African Trade and Investment Development Insurance has donated desks and boreholes worth $24 000 (about K41 million) to six primary schools in Mitundu Education Zone in Lilongwe District to improve access to quality education and safe water.
Speaking on Tuesday during the handover of a borehole and desks at Chiolongo Primary School in Traditional Authority Chiseka, the firm’s representative Tendayi Kufa said the donation forms part of the institution’s corporate social responsibility programme in the 24 countries where it operates.
He said the Kenya-based multilateral institution responded to an appeal
made by immediate-past Malawi High Commissioner to Kenya Callista Mutharika after learning that several schools in the area lacked adequate classroom furniture and access to safe drinking water.
“We were approached by Her Excellency Callista Mutharika, who informed us that some schools were operating without potable water and desks. We felt compelled to come in and support these schools,” said Kufa.
He said they will continue to support communities in Malawi, particularly in the education and water sectors when they mobilise resources.
Lilongwe Bunda legislator Maria Kambuzi (Malawi Congress Party) commended the firm for the donation, describing it as a timely intervention that will benefit learners and surrounding communities.
“This is the first time since the school was established in 1997 to have a borehole and desks. We are grateful because the borehole will provide safe drinking water not only to learners but also to people living nearby,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of other schools, Chiolongo Primary School head teacher Blackson Chimthethe said the school had for years struggled without a reliable source of safe water, forcing learners to fetch water from a nearby river.
“Despite these challenges, the school has consistently recorded a 100 percent pass rate into secondary schools,” he said.
