Last push for first block of new school

How did it get to the middle of 2018?? At the end of 2017 I had a meeting with Davy Chalakalaka of the charity Kasupe. Davy had just returned from Malawi having visited an impoverished area called Dowa. On paper, Dowa shouldn't be so impoverished. It is located less than 30 miles from the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe. I listened with interest to hear that there has been absolutely no spill out of relative wealth from the capital and Dowa was a town in dire need of help.

In particular, Davy spoke of the primary school with 1,200 children attending. Well I'm not sure primary school are words that should be used. Lets call them a collection of dilapidated and dangerous buildings where 1,200 children are being educated. I felt a need to help.

Over the Christmas period I committed to funding and raising ￡125,000 to replace the school buildings for the children of Dowa over the next five years. Davy and I continued on our plan and during the month of January 2018 we started to put things in place to build the new school. This involved Davy visiting the area again and bringing together the local community and community leaders to discuss the project and gain their invaluable help and support.

With the land identified, we started building. And just a few months on (and some incredible support from donors) we are now at roof level of the first block. This block will be the administration block for the school with facilities for the teaching staff. The next four blocks will provide eight classrooms for the 1,200 children to be eductated safely. Just spend a minute doing the maths on that. Classroom sizes of 150! Can you imagine starting your child in a UK school to discover those class sizes? Sadly, this is the norm in Malawi.

In fifty days, I take both my two children out to Malawi to meet the children of Dowa who will be using the new school and to meet the village leaders and community. It will be a very exciting time for them, especially the eldest at six years old who has followed the proress of my Malawi activities for years and includes many Malawian familes as her friends. It's so cute when she is clearing her bedroom of toys and suggest that "this doll" or "this book" can be sent to Malawi for an orphan to have.

For me personally, I am looking forward to the progress of the school and meeting those hardworking individuals who are building the school and making my dream of providing a decent collection of buildings in which to eductate the children of Dowa a reality.

I need more help. If you or your company would like to donate, please do not hesitate. If you or your partner are involved with a UK school and would like links from UK children to Malawi children, please get in touch. If you are planning a challenge of your own, maybe a run, a tough guy, a sponsored Santa dash, please consider doing it for the children of Dowa. Even just liking and sharing this post would be great. I would appreciate any help.

To find our more you can email me at [email protected] or check out the link https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davearmstrong2 or follow the instagram page @dowaschool

Thank-you for reading

Dave