Textbooks from Texas Teen

Update!:  Textbooks are delivered!

Zomba, Malawi … Excitement was everywhere, and a jovial environment engulfed this small community west of Zomba. Songs rang out among the students of the Nankhunda Primary School, and elation revealed the mood where even an old newspaper causes one to want to sit down and read. These students, like most children in Malawi, have a great desire to learn. Where there is nothing to read their motivation goes down, but when this is reversed there is a spirit of hard work and effort. This fact was in evidence in this one thousand six hundred and one member school located in Nankhunda Village. Before the arrival of this vast supply of textbooks from Austin, Texas, this school had very few textbooks. Pupils actually sat on the floor to read, and others sat outside under trees because of the lack of space, supplies and books.

An example of one who benefited from these books is Robson Kamwendo. Robson is in standard eight. He noted, “the shortage of teaching and learning materials is one key set back to a child’s success to properly skyrocket with their education.” This 13-year-old boy from Chindamba Village added, “pupils depend totally on teacher’s lessons, as compared to being able to study for themselves with sufficient books.”

Robson’s sentiments were shared by 12-year-old Poline Makupete who reported to Wilson Tembo, from the Namikango Mission, who helped deliver the books to the school, “Many girls drop out of school because of a lack of interest resulting from the lack of supplies such as books, pens, and notebooks.” Kondwani Natchito, a standard 8 student was very happy to see the books. He concluded, “Mabuku awa atithandiza kuphunzira” or translated, “These books will help us learn how to reach English better.”

These textbooks are a small pat of a shipment of 30,000 school textbooks made available through the coordinating efforts of the Western Hills Church of Christ in Austin, Texas, World Emergency Relief in Southern California, Universal Aide in western Canada, and the Malawi Project from Indiana U.S.A.