Maloto Secondary School

As many of you know, I served in Peace Corps Malawi in 2006-2008, which was an amazing experience with innumerable remarkable people. One of these folks, whom I taught with, is Kondwani Vwalika. He is a father of two amazing little girls and is married to a nurse in the Malawian Military. In 2013 he established a secondary school named Maloto Private Secondary School. Despite his incredible passion, he has struggled to keep a sustainable rented schoolhouse, largely due to fluctuating enrollment numbers. These numbers do change often because in Malawi, secondary grades (high school) must be paid out of pocket by the student’s family, which means that if the family is struggling the child may get pulled out of school. This leads to a significant number of young people without this vital education. I have followed his progress since opening the school and cheer-leaded his efforts but want to do something more substantial. The idea is to help his students stay enrolled by fundraising the school fees for the students who have dropped out, and in turn allow him to generate the revenue to complete a permanent schoolhouse. This will mitigate the possibility of eviction from rented buildings and ensure that this community has a sustainable school in which to send their children.

The cost for one year of secondary school is a little under $150. Many of these students can afford some of this tuition, however not the entire amount. Vwalika and I agreed that if the students can pay what is possible for their family (shooting for 25% of the total amount), we will fund the rest of their school fee with the amount which we fundraise. The amount needed to complete this project is $11,000. This past week, Katie and I started this endeavor off with a $1000 contribution, which has already resulted in 16 students being contacted and notified that they can return to class, for the upcoming term, which begins on January 4th! If you are looking at opportunities for giving this holiday season, please consider contributing to this effort.

Vwalika will continue to make an enormous impact on his community regardless of our support. It is my hope, however, that our contributions will accelerate his efforts and ensure that his students actuate their potential. I will keep you all updated on the progress of the enrollment numbers and the status of construction. Please message me if you have any questions or if you would like to view Vwalika’s full proposal.

Thank you all for considering!