Health & Wellness in Rural Malawi

A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Story Time

Help high schoolers return to school with PPE, hand sanitizer, handwashing stations & women's pads!

$1,200

raised by 19 people

$2,000 goal

Story

Updates (2)

Thank You! Safe Reopening is NOW POSSIBLE!

Update posted 3 years ago

Thanks to everyone who has donated to this campaign, Nsondole CDSS students will have everything that they need to attend school safely. Myself and the Story Time team are so so grateful for each and every one of your donations.

What does this mean? It means that:

every student (in total, over 300) will receive 2 reusable fabric masks and 1 informational pamphlet,
every classroom and the 2 teacher offices will have a dedicated gravity-powered running-water hand washing station,
every classroom will have hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies for thorough cleaning for 4 months,
68 female students will have pads for 1 entire year, so they are able to attend school all month, every month,
AND every student (and their families) will have peace of mind knowing that the school is a safe place.

Story Time is a small organization, and we know that the current global crisis is impacting everyone, so we truly thank each and every one of you for sending your support to these students in rural Malawi.

We look forward to sharing the BIG impacts these supplies will have on the students and staff of our partner school. If you wish to receive email updates (if you aren't getting our emails already), please reach out to us at info@storytimeedu.org.

Happy Holidays and stay safe,

Camille Westfall | Story Time Volunteer

High Schools in Rural Malawi Need Simple Supplies to Stay Safe

By donating to this campaign, you are directly providing PPE and sanitization supplies to a vulnerable population of students who are at a high risk of dropping out.

Donating just $15 provides 10 students two masks each and an informational pamphlet about safe hand washing and social distancing.

COVID-19 Impacts in Malawian High Schools

The government of Malawi closed high schools mid-year in April 2020, and in November, the government invited Form 4 (Senior) high schoolers back to school in order to study for the exams that they were originally supposed to take in May. Senior students will take their government exams, and all students will advance grades in February. The government has mandated masks, hand washing, and social distancing, but in rural Malawi, at our partner high school, students are not able to buy these items.

Impact on Women's Education

Female education in Malawi has been impacted significantly by the pandemic. Around 29,000 girls have dropped out of high school country-wide during the school shutdown. This campaign seeks to provide both mentorship workshops and menstrual pads to keep over 150 girls in school.

Social distancing in Malawi

Developing countries like Malawi have extremely close-knit communities and traditions that make social distancing nearly impossible. Infrastructure for grocery delivery does not exist; many families must travel to a market in order to have food to eat. Travel for most of our community involves either walking, renting a ride on the back of a motorbike, or buying a seat in a minibus (crowded passenger vans with meandering stop schedules). These day-to-day necessities have not stopped with the pandemic, because the only way many families make ends meet is by taking these risks.