Communities call for support to complete construction of Bua school girls’ hostel
Communities surrounding Bua Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Mchinji are asking well wishers for support towards a girls’ hostel project at the school which stalled in October due to financial hiccups.
The communities started constructing the girls’ hostels in August this year to prevent girls from walking long distances to school following increasing incidences of early pregnancies at the school.
The school, which is situated in Mchinji Southwest Constituency, recorded 38 dropouts amongst the girls due to pregnancies from September 2016 to June 2017, according to Parents Teachers Association (PTA) Chairperson, Noah Ephraim Kamwendo.
Kamwendo said that was why the community reasoned to have a girls’ hostel to curb the vice.
He said the school raised K4 million after agreeing with chiefs surrounding the school that each parent should contribute K5, 000 on top of students’ school fees.
“We have approached different stakeholders but our proposals were turned down,” he said.
Kamwendo Added: “The community did its part, the project stalled at foundation level and we lack support from well-wishers”.
He said community leaders in the area engaged relevant authorities including their Member of Parliament (MP) for support but it did not work.
Group Village Headman (GVH) Chibwana said the project, which is at foundation stage, owes the contractor the sum of K1.8 million.
“We are looking for help so that we pay the contractor and that we buy some materials like cement among others,” he said.
MP for the constituency, Deus Gumba said he is aware of the project and that he promised to help with K3 million. He said meanwhile, he was processing K1.2 million and that papers were at the district council.
“As soon as CDF trickles in, I will do all it takes to get it done. You know Government funds are sourced based on submission of paperwork of materials needed,” he said.
The Head Teacher for the school, Ireen Zimba said once the hostel is completed, it will ease challenges which girls face, including walking long distances to school and doing self-boarding which she said subject them to a number of abuses.
“The construction of this boarding facility will give us a sigh of relief as most of the girls fail to concentrate on education because they are always tired of travelling long distances from their homes to school,” Zimba said.
The girls walk about 10 kilometres to the school.
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