Nsenjere Primary School rebuilding hope post-floods in Nkhotakota

On the morning of February 28, a Wednesday like any other, the peace in Mtete 1 Village, in the area of Traditional Authority Kanyenda, in Nkhotakota, was shattered by a devastating flood. The Bua River, swelled by persistent rains upland, burst its banks and unleashed chaos upon the village.

Homes were flooded, families were displaced, and the very fabric of the community was torn apart. The impact on Nsenjere Primary School was immediate and disturbing. The top-performing school in its education zone, found itself a scene of disruption and uncertainty.

For two weeks following the disaster, the school grounds and the surrounding villages lay silent after the community had fled and sought refuge at Katimbira Primary School, which is 5km away, explains Timothy Grym Banda, a teacher at the school.

“Children couldn’t learn for two weeks after that disaster. Only standard eight pupils were temporarily admitted to Katimbira Primary School. But they complained about the different teaching methods,” Banda explains.

Before the flood, Nsenjere Primary School was a model of success, with nine teachers, including the head-teacher, promoting a culture of excellence among the learners. But, as Banda explains, the disaster disrupted everything. The loss of teaching materials, particularly learners' books stored in classrooms and lockers, was a significant blow.

The floods, which at their peak were almost knee-high, also affected one of the classroom blocks, which developed a huge crack that makes it unsuitable for habitation. In response, UNICEF donated a tent that is used as a classroom to make up for the lost space. The tent was erected by the community, led by the school committee.

Joseph Faliot, the committee’s secretary, explains that a spirit of volunteerism and determination to build, rebuild and thrive runs deep in the community. He explains that the school was established in 1994 after the community noticed the difficulties their children faced in getting an education at Katimbira Primary School.

"We want to demolish the structure and rebuild it once we have collected enough from within the community,” Faliot says.

In addition to the tent, UNICEF also gave the students school bags, which Banda credits for the increase in enrollment and decrease in dropout rate: “Even children who were just staying home came to school.”

The lack of resources and loss of learning time posed a severe challenge to standard eight learners who were preparing to sit for national public examinations. As Banda explains, the school has implemented a remedial plan for the learners.

For Zenius Willard (17), the disruption to their studies has been quite telling.

“It is not rare since then to hear a pupil ask a teacher not to proceed with more notes and exercises because they have run out of space in their notebooks. It is happening every day. We are thankful to UNICEF for providing us with school bags because we lost not only books but also our bags,” Zenius explains.

Despite their situation, Loveness Nkhoma (14) says the learners are determined to excel in their examinations.

“Our teachers have warned that the markers of the exams won't be sympathetic to us because we had floods. We will be treated equally with the rest, so we need to be prepared, and we are,” Loveness says.

The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) estimates that the flash floods affected over 14,000 people, displaced over 10,000, and claimed eight lives in the area of Senior Chief Kanyenda in the district.