The mission of Bambino Foundation is to provide quality preschool and primary school education to the children from remote rural communities in Malawi. In order to help the communities themselves take ownership of the Community School projects, our partner raises awareness among the local population and provides training to local teachers. The testimony of Joseph Pelekamoyo illustrates how our partner supports local individuals and communities to take ownership of their children’s education.
Joseph Pelekamoyo was born in the village of Phwazi situated in a mountainous region of Malawi. In his community many children don’t attend school before the age of 10 due due the long distances that they would need to travel in order to reach the nearest school. Fortunately for Joseph, he was raised up by his uncle in a neighboring community with direct access to educational facilities. Conscious about the importance of education, his uncle sent him to school from an early age on.
After completing his secondary education in 2013, Joseph decided to return to his native community and establish a school for the local children. Having received teacher training from Bambino Foundation, he joined forces with another teacher was able to start the school under a shelter built with local materials. Our partner encouraged him to continue raising awareness among the local community about the importance of education and to involve them in the management of the school. After some time, the community decided to mold bricks and build a proper infrastructure for their school.
In honour of Joseph Pelekamoyo’s vision, the school was named “Think-Big nursery school”, and today the community couldn’t be happier seeing their children learning in a comfortable and clean environment.