Parents, students and teachers at Msalura Community Day Secondary School in Salima could not hide their joy and excitement when Marist Brothers in Malawi donated five brand new sewing machines to the school’s Youth Empowerment Club on Thursday last week.
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The sewing machines were procured through the Girls Education Project, which the Marist Brothers in Malawi have been implementing for the past three years with financial support from Irish charity organization – Misean Cara.
The project was implemented in seven schools selected from the districts Balaka, Dedza and Lilongwe.
The donation to Msalura CDSS Youth Empowerment Club was aimed at boosting the club’s income generating initiative, which the Marist Brothers facilitated with a provision of K4 million startup capital early 2024.
The club has since opened a tuck-shop and it is expecting that the proceeds will go towards supporting the needy and underprivileged students from the surrounding communities.
Provincial councilor of the Marist Brothers in Malawi, Brother Francis Jumbe, emphasized to the people that witnessed the handover of the machines on Thursday last week that they added a component of entrepreneurial skills and income generation to enable the beneficiaries acquire resource mobilization skills.
Jumbe said time had come for the students to gain and acquire entrepreneurial skills whilst they are doing their secondary educatoin, stressing that days for white-collar jobs are long gone.
“Entrepreneurship is critical in addressing barriers to the completion of education among the underprivileged in the country. That’s why I would also like to urge you to cultivate a spirit of teamwork for you to overcome the challenges that you are facing as they continue with your education,” he said.
“We, the Marist Brothers in Malawi, came up with the idea to empower the underprivileged students in Balaka and Lilongwe with skills and machinery that can help them generate income to support themselves whilst in school. We know that most learners continue to experience so many challenges and, so, we are providing these machines to be a source of intervention where a greatest need arises in your education,” added Jumbe.
He expressed hope that the club will sustain the goal of the project by channeling the proceeds from the business towards supporting underprivileged students.
Head teacher for Msalura Community Day Secondary School, Sharif Phiri, lauded the Marist Brothers for their continued support to the needy and underprivileged students in Malawi.
Phiri pledged that the school will use the machines for their intended purposes.
“Not even myself will ever take one of these machines to his house or village as a retirement package. These machines will be used to uplift the lives of the underprivileged learners from the communities that surround this school,” he promised.
In her remarks, coordinator for Msalura CDSS Girls/Youth Empowerment Club, Fannie Makombe, said the machines had come at the right time when fashion and designing has become a lucrative career in the society.
Makombe, who is a teacher and trained tailor, has since promised that she would introduce free fashion and designing course at the school.
