Slowing girl’s rush to marry
A 16-year-old girl renamed Suzgo to conceal her identity sat last year’s primary school leaving examinations while seven months pregnant....
Education
Married, dumped at 14
Bertha Fanuel, from Chikwawa District, got married and divorced at the age of 14. She mirrors a silent crisis in...
Agnes goes back to school
Agnes Kasapila, a 16-year-old mother of two, married at the age of 14 when she was in Form One. “I...
Giving teachers headship skills
When Linley Lengani arrived at Tsogolo la Ana Primary School in Blantyre two weeks ago, she was excited to lead...
Keeping girls in school
For daughters of Malawi’s rural majority, education is a game-changer in their escape from poverty. Girls like Eftas Mugala, a...
Gule wamkulu aids schooling
In 2015, Parliament made education unavoidable for every child, but many boys and girls keep missing classes without any sanctions....
A library at fingertips
When Natasha Tonthola saw her 15-year-old daughter, Comfort-Eugenia, was a slow learner, she decided to do something about it. “My...
Taking girls back to school
In a society where teenage pregnancy is synonymous with loose morals, girls that fall pregnant face humiliation. To reduce the...
Trading centres or future slums?
At 4.4 percent, Mzuzu is the fastest growing city in the country. In fact, its boundaries have been extended to...
Menstrual education changes everything
It is Tuesday. Pupils have gathered at Chimwankhunda Primary School to commemorate the World Menstrual Hygiene Day. Discussing sexual issues...
Long sail to examinations
From the grey sandy soils of Nsombi, Lungazi and Ngotangota villages along the eastern shores of Lake Chilwa, school children...
Inspiring girls to return to school
Enala Ngulu, 35, who was forced into marriage at 13, re-enrolled for Standard Eight at Lusako Primary School in Karonga...
When girls operate from hostels
Before Makande Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) boarding hostels were rehabilitated in 2013, girls used to walk as long as...
What’s in a mother tongue?
She has just scribbled ‘1 + 1 =…’ on the chalkboard. She then turns to face the 122 Standard One...
Fishing teen girls out of school
Likoma offers vivid lessons why girls under 18 constitute nearly 30 in 100 pregnant women who die while giving birth....
Ugly face of self-boarding
When Mercy Phiri (not real name) moved to a rented house located close to her school, little did she know...
Beyond literacy for knowledge
At the age of 25, James Mota of Namwera Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Njema in Mulanje can hardly read or...
Rooting out youth illiteracy
Illiteracy is one of the many challenges youths, especially in developing African countries like Malawi, face. Fourteen-year-old Thokozani Gwembele of...
Plight of Mzuni-bound student
Since his secondary school days at Army Secondary School in Blantyre, 22-year-old Justin Jelason has been dreaming of setting his...
A day in maternal ward at Khonjeni
Although there are interventions to reduce maternal deaths, the story on the ground is different. Little or no change at...
