Keeping Girls’ Dreams Alive

Joyce Buleya* was only 14-years-old when she fell pregnant in the midst of her Standard 8 class year. Confused and conflicted, her dream of becoming a nurse suddenly dimmed before her as her options dwindled.

In Malawi, a vast majority of pregnant school-going teenagers drop out of school due to a number of adverse factors, although the government policy is to readmit them back into the fold as soon as they deliver.

Fortunately for Joyce, she was allowed to sit for her examinations while she was pregnant. Although she passed her examinations, she was unable to immediately return to school as she spent the next two years breastfeeding her son before she could resume her studies.  

"I was living in denial and discrimination from my peers forced me to drop out of school," she said.

Now 21-years-old and in the final year at Holy Family Community Day Secondary School in Phalombe district, Joyce presents a rare glimpse of the chances that abound when pregnant teenagers are given a second chance at education.

"I wrote my exams while pregnant and when I passed and I was selected to secondary school, it motivated me to return to school. I told my mother about the idea; she was happy but my father did not like it. It is when I went to a mother support group to seek help who then convinced my father to finally concede," she said.

When the girls return to school, discrimination is inevitable. But through the Female Teacher Role Model (FTRM) programme, they are paired with fellow girls of good conduct and high academic performance called buddy mentors to provide peer support.

"I firstly understood her situation, she is human; she made a mistake but I feel that should not make her any less different from us. I always tell her to focus on her studies and not to mind what other peers say," explains Stella Kanyera, who is Joyce’s buddy mentor.

Out of 17 learners who dropped out of school during the COVID-19 pandemic in Phalombe, nine got pregnant. But after mother groups engaged with the parents and teachers, three are back in school.

"We make sure we are monitoring them, and for those who dropped out of school, we reach out to them and talk to them and their parents so they should return to school," said Modesta Mangamtima, chairlady of Milambo Zone Mother Support Group.

In Malawi, the initial school enrolment is high, but most children drop out when they reach upper primary and secondary school. This complements the higher number of adolescents dropping out of school, especially girls and this often follows pregnancy and early marriages.

This is mostly attributed to poverty, cultural believes as well as gender-based violence at home and at school.

The Apatseni Mwayi Atsikana Aphunzire (AMAA) intervention is aimed at addressing this vice.

The programme is being implemented by Save The Children and is being run in five districts in Malawi. 

Lexon Ndalama, Save the Children Malawi’s Chief of Party, explains that the project is aimed at improving the enrolment and retention of girls in upper primary school and secondary schools targeting girls aged between 10 and 19.

"We saw the challenges a girl-child faces, especially in the villages. Most girls are overlooked when it comes to education as parents often prefer to educate boys and this fuels pregnancies and early marriages resulting to a high rate of school drop outs," he said.

Phalombe is one of the five districts which has benefited from this project.

Through the engagement of teacher role models, Phalombe has helped to create safer schools by providing support and guidance to girls within the school setup, especially to those who face gender-based violence at school.

The initiative also supports girls who dropped out of school due to various reasons.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of learners who dropped out of school in Phalombe district increased. But through AMAA and its initiatives, they have been able to return 10 leaners back to school, out of the 17 who dropped out.

"It is a success story because out of 10 returnees, seven are girls and three are boys," explained Sister Josephine Pensulo who is a teacher and Female Teacher Role Model at Holy Family Community Day Secondary School in Phalombe.

The project, which is funded by USAID, is phasing out in September 2021.

*on child safeguarding grounds we have not used the girl's real name