Goodbye from Malawi
Moni onse – hello everyone! It’s Theo with my final update from the VSO education project in Malawi. Read on to hear how your support is helping children here get the quality education they deserve. Thank you for all your support along the way, it’s been a pleasure writing to you and keeping you updated with the difference you’re making.
April's featured volunteer
Moni onse! I’m Theonas Kalumika, an education specialist volunteer in Malawi. Before I started volunteering for VSO, I was a primary school teacher for 13 years and spent 18 years as a primary education advisor. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to update you more on how your support is changing the lives of many children.
In Malawi, poor learning conditions and a lack of resources have created barriers to children’s education.
Over two thirds of students don’t finish primary school and those that do often lack the skills needed to thrive as older children and adults. Many primary schools have classes full of hundreds of students but only one teacher, meaning many children get left behind in their education, and eventually drop out altogether.
By supporting children with educational tablets, they're taking huge leaps in their learning. I was very excited when I heard about the work VSO is doing in schools in Malawi, and ever since I started volunteering I've been able to share my knowledge with everyone here. I can't wait to update you on how our work here in Malawi is going, and how your support is helping change children's lives.
April '25 volunteer update
In my last update, I’ll share our incredible progress to date, look back on some of my personal highlights and introduce you to 14-year-old Mphatso*, whose life has been transformed thanks to your support.
I’ll also introduce you to Diane, who’ll be taking you forward on your Sponsor a Volunteer journey with news and updates from VSO’s early education project in Rwanda.
VSO/Halifax Trading
Project highlights
For my last update, I’ve been reflecting on some of my highlights from the project so far - there have been so many! I’ve loved working alongside inspiring teachers like Peter and seeing how our practical support and professional guidance has helped improve standards of teaching here. I’ve also really enjoyed working alongside my fellow VSO teammates – Wezzie, Atu and Prisca. They’re such a dedicated team and I know they’d like me to pass on their thanks to all of you who’ve been with us on this journey.
VSO/Halifax Trading
But perhaps one of my favourite moments of the last year was attending one of our school open days. I remember seeing the children performing poems and showcasing what they’d learnt in school, while their parents watched with pride. The confidence displayed by the children, and the joy and encouragement shown by their parents, reflected all the work we’ve been doing to improve education and engage communities here. It made me very happy.
Every day, I see students thriving. Their reading, writing and counting is improving all the time, and with it, their love for learning. This is all down to the collective efforts of teachers, parents, VSO volunteers and incredible supporters like you. As our project continues, we’ll reach even more children across Malawi, giving them the education they deserve. I’m so proud to be part of this change, and I hope you are too. One child we’ve helped is 14-year-old Mphatso, whose story below is a powerful reminder of why our work must continue…
VSO/Halifax Trading
Mphatso's story
Mphatso is 14 years old and lives with his family in rural Malawi. Their small home, which is made of mud bricks and a thatched roof, has no running water or electricity. Mphatso’s parents both dropped out of school because their families couldn’t afford the costs. They want Mphatso to stay in school and get a good education so that he can have a better life than their own.
Despite his parent’s support, Mphatso found school challenging. With over 200 students in his class, no desks or chairs, and a noisy environment, he struggled to learn. His teacher couldn’t offer one-to-one support with such a huge class to teach, and with no pen or paper to use, Mphatso had no chance to learn to read and write. Eventually he dropped out completely, leaving him feeling disconnected from his friends. He told me: “When I didn’t go to school, I didn’t like it because my friends were learning [without me].”
VSO/Halifax Trading
Everything changed when VSO built the learning centre and introduced the tablets to Mphatso’s school. Since then, Mphatso has returned every day and is thriving in lessons. He’s now excited about learning and has seen a big improvement in his reading and writing. He told me: “Since I’ve been using the tablets, my reading and writing has changed. The things I learn make me happy to learn more.”
I’ve seen first-hand what a breakthrough the tablets have been for Mphatso. He now has the tools, support and motivation to succeed and finish his education. Mphatso dreams of becoming a teacher one day and, thanks to you, that dream is within reach.
