New from alumnus
Grace Kwanjana graduated with a BA (Languages) in 2017. She is now a teacher in a secondary school located in a remote, rural area of Thyolo District, 75km from Luchenza Town. The school has 400 students, but due to lack of classrooms, there are 120 students per class, and in two streams per day. Grace teaches English language and literature, Social studies and Chichewa, the local Malawian language. Her main problem is the lack of books and she is constantly struggling to find teaching materials. There is no computer and of course all students are computer illiterates. She teaches 30 periods in a week. And after school hours, she has to teach Open Distance Learning students. She said that a lot of girls are dropping out due to pregnancy. So she acts also as a mentor, helping and encouraging them to focus on their studies.
She also said that she is the only lady teacher in the school, and she is often stressed due to prejudice by men teachers. Nevertheless, she said that “teaching here is a privilege and I like it”.
To counteract her stress, she enjoys listening to spiritual songs and watching films. Grace is looking forward to running a workshop for FOCHTA in April to empower girl students.