In Malawi, the Johannes Beese Foundation is primarily active in the southern region of the country. With over 10 million school-age children and only 1493 secondary schools, of which only 1010 are public, there is a significant lack of educational institutions. This shortage leads to many students leaving school without a degree or failing exams. Especially in rural areas, the quality of education is inadequate, and schools are often only accessible over long distances.
To alleviate these problems, the foundation focuses on building secondary schools. The construction of new schools and the completion of existing infrastructure not only increases the number of available school places but also significantly improves the quality of education.
These projects not only provide a better learning environment, but they also motivate communities in their long-term educational planning and contribute to sustainably improving educational opportunities for future generations.
- Below, we present three of our Malawian projects in detail.
- If you have any questions about other projects of the foundation, please feel free to contact us via the contact form.
JBS Projects in Malawi
- SBVM Mpalankhanga Secondary School for Children with Disabilities, Zomba – started in 2017
- Nthumbi Community Day Secondary School, Ntcheu – started in 2020
- Henry Hendersson Secondary School, Blantyre – started in 2020
- St. Chavara Secondary School for Girls, Mponela – started in 2021
Chigumula Community Day Secondary School, Blantyre – started in 2021
Naming'azi Community Day Secondary School, Zomba – started in 2021
Matindi Community Day Secondary School Blantyre – started in 2021
Chembera Community Day Secondary School, Balaka – started in 2021 - Likuni Secondary School for Boys - Open Secondary School – started in 2022
- Magawa Secondary School, Nkotakata – started in 2023
Since 2017, the Johannes Beese Foundation has supported the Mpalankhanga Secondary School for Deaf Children in Zomba. It is one of the few schools of its kind in Malawi and the only secondary school for deaf children in southern Malawi.
The already completed facilities include two classrooms, two teacher houses, a girls' dormitory, an administration building, as well as a solar system and a water pump. Recently, the boys' dormitory was also completed.
Further planning includes additional classrooms with two laboratories for biology and chemistry, as well as a classroom for home economics and a room for handicrafts.
Once completed, this school will be a place of education and community for 80 girls and 80 boys. With the planned expansion and connection to the ESCOM power grid, the school will be able to sustain itself and cater for the children’s education.
The Chigumula Secondary School has existed since 1998 and is located about 20 km from Blantyre. The students come from villages within a radius of about 12 km. Due to the poor infrastructure with only two classrooms, the school had to offer alternating classes until 2022. Necessary buildings for regular school operations were lacking. The principal's office was in a storage room. Despite these adversities, the student attendance rate is 94%.
The first construction phase is completed. It included the construction of two classrooms, a library, a laboratory, an office for the principal, and a teacher's room, including furniture. These measures have significantly contributed to sustainably improving the teaching and learning environment at the Chigumula Secondary School. The expanded capacity and the new facilities offer students and teachers a better learning environment and help reduce the dropout rate.
In 2022, the Johannes Beese Foundation decided to build three complete secondary schools. One of them is the Naming'azi Secondary School, one of the schools operated by the CCAP Blantyre Synod. It is in the rural district of Zomba.
In the first phase of the project, we funded the construction of a block consisting of a classroom, a library, a laboratory, and an administration room, as well as the construction of a teacher's house with three apartments.
In 2023, the second phase was completed, which included the construction of two more teacher houses with four apartments each, the construction of a latrine block, and the connection of the school to the ESCOM power grid.
The construction of 4 further classrooms, a sick bay, a multifunctional hall with kitchen and a girls' dormitory are planned for the near future. Once the project is completed, Namingn'azi will be a fully equipped secondary school.