Plan hailed for promoting girls’ education in Kasungu

K

asungu District Council chairperson Mwambilaso Mbedza has commended Plan Malawi for promoting girls’ education in the district.

She said this on Tuesday when Plan Malawi announced the phasing out of Kulimbikitsa Ufulu ndi Umoyo wa Achinyamata (Kuuwa) project which was designed to help reduce early pregnancies and bring back girls to school.

Said Mbedza: “We commend Plan Malawi for the project which has promoted education, especially that of the girl child. We cannot talk of achieving national development if we don’t fight the obstacles that hinder girls to access education.

“The project has addressed issues of teenage pregnancies and child marriages, which is good news to us as a district and for Plan Malawi, this is a job well done.”

She also appealed to girls who benefitted from the project to make good use of the second chance [after returning to school].

Plan Malawi director of programmes Janet Chidothi said the phasing out of Kuuwa project was not the end of the road, but rather the start of a new chapter, calling on authorities to sustain the interventions.

She said: “As the project phases out, we are pleased to note that many girls have benefitted as they have gained knowledge on income-generating activities. Some received a chance to continue with their studies, which is a good step towards achieving development.

“We thank our partners who were implementing the programme on the ground.”

One of the project’s beneficiaries, Chikondi Chantchonda, advised girls who became pregnant to consider going back to school to continue chasing their dreams.

“There is always a second chance. Girls can return to school and become what they want in life,” she said.

Kuuwa project started in 2019 and has phased out this year.