FAWEMA introduces cash transfer programme for needy school girls
The Forum for African Women Educationalists in Malawi (FAWEMA) says it introduced cash transfer programme for needy adolescent girls in primary schools to help them complete their primary education.
According to Nelly Mngwaluko, FAWEMA project manager for the cash transfer programme for Mchinji, Malawi has fewer girls in school compared to boys because of many challenges faced by girls while at school.
She said the organization decided to give K5,000.00 to every poor girl in standard 7 and 8 every month to keep them in school.
“They may use this money to buy education related materials as well as torches for studying.
Learners spend a lot of hours in school so for an adolescent girl who is also in menstruation period, it will be difficult to go to and remain in school that’s why we gave them K5,000.00 every month to buy pads so that this menstruation should not be an excuse of dropping out of school,” said Mngwaluko during a District Executive Committee (DEC) briefing on the programme.
However, she disclosed to DEC that the programme also faced a lot of challenges to achieve its aim because even though the organization gives girls money to buy education related materials, they still drop out of school.
Not only that, the Project manager explained, “due to illiteracy they block their phone sim cards because of over use of pin codes. it can happen that they forget pin codes so they force it that leads to sim card being blocked which also gives us challenges to reach such girls.
The Forum for African Women Educationalists – Malawi Chapter – (FAWEMA) is a registered non- governmental organization, which brings together women educationalists in order to support and promote girls’ and women’s education in Malawi.
The Chapter was established in 1993 and was registered in March 2001 under the Trustees Incorporation Act, 1962.
