< Girls Education Archives – Page 5 of 8 – Mamie Martin Fund

Tag: Girls Education

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The power of working together

We are pleased to share this guest blog post from Denis Robson, Chair of the Thondwe Community Partnership, another Scotland-Malawi link:

“As a long-standing member of the Scotland Malawi Partnership, we regularly meet with organisations that are equally passionate about programmes in health, education, and economic development. As we were expanding our collaboration with Thondwe Primary school we were thrilled when a networking opportunity brought us into contact with Moira Dunworth who was very willing to share the Mamie Martin Fund (MMF)’s knowledge and expertise in girls’ education in Malawi with us. As a very small team looking to seek out others with a common aim, our connection with MMF provided an opportunity to rapidly learn, improve outcomes and avoid duplication.

The girls heading to secondary school in 2022, supported by the Thondwe Community Partnership

By collaborating we can increase the exposure needed to grow girls’ education in Malawi and as we gain experience perhaps we can combine knowledge to help solve problems together. We quickly discovered that we needed to do more than pay school fees to ensure successful educational outcomes. Your Ready to Learn Fund is essential. Our GET-IT (Girls’ Education in Thondwe) programme now has 5 girls. Apatseni, Debora, Brenda, Mary and Margaret successfully completing their first year at a local Community Day school and a Boarding school. Learning from your experience, we are setting up a mentorship programme. The first step of this is that the Head Teacher of Thondwe Primary school, Annie Siyani, will mentor these 5 girls as part of our Partnership’s support.”

It is a joy for MMF to be able to share our experience and to discuss these issues with like-minded people in Scotland and Malawi. We are delighted to have been able to help the Thonde Partnership with the planning of GET-IT. We wish their pupils every success.

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The impact of our work on two very different pupils

MMF Treasurer, Alan Laverock, has recently returned from Malawi. MMF girls are selected on the basis of need, not academic ability. He was struck by two particular girls, whose stories demonstrate the range of needs we meet:

“Mary came to speak to us privately, after we had spoken to the group of MMF girls. She was visibly upset, barely able to speak. Eventually, it was clear that the issue was that her aunt was putting pressure on her to get married. This would entail giving up her education – and she was now in Form 3 (of 4). The income from her marriage would help her gogo (grandmother) and ‘this is your duty’. The girl knows the value of her education and really does not want to lose this with one year to go.

Photos of other MMF girls by Nelz Photography

We were able to affirm her in her belief in the value of an education and to assure her that the fees were in place for Form 4. We also told the headteacher (with Mary’s permission). She will keep an eye on the situation. Sadly, she has experience of this.

Martha presented herself for the end of Form 4 feedback interview with Mercy. Her brilliance shone through like a searchlight and was truly uplifting. She is keen to be a doctor. We are convinced she has what it takes to succeed. Not only does Malawi have a shortage of educated women, there is a chronic shortage of doctors.

These are two fantastic examples of the difference that donations to MMF are making. Thank you all.”

Note: names changed.

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Gift Aid is a win-win arrangement

We really appreciate all donations and those which are gift-aided provide an extra boost to our funds. As we start a new tax year, we thought it might be helpful to remind you of what Gift Aid is and what the rules are.

Adding Gift Aid to your donations means that, as a charity, we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you give. It will not cost you any extra. Free money. What is not to like?

You can only do gift-aid on donations for which you receive no benefit, so it can’t be a payment for goods or services. We can claim it on donations for our gift cards because you, the donor, are not getting the school uniform or pens, etc..

You need to make a Gift Aid declaration for us to be able to claim. As long as you tick a box about future donations, you only need to make the declaration once. Our gift aid declaration is now online, though we can always send you a paper form. If you are a regular donor, it is most likely that we already have a completed declaration from you – you could always get in touch to check if you wish. When you donate through JustGiving, they collect the Gift Aid on our behalf.

Do I pay enough tax to Gift Aid donations?

Your donations will qualify as long as they’re not more than 4 times what you have paid in tax in that tax year (6 April to 5 April). The tax could have been paid on income tax or capital gains but no other form of tax applies.

If you pay tax at a rate above the basic rate, you can claim the difference between the rate you pay and the basic rate on your donation. Win-win.

Thanks to all our donors for their loyal support, whether they can include gift aid or not. Without you we would not be able to support girls at school in North Malawi.

