Unicef and Standard Bank launches girl child mentorship program in Malawi

United Nations Childrens Education Fund (UNICEF) and Standard Bank have launched girl mentorship programme aiming  to encourage girls to continue with education.

Speaking during  the launch atat Nthulu Primary School in Dedza on Wednesday UINCEF Malawi Deputy resident Representative Roisin De Burca says Malawi girl’s needs to be given a chance to continue with education whether in rural or urban areas.

Burca said that girls must kept away from early marriage in order for them to become future leaders.

“We have partnered with standard bank to provide you with mentorship sessions on education,” said Burca

He thanked standard Bank for bringing on board to supplement what the government of Malawi is doing in infrastructure, teaching as well as learning materials.

He commended standard bank for contributing towards keeping young girls in school as a way of promoting girl child education in the country.

Speaking at the same function District Education manager for Dedza Monica Kapachika hailed standard Bank and Unicef for the efforts made to contribute towards keeping girls in school especially at Nthulu primary School.

Kapachika said the school registers a high rate of girls drop out and faces challenges in cultural practices and early marriages.

“Some of the girls are forced to enter into early marriage while they are in school hence the high dropout rate”, says Kapachika.

She urged the bank to continue providing them with mentorship program in the area in order to encourage the young girls to finish their education.

In her remarks, Standard Bank Chief Financial Officer Temwani Simwaka said the Bank appreciate women’s role play in sending young girls to school.

She explained that standard bank will continued to be on the fore front to promote women in various decision making positions.

She urged the chiefs and parents in the area to work hand in hand in sending the young girls to school.

Simwaka pointed that the girls in primary schools would not be left out to be encouraged and would like them to be the role models.

“It is our sincerely hope that by providing mentorship, girls will be equipped with the right knowledge to guide them make informed decisions about their future,” says Simwaka.

She further added that as a bank it will continue to motivate the girls in Primary Schools to aim high in life.

She bemoaned the tendency of some cultural and socio-economic factors that precipitate the unhealthy trend upon girls that hinder them to continue with their education.

Simwaka pointed that with the mentorship program the girls would be motivated to remain in school and become the future leaders with high level of education.

She commended the partnership between the bank and Unicef to continue in demonstrating and make leadership in terms of supporting the education needs of Malawi as a country.

“we believe that education unravels and individual and ultimately a nation’s potential hence the need for working hand in hand with government as well as other partner to deliver quality education,”, stressed Simwaka.

216 pupils are enrolled at Nthulu Primary School and Standard Bank targets pupils from standard 5 up to 8 in 79 Primary schools across the country and has been sponsorships to Luanar students as well as refurbishment of vocational colleges in Dowa and Blantyre since 2015.

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