DAPP Malawi is in 2021 celebrating 26 years of active involvement in development work with communities through out the country
DAPP is implementing 17 projects within education, health, agriculture and community development in 25 district that span across the country's three regions
The training of vulnerable adolescent girls and women continues to take place and improve in the Satellite Centers in the four DAPP Teacher Training Colleges (TTC), namely Amalika, Chilangoma, Dowa and Mzimba. This four-month training in tailoring skills aims at empowering female youth and young women to become self-reliant members of society with the participants coming from homes surrounding the various DAPP TTC’s. The project is an extension of Mikolongwe Vocational School activities.
A student displaying the products shes learnt to make
Students explaining the knowledge gained from the course
On 26th April, satellite students from DAPP Dowa TTC organized an open day with the aim of exhibiting the various skills and products they have produced since they commenced their training in February 2019.
District youth officer for Dowa Mrs. Monica Banda commended DAPP for ensuring youths become self-sufficient members of society “through this tailoring course, the lives and living standards of adolescent girls and young women here in Dowa has changed. This is evident by the former students present here who displayed and explained the businesses they are now doing in their respective areas.” She said. Representatives from Dowa district sports office, senior chief Lilambwe, There is Hope college and former graduated tailoring students from the college were also present on the day.
DAPP Malawi in partnership with Sympany Netherlands has since 2016 been equipping vulnerable adolescent girls and women with tailoring skills in the four DAPP TTC’s located in Mzimba, Dowa, Thyolo and Blantyre. The project plans on training 750 students by the time it phases out in July 2021
Established in 1997 in Chiradzulu district, DAPP Mikolongwe Vocational School (MVS) continues to contribute to the Malawi government’s growth and development strategies by training and equipping youth with relevant technical and vocational skills for them to become productive members of the society and empowering them to start up small scale businesses or be able to secure employment.
Gender Equality Is Highly Encouraged
Students Are Taught Agriculture Skills
In a quest to keep track of Mikolongwe Vocational school graduates, the school introduced an Impact Monitoring and Evaluation project in 2018 which aims to keep track of youth that have been trained at the school. The project ensures that there is an effective assessment of the skills imparted onto the youth through analyzing how the graduated are benefitting financially.
To date, 700 graduates have been tracked of which 50 have established businesses ,400 are employed, 23 are advancing their studies, 150 are not yet employed while 77 have changed their career paths.
Students At Work
Welding And Fabrication Students
Mikolongwe Vocational School offers formal and informal trainings in 11 courses which are; Agriculture, Bricklaying, Carpentry, Community Development, Financial Accounting, Textile & Fashion Designing, Beauty & Hairdressing, Renewable Energy & Electrical Installation, Plumbing & Wash Technician and Welding & Fabrication, Cobbler and Shoe Making and Tailoring. To date, Mikolongwe Vocational School has trained over 8,700 youth.
DAPP Malawi, through its four Teachers Training Colleges (TTC) in Mzimba, Dowa, Thyolo and Blantyre districts Namely Mzimba, Dowa, Amalika and Chilangoma Teacher Training Colleges aim at equipping youth in teaching skills and knowledge that will enable the students to become teachers for the rural primary schools of Malawian communities. After the completion of the three year teaching course at DAPP TTC’s, the students are placed in rural government primary schools across all districts in Malawi by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
A Teacher Receiving His Certificate
Group Photo
The 7th of December 2018 marked yet another milestone for DAPP Malawi as it added 80 qualified student of which 49 were females and 31 male students to its growing list of graduated teachers. The students who graduated from DAPP Dowa TTC where not only graduating and embarking on their new journey, but they graduated as the best graduating class of 2018 with a 100% pass rate among all the Teachers Training College’s in Malawi.
Present at the occasion was guest of Honour Mrs. Mary Chirwa who is the Chief Educational Officer in the Ministry of Educational, Science and Technology. She encouraged the graduates to work hard and ensure that their learners perform to the best of their abilities. NGO board representative, the Principle of Emmanuel TTC & Deputy Principle of Lilongwe TTC and Monitoring & Evaluation officer for the Director of Teacher Education and Development were also present at the function.
The Gruaduates
The Graduating Students
Principle of DAPP Dowa TTC, Mr. Blessings Kambewa reminded the students that their journey has just began “As teachers, strive to be the best you can. Strive to not only be teachers but to also be taught yourself. Invest in learning and you will never go wrong” he said. To date, DAPP Malawi has graduated more than 2,700 teachers of which approximately 2,300 are working in rural government primary schools across the country
Mafosha Primary School in Chinkhwiri zone, Traditional Authority Chakhadza in Dowa district has for over 10 years underperformed in the Primary School Leaving Certificate Examinations (PSLCE). It wasn’t until the 2016/17 academic results when the school recorded a 100 pass rate during the PSLCE.
