First Lady advocates for Malawi girls’ empowerment through education, launches multi-billion kwacha project
First Lady, Gertrude Mutharika has launched three projects worth K34 billion aimed at promoting lives of girls and the youth in general.and appealed to community leaders, parents and stakeholders in the country to take the initiative and commitment in fostering girl’s education.
Madam Mutharika made the remarks on Friday at Nkhonde Primary school in Balaka when she alongside United States Ambassador, Virginia Palmer, formally launched a K6 billion, ASPIRE project that focuses on empowering girls through education and health with funding from USAID.
“ASPIRE has provided us all a chance to reflect on the challenges the girl child faces and how we can all work together to encourage them so that they do not have anything hindering them from continuing their education,” Madam Mutharika said.
“It is a necessity that girls should be taught how to take care of themselves and are self aware of the changes in their bodies so that no one takes advantage of them,” she added.
Mutharika also urged school and community leaders as well as all stakeholders to deal with all cases of sexual harassment girls face in schools by creating a safe environment where they would feel free to attend classes.
The First Lady was presented with a symbolic cheque from the American Ambassador to Malawi to signify the United States government investment in girls’ education and health through the ASPIRE activity.
The funds include K6 billion for empowering girls through education and health in a project called Aspire, K10 billion for a Dreams Project for prevention of the spread of HIV to girls and young women and K19 billion for ACT programme for ensuring that HIV-positive children—boys and girls alike— get life-saving treatment.
Palmer said through Aspire project they expect that by 2018, at least 90 percent of students in grade four will be able to finish grade eight instead of the current 77 percent.
“ASPIRE will work with 138,000 adolescent girls enrolled in all 317 primary and 40 secondary schools in Balaka and Machinga districts. It will establish community reading centers and provide training for teachers to help improve girls’ reading skills,” said Palmer.
She added that ASPIRE will also help girls adopt health behaviors by providing life skills training and adequate water and sanitation facilities.
“Achieving the reality of strong girls and women contributing to a strong and healthy Malawi is not the responsibility of any one sector, ministry or donor but a collective responsibility which requires policy coherence and coordination,” she advised.
On his part Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Dr Emmanuel Fabiano pledged continued support from his ministry towards all ASPIRE activities and any other initiatives geared to promoting the girl child.
The ceremony also marked the formal launch of two other programs for the advancement of girls’ education and health namely Dreams Project with funding of K10billion and ACT Program with K19billion funding by USAID. –Reporting by Lilly Kampani, Mana and Zawadi Chilunga, Nyasa Times
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Ka podium aka kamawoneka ngati kokhometsa mu Mchesimu. Please Government officials be creative and be multitasking, khonzani podium ya ulemu. You can check ti ma podium or ma guwa okongola mu ma Church ama Pentecostals. very befitting. plizi plizi sinthani. One thing, well, kulimbikitsa maphunziro a a tsikana ndi bwino koma vuto ndilimene anena Mr Kachaje lija that we start with a prayer at such meetings but the aftermath of the whole thing zimakhala mbwerela. Timayamba bwino ti ma project ndi mapemphero kenana timayendetsa tokha popanda Mulungu basi nkuyamba kuba ndalama osazigwiritsa ntchhito for the intended purpose.
What did she do with the money from NAC?.
The First Lady has so far introduced BEAM and then this ASPIRE. For BEAM, she started by sweeping the streets of Lilongwe educating the nation that littering has no place in a civilized society. Mumamva bwanji mukaona zoolerana pa msika pamene pamapezeka zakudya zophikaphika ntchetnche ziri mbwembwe? People litter though tax mini bus windows and everywhere whilst walking. At home and townships is a situation you can’t bear. I really liked this BEAM initiative but people expect her to be sweeping in out streets, markets and homes. We have too much moral decay when it comes to ukhondo. On our… Read more »
what about northerners
Well, well well, thieves given a further opportunity to steal. One thing I don’t understand, she is just the first lady so why give her a podium with an emblem of the Malawi government? ZIbwana. I think these people can’t differentiate what from what. Thats why of all the issues Malawi is experiencing the whole president has energy and time to explain the unexplainable…rumours!! The office of the president comes with its challenges but you can’t really spend time explaining why you slipped and fell, why it is rumoured that you sleep in different rooms etc… Come on fix the… Read more »
O………………………………………………………………………………………..O I shall live to yet see a project by a first lady live by its code and bear the intended friuts. Look at Beautify Malawi Trust; so great an idea it was in its infancy and still is, that we all expected something tangible from it. Alas! if today the Trust is not organising a fund-raising dinner n dance, then it is at Kamuzu Central Hospital cheering up patients, or at some disaster hit area or giving out scholarships to some girls. And once in a black moon, seen taking photos at some random dumpsite. Nobody knows what exactly… Read more »
More money for Bwampini to steal
great