Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, said, “Education is a human right with immense power to transform”. This belief is not only shared but wholeheartedly embraced by the team at Village Foundations.
Part of UNESCO, the International Institute for Building Capacity in Africa (IICBA) show very poor educational outcomes, with a high probability of this being a direct consequence of, and driver of perpetual poverty in the region. They state:
- Less than 25% of children complete secondary school
- Based on human capital index projections, Malawian children only reach 41% of their potential
- Less than 2% of Malawians continue to tertiary education
- Over 40% of children aged 3-4 are behind on development due to multi-generational poor education
- Over the last decade and more, these numbers have only improved marginally, and Malawi still drags behind in improvement of outcomes
(Source: https://www.iicba.unesco.org/en/malawi)
Furthermore, the continuing challenges of access to education and childcare serve only to perpetuate poor generational outcomes, in turn pre-emptively securing poor outcomes for future generations.
As one of the four key cornerstones to building and securing successful and sustainable communities, VF truly understands the impact that high quality education and childcare can have on those being looked after and the wider community.
Reliable childcare allows parent and family members to go to work knowing their children are safe and cared for. This enables successful provision for families.
The children are provided with comprehensive care and education, nutritious food to sustain them physically, and opportunities to learn and grow into adults with successful careers. They can be allowed to “just play and be children” with the others in their village with the security and safety of regular care and stability.
VF believes that by providing exemplary childcare and educational opportunities to those in its projects, they can help raise a generation of educated, well looked after and ambitious young people who can have a genuine impact on their local community. Young people who can help lift themselves, their families and their neighbourhoods out of an otherwise dire situation.
At all the projects VF undertakes, only trained and vetted individuals are used in education and childcare projects. Projects are launched in a sustainable way, providing significant infrastructure and capital allowances, enabling them to be run in a way that allows children to learn in a safe and fun environment, free from the stresses of living in disadvantaged and poverty-stricken villages.
