Pupils escape grave danger

Maria Stephen dreams of becoming a nurse as she covets their uniform.

Since 2015, she has struggled to learn due to  lack of sanitation facilities at Milala Primary School in Blantyre.

“When I was in Standard One, older students used to urinate and defaecate in the open bush as little ones relieved themselves anywhere. I thought this was normal,” says the Standard Seven girl from  Lemu Village, Traditional Authority Kuntaja in Blantyre.

She once toyed with the idea to quit school for marriage.

Maria narrates: “Lack of sanitation facilities contributed to massive dropout rates among girls in my community. Most adolescent girls could not stand the sanitation gap.

 “You don’t expect a girl experiencing monthly periods to come to school and help herself in a graveyard where boys also go.”

A teacher, Linda Vundika says unsanitary conditions pose a threat to teaching and learning, especially for adolescent girls.

She arrived at the rural public school in 2014 amid the sanitation-related exodus of girls.

“At that time, boys and girls were sharing the few latrines. If girls overstayed, boys invaded their privacy,” she narrates.

Vundika recalls that the overwhelmed latrines were mostly wet and dirty, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.

Girls fleeing the unsanitary conditions often hid in the nearest graveyard to take care of their menstrual hygiene.

The fifth enabler of Malawi 2063 requires the government and partners to “provide and make it a priority” for every citizen to attain at least 12 years of formal education.

Yohane Gama said the absence of standard sanitation facilities affected teachers too.

“Even teachers were at risk of bumping into learners in the bush, especially girls,” says the teacher.

In 2022, at the start of Malawi’s deadliest cholera outbreak, the sanitation gap persuaded newly deployed teacher Fred MacPherson Balasani to do something about it.

He bought airtime and interviewed authorities to understand how they intended to close the school’s sanitation gaps amid the public health crisis.

The timely call bore the desired fruit in a desperate attempt to avert the cholera crisis which claimed over 500 lives from 6056 patients.

Balasani, 31, says it was by sheer luck that no pupil or teacher at Milala Primary School was infected.

He recounts: “I phoned the Chigumukire Zone primary education adviser Gregory Muhasuwa, ward councillor Sigere Pemba and health surveillance assistant Mercy Chikudzu.

“All of them admitted that  the neglected problem was a ticking bomb that endangered the health and well-being of learners, teachers and surrounding communities.”

While searching for a solution, the teacher contacted Zodiak Broadcasting Station to pitch his heartfelt story for Good Samaritans to help create a safe teaching and learning space.

When the private station broadcast the story on radio and online, Umodzi Youth Organisation (UYO), a Balaka-based charity, moved in to help.

UYO director Shy Ali asked villagers around the constrained school to collect sand for constructing eight toilets for boys and girls.

“After reading the story, we contacted our partners in Germany and they gave us $10 000 for building the needed toilets,” he says.

The global Sustainable Development Goal Six calls for access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) for all by 2030.

However, the Ministry of Health reports that about 52 percent of outpatients in the country’s hospitals queue for treatment for Wash-related infections.

Milala is one of 180 public schools in Blantyre.

“The sanitation facility will encourage girls’ education in the rural community. Other organisations should follow suit to make the Malawi 2063 vision true,” says district director of education, youth and sports Paul Chiphanda.

Blantyre City Council chairperson Mike Malikita is optimistic that disruptive diarrhoea diseases will become history.

 “Other organisations should assist the government by constructing changing rooms, staff toilets and teachers’ houses at this school with 489 learners and nine teachers,” the councillor says.

The new toilets delight Maria. The teenager no longer thinks about dropping out.

“The new toilets have rescued us from snakes, bees and other dangers in the graveyard and cholera which threatened our lives and education,” she says.

However, she wishes her school had exclusive changing rooms to end girls’ absenteeism during menstruation periods.