Valerie Guarneri smiles after planting a mango tree at Sungusya Primary School
* The interventions are so integrated and very comprehensive
* She was also impressed with the home-grown school feeding programme
* Local farmers from the surrounding communities supply farm produce to participating JPGE schools
* Urged children to use the nutrition knowledge gained to their homes
By Kondwani Magombo, MANA
Assistant Executive Director for World Food Programme (WFP), Valerie Guarneri has hailed the community, teachers and learners in Mangochi for initiating a Joint Programme on Girls Education (JPGE), saying it is a success.
Guarneri, who was in the country to appreciate the JPGE activities, visited Sungusya Primary School on Tuesday in Chindamba Village in Traditional Authority Chowe where the community, the public and civil society sectors working with JPGE displayed their activities.
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The delegate said she was greatly overwhelmed by the community’s role in supporting education and its impact on the learners’ performance.
“What I love about this programme is how the interventions are so integrated. It’s really very comprehensive and I haven’t seen any gaps,” said Guarneri, who was accompanied by United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Malawi, Maria Jose Torres and WFP Country Director in Malawi, Benoit Thiry.
“I think we just have to continue to work to make sure that learning does not stop at schools but continues into the households and the communities.”
Guarneri added that she was impressed with the home-grown school feeding programme where local farmers from the surrounding communities supply farm produce to participating JPGE schools for the preparation of diversified food for the learners.
Appreciating diversified food supplied by local
farmers
She noted that the nutritious meals prepared with locally available ingredients highlighted the importance of diversifying food for healthy growing of the children.
“We must make sure that not only are children benefiting from nutritious meals in school but that they are also taking that knowledge to their homes and that households cook more nutritious meals for their families,” she said.
She, therefore, hailed the three UN agencies — WFP, UNICEF and UNFPA, the Malawi Government and district councils where JPGE is being implemented for working together.
Maria Jose Torres also planted a tree
She added that the end result was “very impressive and super-inspiring”.
Torres echoed Guarneri in applauding Group Village Head (GVH) Chindamba for leading his subjects in implementing the JPGE activities at the school.
Torres said Guarneri was compelled to come and see for herself the good work being done in Mangochi and that she would take the experience far and beyond.
“She is taking this experience to Rome, New York and Geneva to show how you are making the country move forward. Continue the good work of investing in your girls and also invest in the young boys.”
Torres assured GVH Chindamba and JPGE implementing partners of UN’s continued support, saying the global organisation was “very impressed with the good work.”
Under the JPGE project, Sungusya Primary School has increased girls’ pass rate in the Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination from 70% in 2016/17 school year to 95% in 2019/20 academic year, according to the school’s Head Teacher, Austin Nkhoma.
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Dropout due to pregnancies has slowed — from 67 girls during the same period to 14 girls while the school’s Mother Support Group has managed to get back to school 250 girls who dropped out due to various reasons.
Through complaint boxes implemented under JPGE’s Safe Schools component, in 2019/20 school year alone, 174 cases were recorded at the school and three of the cases were of defilement while one case was of indecent assault.
Three of the criminal cases were successfully prosecuted by the courts and according to Sub-Inspector Gift Karoti of Mangochi Police Station, two defilers were convicted and sentenced to 14 and 13 years of imprisonment respectively, while the perpetrator on the indecent assault was sentenced to six years imprisonment.
One defilement case is still in court, according to Karoti who is a child protection officer at Mangochi Police Station.
JPGE is being implemented in 74 schools in Mangochi under a project which started in 2014 in three districts of Salima, Dedza and Mangochi. It is now in its third phase with an inclusion of Kasungu District.
