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In Malawi, children living in poverty go to school hoping for a brighter future. That's not what they get. It's not right. Things CAN change. Be part of the change you want to see.
Children like Mphatso are in danger of dropping out of school and into a life of poverty. It's impossible to learn in a class of 200 children and without any books, pens, or desks. They are in a desperate situation.
Due to the dire conditions in his classroom, Mphatso, 14, stopped going to school. He doesn’t have a uniform, a pen or paper for class. His family live in extreme poverty in rural Malawi and his parents had to drop out of school at a young age.
Without an education, Mphatso was in real danger of being swept into the same cycle of poverty as his family before him. As Mphatso shares
When I didn’t go to school, I didn’t like it.”
Impossible to learn
Malawi has the fourth highest percentage of people living in extreme poverty in the world, and over half the population is considered extremely poor.1
For too many children, their experience of school is sitting on the bare concrete floor with no books and pens to use, and they have no electricity or running water. With one teacher to as many as 200 children in a class, it’s impossible to learn. Children don't get the one-to-one support they need. Many children struggle to learn to read, write and count, and then drop out of school.
How VSO is responding
Right now, Mphatso is back in school and he’s attending every day. He is catching up on his lost education, fast, with an education tablet in his hand and a VSO expert by his side.
Thanks to our pioneering approach, hundreds of children in Malawi are learning this way. They sit in a VSO learning centre and can focus on reading, writing and counting at an accelerated level. They are now confident and excited about going to school.
Give the gift of an education this Christmas
There are thousands of children we need to urgently reach. They need support now.
Without help from people like you, every day children like Mphasto will be forced out of school and into a life of poverty.
Please, give a child the life-changing gift of an education today.