How Chipelera Primary School is benefitting from the Living Schools Project

“Our school looks good because it has a lot of plants such as bananas, vegetables and flowers,” says Agatha Cosmas, a standard 8 student at Chipelera Primary School in Nkhotakota district. She is a member of the ‘Living Schools’ project that is being implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science and Technology with support from UNICEF.

The Living Schools Project aims to improve the resilience of schools and support their adaption to climate change. This project addresses issues of health, water and sanitation, environmental awareness and tree planting with an emphasis on multipurpose and fruit trees for nutrition in schools. The project helps to properly equip school children, teachers and the community with the knowledge and tools to be able to prepare themselves to become more resilient to the threats of climate change.

Despite the schools being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a few learners who live close to the school continue to take part in planting activities. 

“The leaners say that they don’t want to forget their Living Schools activities, as the vitamins from the pawpaw, bananas, and other fruits they have grown can help strengthen their bodies immune system to fight coronavirus,” says headteacher Charles Thodwe.

Headteacher Thodwe has been in the school since 2013. He believes the project is improving the quality of education by providing learners with essential necessities for their education, thus creating a conducive environment for learning.

Apart from providing seeds for planting trees, fruits and vegetables, and gardening materials, UNICEF also installed a solar water system in the school.

“We now have a reliable source of water, which has stopped the water problems we used to experience. The whole community is grateful and to UNICEF for their support,” explains Mr. Thodwe.  

Even better is some learners have been motivated to go back to school after dropping out.

“We have a learner, Zelinati Ephraem, who decided to discontinue her studies, but changed her mind eventually because of this project. Now she is the school’s head girl and is expected to sit for this year’s Primary School Leaving Certificate (PLSC) exams.

Apart from the students, the school’s staff also have benefitted. “As teachers we have gained knowledge on how we can contribute to environmental resilience. Even those in the communities have started planting flowers and fruits at their homes,” the headteacher describes. “I got involved in the project because I am the headteacher, and I really enjoy working with the children on it. It is very rewarding.”