Patience Kavalo
On the 5th of April, Dalitso Mtaya, a Kuyenda Youth Champion and Secretary of the Malanda Youth Network in Nkhata Bay, led an initiative to support the construction of a girls’ hostel at Bungano Community Day Secondary School (CDSS).
Together with fellow youth members of the Malanda Youth Network, Dalitso arranged the donation of sand, sourced locally from Lake Malawi, to aid the building process. The donation comes in response to a long-standing challenge at Bungano CDSS: the lack of boarding facilities, which disproportionately affects girls.
Bungano CDSS, like many Community Day Secondary Schools in Malawi, doesn’t have boarding facilities. For learners in surrounding communities, especially young girls, this presents a major barrier to their pursuit of education.
Without hostels, many girls are forced to walk long distances to and from school each day — a situation that often results in poor attendance, academic underperformance, and in some cases, it is not uncommon for learners to drop out before reaching Form 4.
The absence of proper hostels has also contributed to low enrolment at the school. When learners are selected for Bungano CDSS, many parents prefer to send their children to schools closer to home. As a result, some classrooms and school facilities at Bungano remain underutilised. And in some unfortunate cases, are misused for social gatherings and private meeting spots rather than learning.
Recognising the urgency of the issue, Dalitso Mtaya brought the matter to the attention of the school’s headmaster, Mr Zyabudika, who agreed that the problem needed to be addressed. He confirmed that construction of a girls’ hostel had already begun and would be funded through the School Development Fund. The project is currently at the foundation level.
Motivated by a shared commitment to community upliftment and girls’ education, the Malanda Youth Network stepped in with a donation of sand to help speed up the construction.
As a youth-led group committed to uplifting their community, they felt it was their responsibility to contribute actively to the development of their area. The group’s donation of building materials is just one example of how youth leadership is driving positive change in rural Malawi.