NGO to Launch Community Library Project in Malawi's Dowa District
Opulence Malawi chose Dowa based on its poor performance across various socio-economic indicators compared to other districts in the southern African nation.
DOWA, Malawi— A non-profit organization has announced plans to implement a community library project aimed at improving the reading culture and educational performance in Malawi's Dowa district, writes Vincent Gunde.
Opulence Malawi, which focuses on mobilizing communities for sustainable development, said the "Enhancing Education through Community Library" effort will target school governance bodies, community leaders, faith groups and traditional authorities in the district's Madisi and Chinkhwiri school zones.
The goal is to increase literacy rates and learner performance by establishing a community library and programming, according to Okhifi Dimba, Opulence Malawi's programs officer.
He said a lack of access to books and low electrification rates in the area have contributed to poor educational outcomes.
In last year's Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education exams, Dowa district recorded an 80.33% pass rate, which Dimba called unacceptably low.
The district's literacy rate is around 66% and only about 4% of the population has access to electricity.
"By design, primary, secondary and tertiary schools must have a library and each learner should have a text book, but with the growing population, this has not been the case," Dimba said. "Lack of access to books through the libraries lowers literacy rates and ICT knowledge."
The $268,000 project, funded by the Donor Community Development and Church of Resurrection organizations, aims to use a participatory approach to engage community stakeholders at all levels.
Planned interventions include enhancing parental involvement in education, generating revenue from library services for operations and maintenance, and hosting activities like community dialogues.
"The project is expected to improve literacy levels among youth and adults, performance among students in national exams and an institutionalized reading culture among community members," Dimba said.
Opulence Malawi chose Dowa based on its poor performance across various socio-economic indicators compared to other districts in the southern African nation, which ranks among the world's least developed countries.