It took us two weeks before we started providing the porridge. Once school feeding commenced, you could see the classes filling up, and this is attributed to the School Feeding Programme,” said Makale.
Head of the Infant Section at Nambande Primary School, Rhoda Sukwambe, said the impact of Cyclone Freddy and El Nino cannot be overemphasised as most households in TA Mlumbe do not have sufficient food. She recounted how two learners collapsed in class due to hunger.
“You can’t doubt the impact of the School Feeding Programme. It’s making a difference. We could have lost two learners at this school. We later learnt they had gone without food for days,” said Sukwambe.
According to the International Journal of Educational Research, Malawi has one of the highest school dropout rates in Southern Africa, with 15 percent of girls leaving school between Standards 5 and 8.
The World Food Programme (WFP) supports close to 700,000 children and 35,000 smallholder farmers, linking farmers to 476 rural schools as reliable markets for their agricultural produce.
The School Feeding Programme is part of WFP’s efforts to improve climate resilience and food security for farmers.
The project is funded by the Norwegian Government and is implemented in Mangochi, Salima, Dedza and Kasungu.
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