“When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.” This is the hopeful voice of Chimwemwe Sitolo, a young learner at Chikwawe CBCC in Madisi, Dowa.

“I admire a nurse; I want to be injecting vaccines on people,” echoes Eliza Japhet, another learner from the same school. Her eyes wander to a skeletal structure of grass which will soon be their classroom.

They have dreams. They have ambitions. But there is a real risk they will not realize them.

It has been six weeks since the opening of the first term in Malawi, yet the students at Chikwawe CBCC are still not learning.

“Everyday, learners do come with hope that they are going to learn, only to find the committee members and the caregivers working on their classroom,” laments a community member.

This is not a new challenge. It has been 15 years since the birth of Chikwawe CBCC, and to this day, they have never had a proper, permanent structure to use as a classroom.

Group Village Head Chikwawe recounts the community’s long struggle. “At first, children used to learn in one of community member’s house. Later, when the person died, they were chased away.”

With nowhere else to go, the community sought a temporary solution. “We asked the school committee for the nearby primary school to at least borrow us one of their classrooms as we were looking for another solution. That arrangement lasted until this year when the roof was blown off and part of the wall fell, which made it unusable,” the Chief continues.

This crisis spurred the community into action. According to Mr. Kakowa, the head caregiver, they mobilized for a permanent solution. “In order to keep this project going, we sat down with chiefs and community members, and finally we were given this land which is permanent for the project.”

In their determined effort to construct a temporary classroom, the committee reached out for help. Opulence Malawi answered the call by delivering plastic paper for roofing, a crucial donation that will provide immediate shelter.

Walusungu Magombo, the ECD Project Officer who delivered the materials, voiced the organization’s support. “When we received the request, we knew we had to act quickly. The plastic paper is an immediate intervention to get these children learning again, protected from the sun and rain. We commend the community’s incredible initiative and are proud to support this first step. However, we all recognize this is a temporary fix. The need for a permanent, safe structure is urgent, and it is a challenge we must all face together.”

However, the dream of a safe, durable, and permanent structure remains. The temporary plastic roof is a vital stopgap, but it is no match for the harsh seasons. The committee and the entire community of Chikwawe are now appealing to Opulence Malawi and other well-wishers for continued partnership.

They have the land. They have the will. Their children have towering dreams. What they need now are the resources to build a foundation strong enough to support those dreams—a permanent classroom where the doctors and nurses of tomorrow can safely begin their journey today.