THYOLO, MALAWI // A key component of the Dubai Cares project in Malawi is to help villages to become more self-sufficient.
An important factor is the development of the Village Savings and Loan Association, a lending body funded by contributions made from villagers who can then borrow money to pay for unexpected living costs.
The fund encourages villagers to save and offers an emergency fund.
Dubai Cares has been funding workers in the region to encourage more villages to take up the programme, and parents are being urged to use the fund to pay for school fees and send their daughters back to school.
As the population has grown, so has the need for bigger classrooms and equipment - pushing up annual fees per child from US$5 (Dh18) a year to $20.
The increase priced some children out of an education. Since the idea was adopted by Nkusa village in December, enrolment rates have risen from 1,085 in September last year, to 1,285 in September this year.
It is hoped 11,000 girls in upper primary and secondary schools will benefit from the programme, helping to disrupt current trends of gender-based violence, early pregnancy or marriage, HIV infection and debilitating poverty.
Thyolo district was chosen as a launch region as it has some of the lowest transition rates in girls attending the area’s 184 primary schools.
nwebster@thenational.ae
