Only a fifth of adults in Malenga Mzoma complete primary school and only half of those finish secondary school.

Our survey of the largest trading centre (an outdoor market at Kande) showed conclusively that people with an education are much more likely to be successful in business.

A prerequisite of receiving business and marketing training or a business loan from the Foundation is the ability to read and write in Chichewa.

The Foundation therefore runs the Capacity Academy: eight adult literacy and numeracy classes from which nearly 200 people have graduated so far. There are currently another 200 studying.

Some people want to become fully literate (which also means numerate) for their own pleasure or to encourage their children, but some take the literacy and numeracy classes expressly to qualify for the loans programme.

For more details, including the results of our 2020 exams, please see this news item.