NGO hands over school block

You Are Not Alone eV has handed over a school block at Sakatama Primary School in Pilimiti, Zomba and has conducted free cervical cancer screening in the area.

Speaking on Friday during the handover, the organisation’s founder Stella Golgua-Caputula said they wanted to complement government’s efforts in providing good learning environment to children.

“We constructed the school block after noting that most kids were learning under trees, which affected their studies during the rainy season,” she said.

Caputula said they will continue to support the school because they want to end child marriages in the district.

“Most girls dropout of school due to poor learning environment,” she said.

In his remarks, Zomba Rural chief education officer Veronica Nyaka said the school block will enhance quality of education in the area.

“Classes were difficult to handle during the rainy season. Unfortunately, the makeshift shelters we put in place were in bad state,” she said.

Sakatama Primary School head teacher Annex Misewu commended the organisation for the initiative.

Meanwhile, Pilimiti Health Centre director Mary Njuguna said most women attended the cervical cancer screening.

She said: “Most cancer cases are from rural areas because of lack of facilities that conduct screening.

“That is why taking the screening exercise to them  is a good initiatve.” The organisation has also installed four water taps in the area and is constructing a nursery school next to a clinic they built for the community.