Back to school with hopes to teach

Esther Banda, 21, from Matatiyo Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Lukwa in Kasungu, dropped out of school three years ago to get married. At that time, she was in Standard Seven at Kalimadziche Primary School.

But now she is back to school.

“I want to become a teacher,” she says.

Listening to her, it is clear that Kalimadziche Primary School will be her home, now and in future.

Narrating her brief courtship, Esther says she met a man who was operating a grocery shop at a trading centre located five kilometres away from her village. When he proposed to her, she accepted.

“I thought he would give me a better life; move me out of poverty because he had money. But I did not tell my parents,” she says.

Esther later eloped with the man and went to live seven kilometres away.

“He came to pick me up on a bicycle at mid-night. We agreed that he should ring a bicycle bell to alert me, and I sneaked out of the house, found him hiding in a nearby church and went to his house,” she narrates.

But what was supposed to be a happy life suddenly turned into sorrow. When she had her first child, her husband changed. He started beating her up or petty issues and he became promiscuous. One day, her husband disappeared after selling some tobacco.

“At that point, I was forced to go back to my parents. I couldn’t feed my child. I realised that if I had a job, I would have been able to take care of my child, but I had no means of livelihood,” she says.

While at her parent’s home, a member of Kalimadziche Mothers‘ Group visited her and suggested that she returns to school. This group is one of many that Care Malawi helped establish under Join My Village—a project funded by the General Mills Foundation of the USA to empower girls through education.

Banda’s family does not have a good record of education. The furthest that any of her siblings went with their studies was Standard Six. Thus, even if she did not return to school, she would be the most educated in her family.

Having no role model within her home, her inspiration to go on with school comes from a female teacher at Kalimadziche Primary School. The teacher lives in a modern, three-bedroomed house specifically constructed by Care to accommodate a female teacher. No wonder she wants to be a teacher at the school one day.

Esther did not hesitate to pay heed to the call to go back to school. She learnt the importance of school the hard way.

“I suffered in my marriage because I had no means of livelihood. I do not want to live my life relying on a husband,” she says.

As she was deciding to join others in school, many questions and fears went through Esther’s mind. She left school as a girl but she would be returning to the same school as a mother. How would she get along with her school mates, most of them younger than her?

“Most of my age mates are either married or in secondary school. I thought my school mates would laugh at me,” she says.

But the school head teacher, Ronomy Chunga, was prepared to welcome Esther. He had meetings with the mothers group, teachers and pupils to ensure that Banda had a good learning experience.

“I advised teachers and pupils against making statements that would discourage Esther from participating in school activities,” Chunga says, adding that he advised Esther to be just like any other student.

The Kalimadziche Mothers’ Group organised a meeting for all girls at the school to discuss issues that affect girls.

“We encouraged them to work hard in school and avoid early marriages,” says Modester Banda, chairperson of the group.

Drawing lessons from her own experience, Esther seized the opportunity to advise the girls against early marriage. The mothers group is using her as an agent of change to help girls stay in school.

The school has almost all the facilities needed for girls of Esther’s age. Care Malawi, through the JMV project, has helped to make the school attractive to girls. Care has built new school blocks complete with desks, as well as sanitary facilities.

Her three-year old son, Derison, will be enrolling at the school in two years’ time. She wants to be in secondary school by the time her son joins the school. Her desire is to return to Kalimadziche to teach her son.