EXCELLENT EDUCATION IN MALAWI
For ten years, the Umckaloabo Foundation has also been working to help create better educational opportunities in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries. Especially in the remote parts of the north, schools are often located so far away as to be inaccessible. Many children have to help on the fields, and girls are frequently married off at a young age; education is an unfulfilled dream for many.
LIGHTHOUSE PROJECTS
This is why the Foundation joined forces with the Karonga diocese to build schools in rural areas. Our first project was the St. Ignatius School in Nthalire: in 2016 the Africa Runners first raised money for a school, and as a result we were able to open St. Ignatius by 2017. Our scholarship program makes it possible for young people from poor families to attend school too. For years now, several children have finished school with top-notch marks.
MILESTONES FOR EDUCATION
In 2023 we inaugurated St. Mauritius Secondary School, which was also designed as a boarding school so that children from faraway regions could have access to top-quality education. One special bonus: Madalitso Mbalazada, the previous deputy director at St. Ignatius, became the director of the new school. Thanks to his commitment, the school attained one of the top spots in the national school ranking even after its first year.
A PROPER EDUCATION FOR GIRLS
Good schooling for girls is a key area of concern for us as well. In 2021 we supported the Lunyangwa Girls’ Primary School in Mzuzu in constructing new classrooms, once again with the aid of the Africa Runners. Our project partner Pastor John Moyo is dedicated in his efforts to make sure that girls too – regardless of their religious background – have the opportunity to attend a proper school.
One important engine which fuels these projects is the Africa Runners – dedicated athletes who have now raised donations for schools in Malawi on four separate occasions. In 2020, they collected €100,000 to build St. Mauritius School, which opened in 2023. In 2023, they ran for the Kasantha Secondary School, which is scheduled to begin operations in late 2025. The plan is for 400 young people to attend that school.