Lydia Kamanga and Excelling Under The Bursary Scheme

Lydia is 16 years old and currently in Form 1 of Usisya Secondary School which hosts 7 of Temwa’s funded bursary students. Through Temwa’s funding, 25 gifted students like Lydia from disadvantaged backgrounds are supported to attend secondary school for 4 years, while an additional student is funded by an individual sponsor. 

Lydia’s parents were very poor and unable to afford to send her to school, which is an unfortunate reality for a lot of families in Nhkata Bay. Secondary school education in Malawi is not free, and the fees and associated costs of uniforms and learning essentials are often unaffordable for families with little household income like Lydias. Her parents are now divorced and she spends most of her time living with her dad. She has a brother who should be in Form 3 but her father is unable to pay the fees for him to attend secondary school so he is stuck at home and unable to learn.

Lydia found out about the bursary scheme through the headteacher at the school and was able to apply for a bursary and get accepted into the scheme. Like many students she started attending school at the start of Form 1 but then was at risk of dropping out as her family were not able to keep up with the payments of school fees – this seems to be a very common pattern with students in the area.

Adding pressure to school costs, the Malawi Kwacha was drastically devalued in November 2023. This meant that, as the new school year began, the cost of all materials increased massively compared to the original budget. For example, the cost of one pair of shoes increased by 150% between July 2023 and January 2024. Likewise, tuition fees increased by at least 25% across all the schools. The team in Malawi has continually tried to find the least expensive sources for all the materials needed to tackle this.

Lydia lives over an hour’s walk from the school so has been given a place to stay in the girl’s hostel that Temwa built in Usisya. She enjoys being able to stay in the hostel and not have to endure the 2-hour round trip walking each day, which can also be dangerous for girls. It also means she has more time after school to study.

Lydia told us that “it was a very great thing that I have been awarded this bursary, as if I hadn’t I would not be able to attend school and would have to drop out and be unable to learn.”

She said that because of the funding supporting her through Form 4 of secondary school, has given her hope and a strong aspiration to do well in school. When she is older she hopes to be a medical nurse and believes Temwa’s bursary support is helping her reach this goal.

Read more about Temwa’s Bursary Scheme in our latest report here.

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