200 children. 1 teacher. No chairs, desks, or books…
In Malawi, children living in poverty go to school hoping for a brighter future through education, but that’s not what they get.
There are 200 children in a class with only one teacher. They sit on the bare concrete floor without enough books, paper or even pens to go around.
For a child living in poverty, learning to read, write and count isn’t just important. It’s their best chance of a brighter future. But it’s impossible for a teacher to teach, or a child to learn. As a result, children are forced to leave school without having had a chance to learn to read, write or count – essential skills if they’re to escape a life of poverty.
It’s not right. But with your help, it CAN change.
This year, will you be part of the change you want to see, and help a child learn to read, write and count?
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.
Mphasto lives in extreme poverty - in a home with no running water or electricity. He desperately hoped that going to school would give him a better life.
Due to the dire conditions in his classroom, Mphatso, 14, was forced to drop out of school. There were more than 200 children in his class. It was so overcrowded and noisy. With no desks or chairs, children must sit on bare concrete. There are not enough books, pens or paper. Mphatso couldn't hear his teacher or even ask for help.
Without an education, he was in real danger of being swept into the same cycle of poverty as his family before him.
How VSO is responding
Right now, Mphasto is back in school at a VSO learning centre and he is attending every day. He is catching up on his lost education, with an educational tablet in his hand and a VSO educational expert by his side.
During these focused sessions, in a calm and quiet environment, Mphatso has gained three essential life skills of reading, writing and counting. He has the tools to build a brighter future now. Thanks to our pioneering approach, hundreds of children in Malawi are learning in this way. They learn at an accelerated level and can catch up on years of lost education, fast! Children are now confident and excited about going to school.
When I finish school, I want to be a teacher - Mphatso
Give the gift of an education this year
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. Without the essential life skills of writing, writing and counting, a life of continued poverty follows. You can change this. You can equip a child to learn and thrive with an education tablet in their hand and a VSO expert by their side.
Please, give a child the life-changing gift of an education today.