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| Special Needs classroom used to be a toilet |
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| Head teacher Mijiga receiving donation from DAPP |
Development
Aid from People to People (DAPP Malawi) has over the weekend donated bales of
clothing to Lilongwe Demonstration Primary School in Area 25 as way of helping
the school complete with the construction of the Special Needs Resource
Classroom.
The
special needs resource room project will enable a total of 44 learners with
different impairments at the school to learn in a conducive environment as at
the moment classes happen in a dark room with no proper ventilation which used
to be the toilet.
Speaking
when receiving the donation from DAPP Malawi, teachers and parents expressed
gratitude to DAPP Malawi for providing the timely assistance.
“We are
glad to receive this gift from DAPP Malawi.” Said Alfred Jamu, the school
Chairperson for Parents and Teachers Association
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| special needs classroom under construction |
“Our
project of constructing classroom has stalled for a long time due to financial
challenges but with donation from DAPP, now we have hope that we are going to
have enough money for the completion of this project and that our children will
soon be learning in good classroom.”
Head
Teacher for the school, Ms. Caroline Majiga said the school needs a proper
special needs classroom and therefore the ongoing project “is very important”
as these learners are “very important to us and to the nation.”
She
therefore said the school is delighted to receive support from DAPP towards
such a very important initiative.
“We are
constructing a resource room and this project started last year but stalled for
several months because of lack of funds to purchase some building materials.
So, DAPP has come at a right time and we thank God and we thank DAPP for the
initiative which they have done to our school.”
Head
teacher, Mijiga, has since expressed school’s redness to mobilise management
and school committees in take responsibility of selling the clothes and follow
transparent and accountability process of channeling proceeds for the intended
purpose.
She
disclosed that the estimated cost of constructing this single special needs
classroom is valued at K500 thousand but they have faced a shortfall of K250
thousand and she expressed hope that proceeds from sell of the clothes from
DAPP will help in procuring resources for the completion of classroom.
The
head teacher said the completion of the classroom “will be a relief” and
“blessing” to the school because the school is not pleased to see special needs learners continue having classes in unpleasant room.
She
further hoped that with the new classroom, the school be able to send more
special needs learners to various secondary schools across the country than now,
as due to poor learning environment the school only manage to send a handful of
them to secondary schools.
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| Brenda with her student (squatting front right) |
A
Learning Difficulties and Special Needs Education teacher at the school, Brenda
Chavula, who teaches learners with intellectual and physical disability highlights
some of challenges the special needs education is facing at the school.
“There
are a lot of learners and the room is dark since it was meant to be a toilet. So,
we hope the new room will offer a good environment.”
She
continued “We don’t have classroom chairs that are suitable for learners with
different impairments, we don’t have computers in our resource room, we need
teaching materials like tooth paste, basins and soap because we use them to
teach activities of daily living skills particularly on how they can bath
themselves.”
Teacher,
Chavula and the head teacher Mijiga both pleaded with individuals and organisations
of goodwill to emulate from DAPP gesture by taking part in helping the school so
that the school can meet the education needs for the special needs learners.
Nozipho
Mguquka, Communications and Promotions Officer at DAPP Malawi said the
organisation decided to provide support the school in the construction of the
special needs classroom because it understands that it has the role to play in
promoting education of children with special needs.
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| Mguquka (right) speaking |
“The
school contacted us and highlight that they were in need of support to complete
the special needs classroom. As DAPP, we believe in equipping communities with
the tools that are necessary for their own upliftment that is why we decided to
donate these bales of clothing so that the school together with school
structures such as school management committee, the PTA (Parents and Teachers
Association) could take up the role to facilitate the sale of these bales of
clothing so that whatever is realised goes towards the completion of their
project of special needs classroom.”
She explained
that DAPP could not directly give money to the school because they want
community to take full ownership of the project.
“As
DAPP, we do not believe in handouts. That is why we decided to give them these
bales of clothing to in strengthening their own structures as well as helping
them own the school project. So, we decided to give this donation in form of
kind so that the school joins hands together with the communities and parents
to sell these clothing to the public.”
This is
not first time DAPP Malawi assisted Lilongwe Demonstration Primary School.
Currently, DAPP is working with the school through Let Children Stay in School
(LCSS) programme which aims at reducing dropout rate for children attending
primary school education particularly in the early stages which are Standard 1
and 2.
The
project is helping to improve selected schools with child friendly teaching and
learning environments including increasing nutrition status of children
attending early primary school education.
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