News: February 2009

•	Kapanda Community Day Secondary School Is Now Open
•	New Desks and Textbooks
•	RIPPLE Africa Trainee Teachers
•	News from the Nursery Schools
•	Mwaya Community Library Is Now Three Years Old

The roadside sign to Kapanda Community Day Secondary School

RIPPLE News: February 2009

EDUCATION

Kapanda Community Day Secondary School Is Now Open
Kapanda Community Day Secondary School opened in February 2008 and building work has continued through the year. We now have two completed double classroom blocks with three classrooms open, housing Forms 1 and 2. Two teachers’ houses, two toilet blocks, and a new composting toilet are completed, and a new building comprising teachers' offices and a secure storeroom will be ready in March 2009. The building quality and organisation under Joey and Mattias has been excellent.

The area of land which has been set aside for the school covers about 30 acres, and work has started to prepare the football and netball pitches for the students. Some experimental agriculture projects have also been started, and it is planned that the students will participate in this project as part of their agriculture studies.


Foundations for the second classroom block	The second clasroom block	A light and airy classroom with locally made desks	We are trying composting toilets at the school

The government has appointed Sally Msiska as the headteacher. She is very happy in her new house and is looking forward to working with RIPPLE Africa. She is keen to work with our volunteers and benefit from their time and experience, and she is excited about the plans we have for developing the experimental agricultural project which will be run at the school in conjunction with RIPPLE Africa.

Unfortunately, because of the world recession, and in particular the weak pound, the exchange rate has been severely affected and now costs are 30% - 40% more. As a result, we have had to make all of the builders at Kapanda redundant to reduce our overheads. It has been a very difficult time trying to explain how the global financial crisis has resulted in the loss of their jobs because they don’t really understand. We still want to continue development at the school and are optimistic that funds will be raised, but we will only resume building when we have full funds for future buildings. Fortunately, the school can continue for the next two years with the structures we have already built but, ideally, we want to build two more teachers’ houses and then two more double classroom blocks. We are very grateful to all our donors who have provided funds for this project and hope that they are pleased with the results so far!


The first two teachers’ houses	Hopefully the quality of the houses will attract and retain good teachers	The new building comprising teachers’ offices and secure storeroom	Sally, the new headteacher, is very keen to work with RIPPLE Africa

New Desks and Textbooks
Now the school blocks are built, the next stage is to provide desks and textbooks. Local carpenters have been busy for months making 120 desks for both Kapanda Secondary School and Mwaya Primary School. Donors have provided money for some textbooks which has been wonderful. A full set of textbooks, which are specifically for the Malawi syllabus, costs about £80 per student, and we are always needing money for these books which can be purchased locally.


We employ local carpenters to make the school desks	120 desks have been made for Kapanda Secondary School and Mwaya Primary School	Some textbooks have been supplied, but we need more at an average price of £8 each

RIPPLE Africa Trainee Teachers
Last year, we employed a total of 13 trainee teachers in four local primary schools but, due to the radical cutbacks we have had to make, all but two were made redundant. However, we have been very touched by the fact that six of the redundant teachers are still teaching without being paid. We really want to re-employ them again but need additional funds of approximately £450 per teacher per year.


Some classes at Mwaya Primary School did not have desks, but now desks have been made for them	Philemon, a RIPPLE Africa teacher at Kachere Primary School, who is currently working without being paid	The recently completed building comprising teachers’ offices and storeroom at Mwaya Primary School

News from the Nursery Schools
We now have 18 nursery school teachers working in six local nursery schools. Unlike the primary schools, the government does not support these schools and so the help given by RIPPLE Africa is vital. Many of our volunteers have worked in the nursery schools, and we have now appointed Jimmy, one of the teachers, to be the Nursery Schools Coordinator for RIPPLE Africa. Rachael, one of our volunteers, has spent a lot of time with him visiting all of the schools, and he has taken to his new role like a duck to water.


Jimmy, our new Nursery Schools Coordinator	Rachael, who spent a lot of time working with Jimmy during her volunteer placement	Emily, a previously sponsored student who is now working in one of the nursery schools	Washing hands before tea and food at Mazembe nursery school


Mazembe nursery school is now completed and fully operational	Locally made wooden toys supplied to all six nursery schools	Volunteers and staff at Mazembe nursery school	A locally made abacus

Mazembe nursery school, which was built last year, is now completed and fully operational. We have supplied locally made wooden toys to all of the nursery schools and, although there are never enough for all of the children, they are very popular. It has been very noticeable that the children have much more fun at the nursery schools rather than just learning by rote the Malawian way thanks to the input from many of the RIPPLE Africa volunteers and from Jimmy. Most of the nursery schools have been painted with fun and educational pictures on the walls, and the children will definitely benefit from a better understanding of English and other skills once they start primary school at six years old.


Tea and sugar are supplied to the nursery schools	Energetic singing and games in the nursery schools	A new RIPPLE Africa tree planted outside a local house	Joey and one of his grandchildren

Mwaya Community Library Is Now Three Years Old
Three and a half years ago, three students from Stowe School, England, funded the construction of a library at Mwaya, and at the end of November 2005 the library opened with the help of Donncha, a volunteer who is a librarian at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Donncha has been back several times and helped recently with another shipment of books, many from Hayes School in Bromley, England. We now have 3,503 books and, under the guiding hand of Mr Longwe, the librarian, who runs a very strict regime, we have only lost one book in all that time. We now have enough books but could always do with additional money to purchase books written in the local vernacular language and secondary school
textbooks which are always in high demand.

A donor gave some money last year for some additional books and a new library extension comprising a reading area and storeroom, so that people can read their books in peace and quiet. Work on this building has started, and we hope it will be finished in a few months.


The start of the library extension — a reading area and storeroom	More books arrive, shipped from England, for sorting and cataloguing	3,503 books — the Library at Mwaya is now three years old and only one book has been lost!

Company Registration No. 04823686 • UK Registered Charity No. 1103256

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