Having been introduced to WhatsApp by our youngest Trustee, the Board has come to understand the importance of this mobile phone app in Africa. A messaging tool which uses very little data, it has transformed communications within Malawi and between Malawians and the rest of the world. It works when mobile signal is poor and seems to be much easier for Malawians than email; it is usually accessed by mobile phone.
Communication between us and the Head Teachers of the schools we support has always been challenging. They have very little internet access but most of them have internet-enabled mobile phones. Having been using WhatsApp with Mercy for some time, we set up a group for the Head Teachers to communicate with each other and with us. It was an immediate success!
“This is wonderful, Moira and Mercy. It will really ease our communication. Wishing you lots of God’s blessings.” Head Teacher, Bandawe Girls’ Secondary School.
“It is worthy having it. Communications simplified.” J. Mwale, Elangeni Secondary School.
It has already been used by the teachers to confirm Mercy’s school visits itinerary and by Mercy to confirm the parameters of the new MMF places which will be available to the schools from this month.
Isn’t it lovely when something so simple solves a problem that seemed complicated? Thanks to Mercy for her help with it and to all the teachers who are engaging with it so positively. It should be noted that we are not endorsing or advertising this app in any way; we are only sharing our experience of using it in this particular situation.