Castel Malawi Limited has donated shoes and reusable sanitary pads valued at K10 million to 172 underprivileged girls from three national secondary schools across the country.
Castel Malawi Human Resources and Corporate Affairs Director Gloria Zimba said the donation to the girls at Thyolo Secondary School, Lilongwe Girls Secondary, and Mzuzu Government Secondary schools was not only to encourage the in their studies, but also to show them that there are people who care about them, despite facing challenges in life.
“We have a lot of child-headed households, and you will find that it is mostly the girl child who takes up the responsibility of being a parent and drops out of school to look after their siblings. So, because of that, Castel Malawi decided to invest almost K10 million into encouraging the girl-child to give them some motivation for their future.”
“We have not managed to reach out to every needy student, we know; the 172 we selected by the respective schools only represent a section of the underprivileged. So, we are not only here to give them the gifts we brought, but also to motivate them to work hard and focus on their future, as much as education may not be a solution to everything, it is one of the keys to a better future for a girl-child,” said Zimba during a visit to Thyolo Secondary school last week.
Zimba stated that Castel Malawi has donated school shoes and reusable sanitary pads, considering the cost of the items in the market.
“A reasonable and durable school shoe is now costing K50,000, and for a girl who cannot even afford school fees of K100,000.00 per term, it is difficult for parents or guardians to find that amount for a pair of school shoes. And we know those in form one, that shoe will take them up to form four because it is very durable.”
“But apart from that, we are giving them a pack of reusable pads, because sanitary care is another challenge an underprivileged girl-child is facing. For them to be buying disposable pads every month is very costly,” she said.
Thyolo Secondary School’s Inclusive teacher, Mirriam Dosa, who represented the Headteacher, thanked Castel Malawi for the visit, which she said, had given the disadvantaged girls, a reason to persevere.
“We are so thankful to Castel Malawi for assisting some of the needy students at this school. The total number of the selected students is 30, but today 23 students have been assisted; the other seven are at home after writing their Junior Certificate examinations and we will keep their gifts,” said Dosa.
One of the beneficiaries, a form four student at Thyolo Secondary, Vianna Velson, expressed gratitude to Castel Malawi for the donation.
“As students, we have necessities which we lack, and Castel has managed to help us with school shoes, which are one of the necessities, and we are very grateful,” said Velson.
Lilongwe Girls Secondary had 103 beneficiaries, while Mzuzu Government had 40 girls who benefited from the Castel Malawi donation.
