In 2021, we built a primary school in Malawi to enable children and young people to receive an education. This was followed in 2023 by the construction of a secondary school right next door. Now we are entering the third round in 2024: a new primary school in a new part of the country. In this article, we give you insights into the construction of all three schools and introduce you to Malawi and the organization with which we are implementing these great projects.
- Why we build schools
- The first school building: Key facts about the primary school in Ntambo
- This is our primary school in Ntambo
- The second school building: Key facts about the secondary school
- This is our secondary school in Ntambo
- The third school building: Key facts about the primary school in Ndauza
- Our primary school in Ndauza is being built here
- How is a school built in Malawi?
- The organization behind the school projects
- More about Malawi
1. why we build schools
For us, these projects are exactly the right step, because education opens doors and enables a promising future. We have brought two strong and experienced partners on board to help us build the schools: FLY & HELP and the local abc organization. The decision to build the schools in Malawi was an obvious one, as the country is one of the poorest in the world. 35% of school-age children here have no access to education because there are simply too few schools within easy reach. You can find out more about the country of Malawi below.
It is a matter close to our hearts, especially that of our founder Benedikt, to change this situation: "Education is the key to a sustainable future and a self-determined life. We are therefore overjoyed and proud that we can help children and young people to lead a life full of opportunities in the long term with our schools in Malawi."
We are incredibly proud to have a lasting positive impact on the lives of local people with these projects. Unfortunately, we were unable to attend the opening of the schools in person, but this video of the opening of our first primary school allowed us to share in the joy. And it has given us even more motivation to implement more of these projects.
2. THE FIRST SCHOOL BUILDING: Key facts about the primary school
Name: Nakatete abc-Primary School
Where: Ntambo, Malawi (-15.967736, 35.32742)
Rooms: 8 classrooms, staff room, latrines
School classes: 1 - 4 and 5 - 8
Number of pupils: 502
Age of pupils: 6 - 14 years
School start: January 2022
Graduation: Secondary school
Project costs: 80,000 euros
Organization: Fly & Help Foundation
Local partner: abc-Gesellschaft
Special features: Well for fresh drinking water + solar system on the roof
3. THIS IS OUR PRIMARY SCHOOL IN NTAMBO:
We have built a completely new primary school in the village of Ntambo in Malawi: the Nakatete abc-Primary School. The schools in Malawi are usually named after the region, rivers or mountains and Nakatete is an offshoot of the great Thuchila River near the village.
There was previously no primary school within a radius of more than 6 km. The land was provided free of charge by the village chief in Ntambo and the state confirmed its commitment to send teachers before construction began. This was a very important step, as teachers in Malawi are commissioned by the state and appointed to the school site.
The primary school consists of 8 classrooms. 4 classrooms for the Lower Primary School (grades 1 to 4) and 4 classrooms for the Upper Primary School (grades 5 to 8). There is also an office/teachers' room and toilets, which are located slightly away from the school building.
After completing Year 8, the pupils have a secondary school leaving certificate comparable to ours. In order to be able to study, they must attend a secondary school which, like ours, enables them to obtain the Abitur.
And to give the pupils exactly this perspective, we decided to build a secondary school as well. Happiness Week 2022 marked the start of the fundraising campaign.
4. THE SECONDARY SCHOOL BUILDING: Key facts about the secondary school
Name: not yet decided
Where: Ntambo, Malawi (-15.967736, 35.32742)
Rooms: 4 classrooms, staff room, latrines
Number of pupils: Approx. 200
Age of pupils: 14 - 18 years
Start of school: January 2024
Graduation: Abitur
Project costs: 74,500 euros
Organization: Fly & Help Foundation
Local partner: abc society
Originally, we had expected higher project costs due to expensive raw material prices. We are therefore all the happier that we will still have some of the collected amount left over and can use it to finance something else useful for the pupils, such as a solar system or school fees of 60 euros per pupil per year.
And this is how we financed the project costs:
We collected 2 euros per order during Glückswoche 2022. In addition, our customers were able to support us in our project by making a donation to the school project during the ordering process from the week of happiness until mid-February.
List of donations:
Donations through the happiness week: 56.936,31 €
Donations from our customers: 20.589 €
Remaining balance of the primary school: 3.319,60 €
Total: € 80,844.47
5. THIS IS OUR SECONDARY SCHOOL IN NTAMBO:
When the idea of a second school project in Malawi came up, we did not hesitate for long and set ourselves the goal of continuing to make education in Ntambo possible even after the completion of primary school. The reasons and the idea behind it have remained the same: Education opens doors, enables independence and offers prospects. This is how our 2022 Happiness Week kicked off the fundraising campaign.
And it went faster than expected: just 3 months after the start of the fundraising campaign during the Glückswoche, we have already raised the sum for the school building: €80,844.47! The fact that we managed to do this so quickly thanks to the support of our customers makes us really happy and proud!
