Capacity maintains ten youth clubs running programmes intended to encourage Malenga Mzoma’s young people to build their lives in the area and help it to prosper. As in many places around the world, Malawian youth from the countryside are tempted to try their luck in the cities. Not only is that a hazardous choice, it takes them away from their home communities and depletes the reservoir of talent and energy that they bring.
The youth clubs generally meet weekly to socialise, play sport, create dramas, learn about health issues, perform community service (for example, one club keeps the local hospital clean), and plan their futures. They also have a lot of fun, which this video illustrates: a song by members of Wilson Youth Club about building a house one room at a time.
A significant number of young people complete their secondary education and get good enough grades to go to university, but the number of places available is very small compared to the demand.
Other young people don’t manage to finish secondary school for a variety of reasons (mostly lack of ability to pay school fees – primary education is free but secondary education isn’t). For girls there are the traditional and social pressures that means many of them drop out – early betrothal, teenage pregnancy, helping in the home.
Some of the youth (defined as people up to the age of 25) attend our Capacity Academy adult literacy classes, sometimes because they want to complete their reading and writing skills and that’s the way to access our business skills and marketing course – a pathway to securing a loan to start a small business. Some of the youth club members have started farming co-operatives this way.
The Trustees are exploring ways to initiate a training programme that would be accredited by Malawi’s vocational training service. This will require considerable funding for buildings, equipment, tutors and so on – watch this space for updates on what the programme might look like and how it will be resourced.
