Clifford Manda lives with his wife, children and their grandchildren in Bweteka. He noticed children in his community were idle so he had the idea to work together with other community members and create a nursery; however, due to costs, Clifford didn’t have enough funds to get the nursery underway.

He then contacted Temwa when he discovered we were launching our new Early Childhood Development (ECD) project and, together with their support, created plans to build a more affordable nursery. As of now, 3 caregivers are looking after 69 children in the new nursery rooted in the community.
Government investment in ECD is minimal, with less than 1% of the national budget allocated to support it in 2021-2022. Privately owned preschools are prohibitively expensive for most community members, the majority of whom live below the poverty line. Additionally, existing community-run preschools like the one in Bweteka need more resources and better management.
“With Temwa’s support in future, we hope to have enough playing materials for our children, this will help attract more children to attend as well as a permanent structure.”
In response to this issue, Temwa’s new three-year project aims to support 30 community-led preschools, working with community members like Clifford. Some of these will be newly established, while others are currently inactive or are struggling to operate effectively. The project will ensure that all preschools like Bweteka will meet national minimum standards and provide a vital foundation for formal education, addressing the educational gap in these communities.
“I want to sharpen the minds of these children and pave their way to a brighter future.”
The majority of primary school students in Northern Malawi lack access to formal education until the age of 6. Temwa’s previous Community Literacy Education project revealed that this gap results in children entering primary school ill-prepared, with limited literacy and numeracy skills. Consequently, they often struggle to engage with the curriculum, leading to high dropout rates. This disparity disproportionately affects young girls, whose education is frequently deprioritised, leading them to abandon school to assist with household chores. This is why nurseries like the one in Bweteka are so important.
“Education has always been known as the key to success, I wanted our community to have well-educated children so, I thank Temwa for everything you keep doing for us!”
Read more about our Early Childhood Development Project in our latest report here.