Eric Nkurunziza
And now, introducing your next VSO volunteer… Diane
Muraho! (Hello!) - I’m Diane, a Special Needs Education Co-ordinator on VSO’s early education project in Rwanda. I’m thrilled to introduce myself and share a bit about the amazing work happening here.
In Rwanda, many children - especially those with disabilities or learning difficulties - face barriers to quality early education. Classrooms are crowded and under-resourced, and traditional teaching methods focus on memorisation rather than interactive learning. This makes it harder for students to develop crucial skills like problem-solving and creativity, and can lead to high drop-out rates. It’s an awful situation as without an education, children end up living a life of poverty.
Eric Nkurunziza
Me and my VSO teammates are working to transform early childhood education here. We want every child aged 3-6 to experience high-quality education that is fun, engaging and meaningful. We do this through play, which a powerful way for children to learn. Play builds confidence, creativity and curiosity, leading to better educational outcomes that will help children live the life they deserve when they’re older.
My role with VSO is focused on ensuring children with special educational needs aren’t left behind. I work with teachers, parents and communities to create more inclusive learning environments and help them to see that every child has potential when given the right support. I can’t wait to tell you more about how your support is helping children in Rwanda to develop confidence and a love of learning that will stay with them for life!
Until next time,
Diane
Thank you and farewell
Throughout this experience, I’ve loved writing to you and hearing from you along the way. Thank you for sharing such lovely messages and for your amazing support of VSO volunteers like me. With you by our side, we’ve introduced over 16,000 educational tablets and trained 1,893 primary school teachers in 178 schools across Malawi. We’ve also supported 4,774 parents and guardians to understand the value of education and encourage their children to go to school.
Overall, with your wonderful support, we’ve already helped over 100,000 children get the quality education they deserve. This is an unbelievable achievement that is helping to break the cycle of poverty and create a fairer future for all children. Thank you for standing with us - you are part of something truly life-changing.
Thank you and farewell
Theo
VSO Education Specialist
P.S. Remember, you can still ask a question or leave me a final message below. I’d really love to hear from you!
Want to ask a question?
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Your latest questions answered
It’s good to hear about the use of iPads and tablets to improve primary school learning. These early stages where children learn to read and write and do maths are so important.
Theonas
Indeed there are more problems here which cannot be listed despite the great need to make the children acquire the basics of education. The huge classes lead to issues of class management as you might have overheard on the video clip. Here classes with seats are sometimes available for senior classes only like grade 6-8, but in some schools only grade 8 enjoys them. Noel, let me encourage you to keep on supporting VSO with your finances otherwise it is through your support that most children have accessed digital learning. We appreciate your heart.
if children aged 7-9 are attending the Learning Centre in groups of 30, does that mean that each child in those year groups gets sessions? If not, how do teachers decide which children will attend?
Theonas
As for groups of learners attending sessions in the Learning Centre, take note that all learners are grouped in groups of 30 or 40 learners and each group is given an equal chance through the use of a timetable, this is where we appreciate and encourage you to continue supporting VSO so that more iPads or tablets are bought to allow more learners to attend a digital class at once. With these small groups of 30/40 learners, it is difficult and time consuming where a school has 300 learners plus because the learners will have a chance of attending one session only per week.
Did the children in the 'normal' classroom need encouragement to make it sound so noisy? I imagine not! And it makes a great contrast with the Learning Centre.
Theonas
What I know is that the noise is not by design it's a class management issue where the learners have been left uncontrolled for too long despite being a large class and they are are used to making noise otherwise learners were supposed to be quiet in class. Of course with inclusive education that Malawi is practising, some learners with learning disabilities especially those with mental problems and unsettledness could be some of these noise makers but the noise is on the higher side. .Alison, this where you will see that managing a class in highly enrolled schools is a challenge here in Malawi, one teacher against 100 + learners as opposed there where you have a teacher, assistant teacher and a volunteer to manage a class of 30. However, you can see that the quietness in the learning centre provides for a good environment for concentration and focus to most learners. This is because the number of learners in the group is small and that as we support the schools in the project we emphasise that learners should raise hands if they have issues and need support of some kind.
Did you know?
We bring about lasting change not by sending aid, but by working through volunteers to empower communities in some of the world’s poorest regions. You can read more about VSO’s areas of work and discover more about our projects here.
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