During the 2016/7 academic year all the 31 pupils who sat for the PSLCE passed representing a 100 percent pass rate and in the 2017/8 calendar the Standard 8 enrolment at school doubled to 68 who sat for the exams and all passed with 44 learners selected to national, conventional and community day secondary schools.
The headteacher for the school Clement Tendai Sam attributes the success to the hardworking spirit and dedication that teachers at the school are demonstrating. He also recognises the relationship that has been built between the school and the community which is he said is encouraging parents to be more involved in their children’s education.
Kachidowo Delivering A Leasson
Kachidowo Delivering A Leasson In Standard 8
“This year we have 83 learners who are expected to write the PSLCE and this is all because of the good records at the school. We are not only performing well in the MANEB (Malawi Nation Examinations Board) but we also came first in the Standard 8 mock examinations with most of the best performing students coming from Mafosha school,” explained Sam.
He added that some of the parents are coming from as far as Lilongwe, Kasungu and Madisi to learn at Mafosha which is leading to self-boarding for some of the learners.
The Chairperson for the School Committee Linda Paulo echoed the headteacher’s remarks that there is a good relationship between the community and the school which is in turn contributing to the performance at the school as the community has become supportive of education.
She added that the teachers are dedicated and willing to work during odd hours to achieve their goals giving an example of the Standard 8 class teacher who offers free remedial lessons to his class, and stays around for the learners to study at night and in the early morning hours.
Stanley Kachidowo is the Standard 8 class teacher at Mafosha. He joined the school in September 2016. He was trained at DAPP Dowa Teachers Training College as a primary school teacher in rural Malawi.
He is a member of a DAPP Malawi graduated teachers network that stick together to share ideas and knowledge on how they can improve the environments around their schools known as 400 Primary Schools. The aim of the 400 Primary schools program is for the DAPP graduated teachers to reach out to 400 schools in Malawi.
The 400 Primary schools meet regularly to plan and evaluate their work, share ideas and experiences and to produce teaching and learning materials which include TALULAR (Teaching and Learning Using Locally Available Resources) and supplementary reading materials known as Spines.
Mafosha Primary School has a TALULAR committee according to the head teacher which is chaired by Kachidowo. Through the use of TALULAR at the school, the learners easily grasp the concepts when teaching and it allows for continued learning when the teacher is not around.
However, kachidowo complains that he is the only teacher in Standard 8 which is due to insufficient number of teachers at the school. He teaches all the 9 subjects and promises to continue working hard.
Mafosha primary school has 13 teachers, 3 females and 10 males with an enrolment of 626 learners, 331 girls and 295 boys.
DAPP Malawi through 400 Primary schools, a DAPP Teachers Training Colleges (TTC) graduated Teachers Network, project is in partnership with Febbie Tambala, a Master of Public Health student at Melbourne University in Australia, training adolescent girls and women (members of the mothers' group committee) on how to make reusable sanitary pads using locally available resources for use during menstruation. The project is part of Febbie’s University's requirements for the award of a Masters degree.
Febbie said she chose to focus in the areas of menstrual hygiene and installing hand washing facilities around the school after establishing that adolescent girls tend to miss school during their menstrual periods which contributes to the drop out of young girls from school especially in the rural areas where there are poor families who cannot afford to buy disposable sanitary pads.
Demonstrating To Girls How To Make Sanitary Pads
Showing Off Re Usable Pads After Making The First Piece
Febbie (Right) Hands Over Sewing Machines To The School
Participants During The Training Which Included Learners Mothers And Teachers
The sewing of sanitary pads training took place at Nthulo primary school in Nansato education zone in Thyolo district on 13 November 2018.
The Mothers' Group committee was provided with two sewing machines for continuation of the project activities after the training and income generation through selling of the reusable sanitary pads. The program will support over 500 adolescent girls at the school and from the surrounding communities.
Nthulo primary school is in a rural area where, George Mphanje the Deputy Head teacher is one of the DAPP graduated teachers who is also a member of the 400 Primary Schools.
The 400 primary schools project is a network of DAPP graduated teachers who stick together to share ideas and network on how they can improve the school environments around their schools.
Currently there are 90 teachers in the network who are working in 67 schools across Malawi
