Uplifting news from Chipwepwete

THERE'S so much going on at Chipwepwete School. You can feel the excitement and enthusiasm for learning – and it is addictive. Despite the worst of the challenges for local families following Tropical Storm Freddy and the recent cholera outbreak, students and teachers at Chipwepwete are firmly focused on catching up.

There are 37 students in the top year at the school, all preparing to write entrance exams for secondary school. They are hoping to secure a place at Hope Secondary and will now board at Chipwepwete for a month to prepare for the exams in May.

Hope4Malawi has provided the school with solar lamps for these students to borrow so they can study in the evenings, and is also providing lunches for the teachers who are preparing the students for exams. We wish them all every success.

Building a brighter future for students and teachers

At a recent community meeting, a new teacher house was handed over to Chipwepwete School, built by Hope4Malawi with funds raised by Trinity School in Croydon. This home will allow a female teacher to live on-site and within the community, which will make a big difference for learners.

Yamikani Khola is a full-time librarian, so the library can remain open all day, every day. Yamikani is being trained by Rumbi Phiri, Hope4Malawi’s newly appointed Programme Manager.

Rumbi's immediate focus is to work with four of Hope4Malawi's partner primary schools with libraries to develop a reading culture and improve reading and understanding of English.

The new boys’ toilet block at the school is now in use and has also been formally handed over. There were no boys' toilets before this as the existing block had been destroyed by last year's cyclone. An old girls’ toilet block collapsed during the recent storm too.

The next step at Chipwepwete is to provide the school with a much-needed two-classroom block with offices.

Providing vital resources to enable children to thrive

The feeding programme at Chipwepwete and other schools remains key to supporting concentration, punctuality and good attendance. During the two weeks that the school was closed for the storm, Hope4Malawi also provided Phala porridge for the local community.

All 660 students at school were thrilled to receive two exercise books each recently. Hannah, one of Hope4Malawi's sponsored students at Hope Secondary, was very excited to report that her siblings had come home with exercise books. Hannah understands how important exercise books are for keeping notes but knew that her family couldn’t afford to buy them. Imagine her delight when she learnt that Hope4Malawi had provided them.

Chipwewete’s new head teacher, Duncan Tsutsule, has settled in well. Hope4Malawi Trustee, Sara Goodman, says: “It’s a pleasure to partner with him, the teachers and the community to assist them and help to deliver quality education.”

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Thanks to the kind support of our partners, sponsors, fundraisers and volunteers, Hope4Malawi's school building, resourcing projects and student sponsorships continue to provide life-changing opportunities for children growing up in rural Malawi.

For information about the latest projects, and ways to get involved, please contact us.