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Brian’s first Borders22 adventure

MMF Trustee and Chair of The Soko Fund, Brian Kerr, cycled from Stranraer to Berwick-upon-Tweed last week. He covered 199 miles and most of that was into a strong headwind. It is widely accepted that no matter the direction of the prevailing wind, it will be in your face when cycling. Brian sent us pictures and comments along the way and now shares this reflection on the trip.

“I am riding down this flat road nearing journey’s end, sun on my back, plenty juice in the battery, westerly wind blowing me along .. all just about as good as it gets.

And I am thinking-just how lucky am I …what did I do that I get all this fun and freedom, fulfilment etc etc etc …?

And when it’s this good I also find I am thinking of all the MMF /Soko girls (and the rest) who have to fight and struggle, on and on, just to get a decent education, and some better life chances.

So I’m thinking : go straight to that Justgiving page and give them a wee boost, just as soon as you get home! Think about doing the same – even though you haven’t had all the fun (oh, and pain btw) that I have had these last few days.”

While Brian writes about the final day in good weather and with a following wind, his other days where quite hard in terms of sleet and a very cold headwind. You can give him a shout-out with a small donation here.

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Borders22 launched today

Today we launch our 2022 fundraiser – Borders22. Find your national, local, county, district, country, provincial BORDER and off you go – all in support of girls’ education in Malawi, your good health and, most of all, having some fun.

We are delighted to be one of the two beneficiaries of the royalties from Dr Alasdair Allan’s book about the Scotland-England border. That lovely gesture sparked the idea for Borders22.

From today you can upload your trips along with any stories or photos. You can email them to Moira if you prefer. The project runs until 30th September so you have plenty of time to plan adventures!

People are already planning walks, both on location and virtual, cycle rides, scoots and all sorts. Join in the fun. Let us know what you are planning and we will help you to publicise it.

You can set up a fundraising page here. Donations to the Borders22 fund are always welcome too.

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The Mamie Martin kiltwalk team

We are delighted to introduce you to the Mamie Martin team in the Glasgow Kitwalk on 24th April. They will walk 14.5 miles from Clydebank to Balloch. They are:

Intrepid leader and Kiltwalk veteran, Mariot Dallas. Mariot has obviously forgotton how sore her feet were after last year’s Kiltwalk!

Angela Drummond is a newbie to the Kiltwalk but a longstanding MMF friend and supporter.

Violet Hejazi, is a steadfast MMF supporter, normally on a bike. Violet, from Syria, is a law student at the University of Stirling and likes a challenge. Her life has already had more challenges than most people will ever encounter but she is up for the Kiltwalk.

With Violet is her sister, Simone, nephew, Sa’ad (11), and niece, Yara (10). They are being lent kilts by SlanjKilts, one of the Kiltwalk sponsors.

Violet is also bringing her friend, Sudhir Ghildiyal, who is a hotelier in Glasgow and his profile pic suggests that he might be handy on a building site too.

We wish them all a fun day. Heidi and Moira will be a mini support team on bikes, to fetch and carry as the walkers need. Watch out on the 24th April for updates all day and training updates before that.

The team page is here, from which you can access each of the fundraising pages. Remember, the Tom Hunter Foundation will top up all donations by 50% again this year. So this is an efficient way to donate a few pounds to girls’ education in Malawi.

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Why be a Mamie Martin Fund Trustee?

MMF’s Co-convenor shares some ideas about trusteeship of our little organisation, with thanks to all those who contributed to this list.

  1. Educating and empowering girls helps to save the planet. See BBC Radio 4 – 39 Ways to Save the Planet, Educating and Empowering Girls
  2. The Scotland -Malawi and Malawi-Scotland relationship is strong and well supported by our governments. As a Trustee you will be playing your part in a lively and vibrant country to country partnership 
  3. We are a working Board, so you will have the opportunity to use your existing skills and experience as well as learning new skills
  4. We use digital resources to work and communicate as efficiently as possible and to save time
  5. Your work will be interesting, you will learn a lot and will never be bored
  6. You will never be short of conversation topics, or material for interviews and applications
  7. You will give your time and energy, but you will know that you are helping to make a difference. See Number 1 above.

