Sounds from the Ground: Chankhalmo School, Malawi
Part 1 - October 2009
Welcome to BWEYA – a small village in the Kasungu region of Malawi. buildOn has been building schools in this African country since 1993. Over the course of this school year, we will have a chance to meet some of the community members who came together to build buildOn’s 316th school. The name of the school is Chankhalmo.
The Task: Signing the buildOn Covenant
Before a school construction project begins, villagers and buildOn sign a covenant that outlines the expectations the community has of buildOn and that we have of them. buildOn promises to provide all construction materials, construction management and skilled labor among other things. Meanwhile, the community elects a project leadership committee and in the covenant the entire community agrees to provide all unskilled labor necessary to build the school - up to 30 volunteers per day. Many communities contribute more than 3,000 volunteer workdays to build a single school. They also commit to providing all locally available materials to build the school. This is their school and they actually build it!
Most importantly, the covenant they sign promises gender balance across all aspects of the project - at least 50% of the students in the new school will be girls and women make up at least 50% of the project leadership committee.
Meet: Zione Banda
Muli Bwanji – Greetings in Chichewa, the language spoken in the Kasungu region of Malawi!
Zione Banda is a 28 year-old mother of three children. Her children range in age between 1 year and 9 years old. In this photo, you can see Zione signing the covenant at the beginning of the school construction project in her village. The construction of this school is very important to Zione and her children. The closest school to Bweya village is 5 km away – that is over 3 miles away and her small children would have to make the trip on foot!
As a child herself, Zione had two brothers. Her parents made the decision to send her brothers to school and keep her and her sister home. They did not have a school in their village and could not afford to send all four children to school. Today, Zione signs the covenant along with member of her community. She pledges to help build the school and to send both her son and daughters to school. She is hopeful that access to education will give her children a better life. She and the other women in the community sing joyously as they start this very important project for their community.