1. What is the actual local situation you are addressing?

The Jacaranda school is located in Che Mboma village, near the city of Limbe, in southern Malawi. There are over 1 million orphans in Malawi, most of them orphaned by Aids, and in Che Mboma village, many children have lost their parents.

Orphans are left out of school because their guardians (their grandmothers, or their aunts and uncles) cannot afford to buy the uniform and school supplies they need at primary school level. At secondary school level, the situation is even worse, since secondary schools are not free in Malawi, even public schools. Only 10% of teenagers attend secondary schools in the country.

The Jacaranda school is the only free primary and secondary school in Che Mboma village and in the whole area. Our students come from 9 different villages. Without the Jacaranda school, the children would not be in school.

2. What has led you (or the organisation) to start the project?

I turned my family house in Malawi into a school for orphans because I wanted to help children go back to school. I also wanted the children to be well fed (at the Jacaranda school, every child receives a meal a day) and to attend Aids awareness classes.

For the Jacaranda school students, going to school is the only chance to get out of poverty, find a good job, make a living, and have a better future. Education can also save their lives: it is proven that an educated teenager is less likely to contract Aids than a child left out of school.

The construction of the school laboratory is a key element of the proper school we are intending to build. With a laboratory, the Jacaranda school will become a center for education in the entire district.

3. What do you want to achieve?

Our goal is to build and equip a proper primary and secondary school for 480 orphans, 12 classes of 40 children, equipped with school-blocks, desks and blackboards, a science laboratory and a library. This proper school will accommodate orphans entirely for free and allow them to study in good conditions, pass their exams and go to university. The Jacaranda school gives these children a chance to succeed, graduate and find good jobs.

4. How are you going to achieve it?

We are going to achieve this goal step by step. In 2008, we have been able to build a secondary school-block, so the secondary students can move out from my family house into proper classrooms.

The second step of the project is to build a science laboratory to offer our students a quality education and the chance to pursue medical and scientific studies.

In order to succeed and raise the funds needed to develop the project, we are looking for support both internationally, and locally in Malawi. I believe that by gathering good wills from all over the world, we will be able to achieve our goal.

5. What is your long term vision for the project?

Our long term vision for the Jacaranda school is to see orphans succeed, graduate, go to university, get a degree and get employed in Malawi. Then they will help develop both their country and their own community.

Our goal is to help Malawi develop and turn into a prosperous nation. Quality education will help Malawi move forward. With a young and qualified professional workforce, Malawi will modernize and become self sustainable.

The Jacaranda school plays a vital part in this vision because we are targetting children who are basically left out of the system: orphans do not get much support in Malawi, there are no social services or monthly allowances helping the guardians care for them. Many of these orphans also live by themselves, with a 13 or 14 year old heading the household, taking care of his 5 or 10 year old brothers and sisters.

So our long term vision for the Jacaranda school is to help children in dire need integrate society, help themselves and become successful professionals.

6. How is your idea/project going to benefit the community or the situation?

The community will benefit a lot from our project. Orphans are staying in their guardians’ households, with many other children (their guardians’ sons and daughters, and other orphans as well). The free education and the daily meal the children receive at the Jacaranda school is a great relief for these impoverished families. Once the orphans graduate and find a good job, they will then be able to support their family circle and pull some of their siblings out of poverty.

There is also a direct impact: children who go to school can immediately help their families. Their guardians have very few resources and they are often illiterate. An educated child can help his or her family take decisions and improve their daily life.

At the Jacaranda school, the children study ‘Home economics’, a subject that teaches them how to run a household, how to raise a child, how to stay in good health, etc. They also study agriculture (with practice in the Jacaranda school garden), another subject which is of direct help to their families. And the secondary school students attend Aids prevention classes.

The best proof we have that the Jacaranda school is benefiting the community is the feedback we receive from the villagers; volunteers for instance come every morning to cook and distribute the food we give the children.

7. Which results do you expect?

We are expecting a growing number of graduates. In 2008, 17 students are in our Form 4 class (last year of secondary school). In October 2008, they will take the national exam (Malawi School Certificate Examination), which, if they pass it, will allow them to go to college or university. This year, we expect half of them to succeed. Half only, because of the handicaps they are facing, especially due to the lack of a science laboratory which compromises the quality of our biology and physical science classes.

The construction of a laboratory will help us considerably improve these results, throughout all the primary and secondary school classes.

In 2009, we also expect to have a much larger Form 4 class (40 students) and a higher success rate at the exams.

8. How can you measure those results (quantifying)?

Results can be measured in several ways:

• Numbers of students attending secondary school classes (a science laboratory is a very attractive addition to any school in Malawi: students know that with a proper laboratory, they will receive quality education and have a greater chance to pass exam and enter university)
• Success rates at national examinations (last year of primary school / second year of secondary school / fourth and last year of secondary school)
• Number of students admitted into university.

9. Communication, visits and feedback

How often will you be able to inform about progress and developments?
We will be able to inform about progress and developments on a monthly basis.

Who is the person responsible for communication?
Luc Deschamps

When is the best time in the day/week for participants to contact you?
Anytime.

What is the best way to communicate (email, skype or other)?
By Email

Do you accept participants visiting the project?
Yes

How many per year?
We are happy to welcome anyone who would like to visit us at the Jacaranda school in Malawi.

Which it is the best time?
January-March / May-July / August – October (morning time)

Any requirements for visitors?
Visitors will need to take care of their own accomodations and expenses, as our limited resources are entirely devoted to the children’s education and well being.

10. What do you expect from the Uniting People community?

We would expect from Uniting People community to contribute with ideas and advice, help us spread the word about the Jacaranda Foundation and make this project a reality, so orphans in Malawi can receive a high quality education and get a chance to go to university.

Marie de Silva

Team Leader

Project Team

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Project Participants

The following are UP members who have donated or supported this project.

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