TEAM Girl Malawi

The TEAM Girl Malawi project supported 5,250 girls and was implemented by Link Education International in Malawi.

In 2018, 2.3 million children were identified as being out of school in Malawi. The number of out-of-school children further increased by the prevalence of child labour, the aftermath of COVID-19, and the impact of Cyclone Freddy in March 2023. Existing education challenges – such as poverty, poor infrastructure, inadequate teaching and learning materials, and a lack of qualified teachers – were amplified and dropouts increased. The most marginalised girls in project communities were already facing intersecting barriers to learning such as extreme poverty, child labour, early marriage, pregnancy and childcare.

The project supported highly marginalised learners aged 10 to 19 years who had never been to school or who had dropped out of school without gaining functional literacy and numeracy skills. It worked to address the barriers to obstructing their successful completion of education, with a view to not only improve literacy and numeracy skills but also to support their longer-term development and secure their economic independence.

Main activities

• Establishing Community-based Complementary Basic Education Centres (CBEs) to provide high quality, inclusive and gender responsive education, run by trained community volunteers.
• Establishing Girls’ Clubs to provide girls with knowledge of their sexual and reproductive health and rights and improve their life skills and social and emotional learning.
• Supporting transition to secondary school and offering financial literacy, vocational and micro-business training to girls.
• Working with communities and schools/learning centres to promote girls’ education and strengthen school governance.

The project in numbers

Lessons learned

Girls require individualised assistance to support their transition to the next level of education. It is important to start this support early in the education cycle, mapping the support and skills each girl requires for a successful transition. Because of the girls’ vulnerability, it is important to make linkages with external service providers as relevant.

It is important to recognise that the root cause of girls not being able to go to or stay in school is mostly a series of poverty-related factors. Programme designs should think carefully about what incentives or interventions would support girls’ learning either tackling this root cause interlinked to education / learning or clear transition pathways that could transform poverty-stricken girls to become independent.

Working closely with community leaders, schools and government officials is key to maximise the impact of the project. The project built linkages with other public and private sectors – such as health, labour, sports, gender, agriculture – to create sustainable solutions.

Ensuring girls are safe and protects and increases their wellbeing, participation and learning outcomes. Building and/or strengthening safeguarding systems that prevent and respond to violence, abuse and exploitation that may occur in or around learning centres or communities is vital. In addition, providing girls with life skills and SRHR is key to tackling barriers to education such as unintended pregnancies and early marriages.

It was important to screen girls who were not able to continue with school due to physical or mental disability and develop their individual education plans (IEPs). IEPs were developed for girls with special educational needs, and shared with parents/caregivers, which enabled them to better understand the ability and development of their girls as they continued supporting them with their home assignments.

Link Education International: www.linkeducation.org.uk