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Smashing stereotypes

This year International Women’s Day is highlighting how gender stereotypes and bias affect learners’ well-being, educational and career pathways, and also how these can be challenged in and through education. Dr Kate Jere, MMF Trustee, writes:

“Gender stereotypes and biases are built in people’s minds in childhood through socialisation in families, communities and schools, and can limit young people’s futures. In schools, they can be reinforced or challenged through curriculum, teaching and learning materials and practices as well as daily interactions with teachers, parents and peers. Beliefs about gender are shaped by norms. Gender norms describe how women and men are expected to behave according to their social context, largely determining their attitudes and behaviour. Teaching and learning materials, especially textbooks, have a powerful role in shaping young people’s world view – and can either perpetuate or disrupt gender stereotypes. In many countries, girls and women remain under-represented in textbooks and gender stereotypes persist. In Malawi, in contrast, some subject textbooks challenge students to identify gender bias in accompanying illustrations and urge them to discuss these stereotypes with their peers. In the 1990s Malawi made an early commitment to a gender-appropriate curriculum in support of girls’ education.

However, In Malawi the socialisation process happening within schools often replicates that of broader society and reproduces powerful gender norms. A ‘hidden curriculum’ of gendered actions and teacher bias that sees girls side-lined in classrooms or expected to carry out ‘women’s work’ such as mopping classrooms or carrying water, or fails to support girls and female teachers harassed by their male peers, reinforces these discriminatory norms and gender stereotypes. Support for gender-sensitive teacher training and increasing the numbers of female teachers in Malawi schools can be important ways of tackling gender stereotyping. Female teachers, especially in remote, rural areas, can act as role models to help inspire young girls (and their families) to continue their education. One challenge in increasing the number of trained female teachers in Malawi is the high dropout rate of secondary school girls – meaning that few leave school with the necessary qualifications to train as teachers, especially those from the poorest or most marginalised groups. The Mamie Martin Fund, through their scholarship programmes and Ready-to-Learn (R2L) funds to assist needy girls, are helping to keep girls in school, pass their examinations and take their place in society.”

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Pledge 100 on the home straight

As 2021, the year where we commemorated the centenary of Jack and Mamie’s arrival in Malawi, draws to a close, we are happy to be able to give you an update on one of this year’s successful fund-raising initiatives: #Pledge100.

This project got off to a fantastic start in January when our first pledger, Shona, started on her 100 5km runs. After that, 35 enthusiastic pledgers joined from as far afield as North America, Germany, Sweden, Hungary, Portugal and Oman. And of course, closer to home the UK was well represented by swimmers, cyclists, photographers, hoolahoopers, walkers, yoga practitioners, language learners, card creators, bulb planters and music sharers. One of our artistic pledgers in Sweden has actually undertaken 3 lovely pledges and has now completed 300 drawings!

As well as having a good time, the aim of #Pledge100 was to raise awareness of the work that Mamie Martin Fund does to support girls in secondary education in Malawi. The pledgers did a great job of updating us on their progress by sharing photos and posts on social media. As one of the pledgers said, “I’m at number 76 of my Pledge 100 and it’s been a fun way to engage with my social media friends about the work of the Mamie Martin Fund.”

As 2022 approaches some pledgers have decided to carry on and complete their pledges next year, while so far 21 have received their certificates of completion. The best news of all is that currently the total raised by our pledgers stands at a magnificent £8,700. A huge thank you to everyone who took part in this challenge and to the generous sponsors who supported them. Donations can still be accepted at https://mamiemartin.org/donate/

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A ‘global’ AGM and a new trustee

It was a first for MMF as it has been for so many other organisations in these unprecedented times. We held our 2021 AGM on Zoom and livestreamed it on Facebook. Six months ago most of the Board didn’t know what livestreaming is (some still don’t), far less how to do it.

But we did it. We were rewarded by having 25 participants in the Zoom meeting and many others watching on Facebook (reach = 50 and engagements = 36). We had attendees from Scotland, England, France, Portugal and Malawi, and possibly elsewhere too. We had challenges: one chair fell ill the night before, another lost her internet connection as the meeting started and North Malawi experienced poor Airtel connectivity until almost the end of the meeting.

But we overcame all those challenges. We reported to our supporters and donors, which is the main purpose of an AGM. We heard about girls’ education in Malawi from a Malawian woman, Fiddes Msowoya, who is immersed in education there. We also heard about some on-going research by Isa Uny about fuel and cooking in Malawi and Kenya.

When the MMF AGMs return to local events with the much-missed soup, they will certainly retain a global element as we must not lose these wonderful connections which are now established.

The AGM was particularly pleased to welcome another Malawian onto our Board. Remmie Kamanga became known to MMF when we established our partnership with the Diocese of Karonga, where he was the Education Desk Officer. No longer in that post, he is free to join our Board and we are grateful for his engagement. A former teacher, he brings a wealth of experience and understanding to our work. We will learn much from him.

Watch the recording of the AGM here (approx 90 mins)