ECD foundation for future Malawi—official

Children who are loved, protected and cared for by trained caregivers will grow into reliable citizens, Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare director of administration Roselyn Makhumula has said.

Speaking on Friday when she presided over the graduation of 143 caregivers who have completed a two-week training at Magomero Community Development College in Chiradzulu, Makhumula said the impact of early child development (ECD) manifests itself as a person grows.

“How a child behaves later in life is a reflection of how he or she was brought up while young,” she said.

In his remarks, the ministry’s director of child affairs McKnight Kalanda agreed with Makhumula, saying ECD is one way of correcting the misconception that education starts with Standard One.

“We have realised that our foundation was weak. We have realised that education does not start in Standard One,” he said.

World Vision Malawi national director Hazel Nyathi said children “are letters to the future.”

“What we do to our children today is our story to the future. We can only guarantee a future generation if we educate the children today,” she said.

Nyathi expressed the hope that the caregivers will use the skills gained for the benefit of the children.

“It is our belief that the certificates will be a promise that you will love, protect and care for children,” she said.

The trained caregivers were drawn from Nsanje, Chikwawa, Thyolo and Neno.

Another World Vision Malawi-sponsored cohort of 248 caregivers is expected to start their two-week training this week. n