Worcestershire Rotary club fund new toilets for Malawi children
Rotarians from Droitwich Spa partnered with The Bwengu Project to provide the facilities.
The finished Isyaliklia girls toilet
Submitted by Amanda Chalmers
A local Rotary club has supported children in Africa by helping to fund new school facilities.
As part of their third partnership with The Bwengu Project - a Rugby-based charity that funds and undertakes education and community projects in Malawi - the Rotarians, based in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, funded a new toilet block at Isyalikila Junior School.
Graham Mackenzie, Deputy Chair of North Worcestershire Rotary Club Charity Committee, said: “As a club we wanted to focus our efforts on the most deprived and underdeveloped countries where the need is greatest such as Uganda, Malawi and Rwanda.
“Our preference is to work with small and hands-on type charities which don’t carry a lot of overhead in the way that some of the bigger charities do.”
The Bwengu Project Malawi is a small charity run by Tony and Sue Melia together with their daughter Samantha, son-in-law Rob and granddaughter Abi.
Tony said: “The project involved the complete rebuild of the toilet facilities for girls at the school, which not only improved hygiene but also encouraged many more youngsters to attend regularly in this very deprived part of Africa.
“The existing toilets in all schools in Malawi are not nice places, consequently it is a major reason for the high rate of older junior school female absenteeism. Our work includes adding washrooms for females. This in turn has affected attendance and exam pass rates.
"The support from Rotary has fundamentally changed the lives of many thousands of children and adults.”
According to The International Monetary Fund, Malawi is the third poorest country in the world, where one in 10 adults live with HIV/AIDS and one million children have been orphaned by the disease.
Headteacher at Isyalikila Junior School, Dawin Sikwese, said: “We sincerely
appreciate this great gift to the people of Isyalikila, it has really transformed their lives. They are now able to read, write and complete simple maths, but more importantly, know their rights.”
Half of the Bwengu charity’s 64 projects to refurbish toilet blocks since 2006 have been Rotary-funded, support for which its founders are immensely grateful.
More than 18,000 children at 19 schools have access to Rotary-funded teaching equipment such as projectors and tablets.
If you would like to find out more about The Bwengu Project, visit their website. You can also make a donation to the charity by clicking here.
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