In March 2023, the next phase began: the building had already been planned and the raw materials were purchased shortly afterwards. The building has been standing since September and is ready for use. Unfortunately, however, the opening has been postponed until January 2024.
6. KEY FACTS ABOUT THE PRIMARY SCHOOL IN NDAUZA
Name: Sambanjobvu Primary School
Where: Ndauza, Malawi
Rooms: 8 classrooms, staff room, latrines
School classes: 1 - 4 and 5 - 8
Number of pupils: approx. 600
Age of pupils: 6 - 14 years
Start of school: probably Sept. 2024
Graduation: primary, secondary & high school
Project costs: 80,815 euros
Catchment area: 7 villages in the Zaperewera district
Organization: Fly & Help Foundation
Local partners: abc Society
7. our primary school in Ndauza is being built here
As of April 2024: There is currently not much to see where the school is to be built. At the end of March, the local organization sent us a few photos from shortly after construction began:
Background to the project and current challenges: There is currently no school in Ndauza. The nearest schools are in Makwasa, 10 km away, and in Nyodola, 15 km away. This is inaccessible for many younger children as they have to walk the long distances. 7 smaller villages belong to the catchment area of Zaperewera. All in all, there are a large number of children who are currently unable to go to school and who will be given exactly this opportunity thanks to the construction of this school.
Project measures: A new school building with 8 classrooms, a staff room and an office is to be built and equipped with school furniture. Toilets will also be built near the building. The land for the school building has been provided free of charge by the communities and the Ministry of Education will send the principal and the necessary number of teachers in time for the start of school. From the start of construction, some villagers will carry out simple and more skilled work on the building site and will be paid for this by the master builder. This will provide them with direct training and enable them to carry out maintenance work on the building themselves at a later date.
8 How is a school built in Malawi?
The project was in our planning for a very long time and circled in our heads until it became reality. The long-awaited ground-breaking ceremony took place in March 2021, followed in the summer by the construction of the school's own well, which now supplies not only the school but also the 6 surrounding villages with clean drinking water. The school was completed in the fall of 2021.
However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, enrolment of the children and use of the classrooms had to wait a little longer. But: During the lucky week in November 2021, we were also able to finance a solar system thanks to the help of our customers, so that the classrooms can now also be used after dark for evening classes for adults, such as literacy courses or community meetings. The solar system is a real asset for the village, as electricity is not a matter of course in Malawi and the sun sets at 6 pm. The school is therefore not only a place of learning, but also a place to come together.
The primary school was officially opened in January 2022. At the start of school, we provided all pupils with notebooks, exercise books and pencils - so that they could get started right away. Exactly 502 pupils now go to school there. We couldn't be happier about this project!
9. the organization behind the school projects
In order to bring this project to life, the Reiner Meutsch Foundation FLY & HELP which has already built over 600 schools in 52 countries worldwide. FLY & HELP has set itself the goal of bringing education to regions where it would otherwise be very difficult or impossible for children to receive it. Since 2009, the foundation has already enabled over 120,000 children in Africa, Asia and Latin America to learn reading, writing and arithmetic. The local implementation of school construction in Malawi is carried out by the partner organization abc-Gesellschaft.
We will also build our secondary school in cooperation with FLY & HELP and the abc society.
In this podcast episodewhich we recorded during our Happiness Week 2021, our Content Manager Lena talks to the founder of the FLY & HELP foundation, Reiner Meutsch, about the school, the importance of the solar installation and his mission (from minute 24).
10. more about Malawi
Malawi is located in the south-eastern part of Africa and is one of the poorest countries on the continent. For the children living there, the distances to school are often very long (sometimes 5-8 km each way) and can pose a daily danger, especially for girls, as assaults often take place on these kilometers. Due to the distance, smaller children in particular are not yet able to cope with the long distances and thus lose valuable years of education if they do not have the strength to master this journey until they are around 8 years old.
In the Mulanje district of Ntambo, where our school was built, there are around 430,000 inhabitants living in an area of 2,056 square kilometers. The population is growing steadily. The district is one of the poorest in Malawi with a per capita income of 1 dollar per day. There was previously no school there, but there were many children who needed education. The nearest primary school was more than 6 km away, a 12 km walk per day. For all these reasons, many children do not even go to school. To make matters worse, the road becomes impassable during the rainy season due to the occasional flooding of the rivers, meaning that the children do not go to school and some even drop out completely.
But even if the children make it to school, they often sit or stand in a small classroom with up to 150 other pupils. This is an environment in which successful learning is impossible.
Many adults, 85% of women, in the Mulanje district are illiterate and have no schooling.
These reasons alone convinced us that Ntambo in Malawi is absolutely the right place to finance the construction of the school. For us as a start-up, it is a very big project and we are very proud that we were able to realize our heart's desire.
All that remains is: Thank you!
We would like to say a huge thank you to you! Without your loyal support over the last few years, we would not have been able to realize such a great project and now tackle another equally great project. And above all, our thanks also go to the fantastic FLY & HELP Foundation, which implemented the project together with the local abc company