Staff at Alloway Primary and Doonfoot Primary will be visiting Malawi to spend time with children and staff at Bandawe Primary and Chanawaka Nursery. We are raising money to help fund this visit and finance Educational Resources to take out with us. Please support us.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Whilst primary education is free to all students, the quality of education that the children receive has been affected by issues such as under-funding and a lack of staff and resources. Basic classroom items that we still take for granted in Scotland simply do not exist; many students learn outside of the often-temporary structures and the government recommended teacher student ratio is 60:1. As a result of this, take up rates into secondary education are below 10%. This has many implications for young adults who end up trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Staff from Alloway and Doonfoot Primary Schools will be travelling to Malawi in July 2018 as part of a mission to support their partner school and its community in Bandawe, in the north of the African country.

Six teachers and an Early Years Practitioner will be accompanying thirteen members of Ayr Presbytery some of whom have previously visited Bandawe to see the progress that has been made, supported by people in South Ayrshire. Funding raised within our local community in the past has allowed for a chicken project, the purchase of much needed malaria nets and donations of solar powered lights.

Whilst in Malawi the teachers will be delivering professional development for the teachers in Bandawe Primary School. This will give the teachers of Bandawe Primary much needed confidence and skills in increasing their learners’ attainment in literacy and numeracy. We have already received donations of old textbooks to take with us, a sustainable resource that will make so much difference to the children.

Throughout the year, pupils at Alloway and Doonfoot Primary will be learning about their friends in Malawi. The staff and various committees will be organising fundraising events that we are sure will be well supported by our school community. If you would like to support our staff in preparing for this journey, please leave a donation on this page. Bandawe is a community very close to our hearts here in Alloway and we are all ecstatic and humbled to be given this opportunity to visit and make a real difference. In return for donations, staff are willing to share our experience with other schools and assist schools in any way we can to help achieve the Rights Respecting Schools Award.