January 6 is a day to remember for Grace Jonas, a 15-year-old who dreams of becoming a nurse.
On this day, she started Form One at Konzere Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) along the southern border between Chikwawa and Nsanje districts in the Shire Valley.
“I was delighted to be selected for the new CDSS. I feel lucky to learn close to home. Unlike my elder siblings, my classmates and I do not have to endure long and costly travels to learn.”
Last year, Chikwawa District Council constructed the school’s first usable block under the Governance Enabled Service Delivery (Gesd), a performance-based project funded by the World Bank through the National Local Government Finance Committee.
Two weeks ago, Chikwawa District Council approved a K45.27 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year, with K1.39 billion coming from the Gesd performance-based grants that reward local governments for effective governance, service delivery and accountability.
Until the opening of Konzere CDSS early this year, some students used to travel over 15 kilometres (km) to Magoti CDSS and others covered about 19km to Phanda CDSS. The unluckiest travelled 25km to Mbiya CDSS.
“The Gesd school block has given our school a lifeline. We learn close to home. Without this block, I would have been walking long distances to learn,” Grace narrates.
A walk to the nearest school takes more than two hours, four times the policymakers’ flight from Lilongwe to Blantyre. Bikers almost halve the time of walking on the bushy shortcuts.
“Gesd has saved us from the long travels in the scorching sunshine typical of the lowland along the Shire River. At last, we have a school in our midst. We care for it for our good and generations to come,” says Charles Adam, from Jesse Village.
He spent Standard One and Two learning in tree shades and says no child at any level should learn in the open.
“It wasn’t funny,” he says. “Classes were regularly disrupted by rainfall and strong winds,” he says.
He is among 34 learners at Konzere CDSS, all in Form One.
“When we say Konzere CDSS, we mean the block funded by Gesd,” says headteacher Jennifer Chikuni. “Without this, the school wouldn’t have enrolled the first students this year.”
The other block, financed by Constituency Development Fund, has been under construction for years. It looks dilapidated. Its windows are small and the walls cracked.
“Inspectors of schools have condemned it as unfit for teaching and learning. We have to maintain it as enrolment is bound to increase with other classes coming in the next few years,” says Chikuni.
By contrast, the one occupied by the first students is built of durable cement cubes to save trees that burn when curing red bricks.
“The Ministry of Education selected 54 learners, but only 15 girls and 19 boys enrolled with us. The rest went to private schools because they didn’t have confidence in the new secondary school,” says Chikuni.
She is the only woman among the four teachers at Konzere CDSS. This makes her a role model and a go-to person for the 15 girls at risk of dropping out to marry young.
Nearly half of Malawian women marry before their 18th birthday and the 2024 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey shows 32 percent of girls become mothers before turning 19.
Teenage pregnancy is higher in rural areas like villages around Konzere CDSS. The finding shows 34 percent of rural adolescents get pregnant compared to 19 percent among their urban peers.
“The long walks put girls at risk of being attacked by men who fuel early pregnancy and marriage, which are common here. If a girl is not in school, the risk of marrying young is high. So this school block is protecting my future,” says Grace, promising to remain in school until her dream comes true.
