John o' Groats to Land's End by bike
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
The reason I am doing this ride is for the personal challenge. I am very pleased to be able at the same time to try and raise some money for Medic Malawi. The reason I have chosen this charity came out of a conversation with 3 friends around Christmas time, Sally Ewings, Peter and Ben Lee. They have had some actiive involvement with the charity and Ben has been involved with some of the project work since his attendance at St Peter's School in Exeter (see photo). It is a small charity where you can see where your donations are going. The particular focus for the current donations is for a roof to be built on Chalizaya L.E.A. Primary School.
More information about their work can be found on the following link. http://www.medicmalawi.org/
My ride is self funding so all the money you donate will go to Medic Malawi.
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So please dig deep and donate now.
LATEST NEWS
I'll be arriving in JoG on the 12 May so will be off for the ride on the 13th.
I have just opened a Blog which can be seen on the following link
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jim-the-JoGLer/
Press the SUBSCRIBE button if you would like regular updates of my journey.
I have recently received a history of the school in need of a roof written by a former pupil, who is being sponsored by Sally and Peter.
HISTORY OF CHALIZYA L.E.A. PRIMARY SCHOOL IN KASUNGU DISTRICT FROM MALAWI.
BY SAPULAIN CHITONDE LEE.
Chalizya primary school was established in years of 1960 at Chimbaye Village. It was a Junior Primary School with Classes 1-5.
In the year 1966 it was upgraded into a full Primary School having classes from standard 1 to 8 which is a final class in Primary schools in Malawi but there were few Teacher’s houses.
People from four different big villages which were surrounding this primary school were asked to build mud houses for Teachers. These big villages were of: Chimbiya, Chimdidi, Lupafya and Mzumala.
Three villages of Lupafya, Mzumala and Chimdidi failed to elect the houses while Chimbiya village managed to build. Then the government of Malawi following this incident ruled out by dividing the School into two.
One with all classes ( a full primary School ) which was then sent to Chimbiya Village where lots of hard working people with hard working spirit were coming from while a junior Primary School with classes from 1-5 were then left at Livwezi in the village of chief Lupafya .
The School built at Chimbiya Village was named Chalizya which was a name of a first Primary School before the division in the area of village headman chimbaye and this name is of a River which flows in the area of village headman Chimbaye where the school was.
By 1967 people around Chimbiya Village were organized and managed to build a School from a wooden poles/trees (a traditional school brocks) with four crass rooms.
The School was surrounded by five villages namely: M’nyanja, Chimbiya, Tambala, Siliwuka and Mzumala. There were three teachers’ who were accommodated in the village of Chimbiya as there were no any Teacher’s houses at the School when the Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Education opened the new School on 3 January 1968.
Three teachers who were sent to teach at this school were: Laysati Mbewe, Gervase.N.Chitonde and Tomasi Mwale.
In the years of around 1970s and 77 the Government of Malawi through YOUTH WEEK PROJECT S with founding from LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHOLITIES (L.E.A.) managed to build a model full L.E.A Primary School brock with six crass rooms.
Chalizya School was on Position four in the whole district of Kasungu in terms of decentness of the School appearance.
Chalizya L.E.A. full Primary School was then officially opened in April of 1978.
The enrolment was higher comparing to other Primary Schools in the district, though pupils were paying School fees.
The passing rate was promising as many students were sent to different Government and Mission Secondary Schools across the country. Some of these Secondary Schools were: Kasungu Secondary School ( a Government Secondary School )and Mtendele Catholic Secondary School.
The passing rate dropped in the years of around 1980’s to 93 as more teachers were running out when ever sent to teach at this School as the School was growing old and having no teacher’s houses, no any clean water since there is no borehole even at the present time and no any close medical health centre up to present and it is in a rural tipical village. Teachers were not comfortable staying in such areas where life seems to be tougher.
All these problems are as old as the School its self up to date. But big challenges which the communities around this Primary School are facing are of School Blocks. The old blocks which were built by the Government through YOUTH WEEK PROJECTS and with founding from LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHOLITIES are very old and not having a roof. This old School blocks is sustaining with big cracks which may even kill some student when may fall down.
The communities around this School plays a big role of building some temporally crass rooms and some temporally Teachers houses. They even managed to build a one strong house for a School Head teacher’s house with the money they collected from local villagers around the school.
The passing rate and enrolment rate improved from 1994 when the Government of Malawi introduced FREE PRIMARY SCHOOLS up to now.
This year Chalizya L.E.A School opened its second term with 300 students ,but all these students have no crass rooms to be using .There is only two crass rooms which were maintained with a founding from one of a well wisher from the United Kingdom ‘’BEN LEE’’ who visited the Primary School two times with his Malawian brother ‘’SAPULAIN CHITONDE LEE’’ ( a Malawian citizen who once visited England and stayed with The Lee family and now doing his Journalism studies in Blantyre with a help/founding from The Lee family ).
Last term’s students who finished writing there closing term’s examinations were 884 but they were more than 1300 students who were enrolled with this School ( Chalizya Primary School ) but many dropped out of School because of some family problems.
Students who wrote their final exams of Primary Junior Certificate were 62, three were selected to go in National Secondary Schools while 35 got General Passes and 24 failed.
These are head teachers who have headed this Primary School from beginning up to date:
- Mr. Laysati Mbewe from ……………… 1968 – 71.
- Mr. Chikwiya Mwale from ……………. 1971 – 72.
- Mr. G.N.Chitonde from …………….. 1973 – 80.
- Mr. Mzima from…………………………. 1981 – 83.
- Mr. Lutepo from ………………………. 1984 – 87.
- Mr. Chikuse from …………………………. 1988 – 96.
- Mr. D.C.Msakizeni from………………… 1997 – 2006.
- Mr. R.E.D.Kanyenda from …………….. 2007 – 2010.
9 Mr. Edward Mtonga from ……………2010 up to………………………………….!!!!!!!!.
Compiled by :G.N.Chitonde.
Edited, typed (written) and printed by: SAPULAIN CHITONDE LEE.
