St Margaret's College 2017 Autumn Evergreen Magazine Evergreen Autumn 2017 online | Page 9

in Action in Malawi
We also visited Kabuthu Secondary School, where EGG is funding the construction of a girls’ boarding house for more than
60 pupils. While at the school, we were shown the girls’ current living conditions. It is hard to put into words how appalling
the state of their accommodation is. We walked into rooms no bigger than a hen house, where as many as five girls slept
cramped on the floor. The huts were leaky, dishevelled and had no privacy or security. Furthermore, the girls live in close
quarters with animals, and they feel unsafe using the inadequate bathroom facilities at night, as they are positioned off school
grounds. While it was heart-breaking to see first hand the true struggle that girls face in order to receive an educa tion,
it was uplifting to visit the construction site where the new hostel is almost complete. The girls will soon be moving into
safer, more hygienic and more comfortable living conditions. We spoke to the principal who explained how much this project
means to the community. Since construction began, enrolment for girls at this school has already greatly increased.
One of the most confronting experiences of our trip to Malawi was our visit to Dzaleka Refugee Camp, which houses over
32,000 displaced people. It is easy to feel disconnected from the refugee crisis, but we met many people who like us, had been
educated and were excited about the opportunities of the world – only to have had no choice but to run from true horrors
and seek refuge in a crowded camp. Worse still, there was nowhere for the thousands of young children to go to school. The
experience was eye-opening and we see great potential for EGG to build classrooms at Dzaleka in the years to come.
We often forget how privileged our lives are in New Zealand. Our time in Malawi was a real reminder of why we started EGG
and the importance of girls’ education. We have come to better understand the many cultural, social and economic barriers
preventing girls from attending school and are now more motivated than ever to fight for girls’ education. We cannot thank
the St Margaret’s College community enough for continuing to actively support Educating Girls Globally and allowing us
to empower girls through education.
AUTUMN 2017 7.