By Hopeson Kafumbwa, Public Relations Intern
Chilimbira Village community under Senior Group Village Headman Mulongolora, Traditional Authority Kanduku in Mwanza erupted in celebration as ESCOM handed over a child-based-care school block in the area on Friday, November 17, 2024.
ESCOM handed over the school block to the community as part of the Mozambique-Malawi Interconnection Project (MOMA)’s Resettlement Action Plan to empower people the project has displaced in Mwanza, Neno, and Balaka.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Saidi, who represented Mwanza District Commissioner (DC), commended the chiefs and the people for prioritizing the school project over cash payouts.
“I assure you, chiefs and community members, that the District Commissioner’s office will support you in every way possible to help fulfill your aspirations. We will strive to elevate this to a junior primary school and, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, ensure that teachers are assigned to this facility,” he said.
Group Village Headman Mulongolora hailed ESCOM for bringing such an important development to his area.
“The nearest school is six to seven kilometres away, which has made it extremely difficult for under-12 children to attend school. As a result, many of us are illiterate because we never had the opportunity to attend school. But now, with this new school block, illiteracy will become a thing of the past,” he said.
The Chief said children in the community often began their education at 12 or 13 years old due to the long distances.
“Thanks to this school block, children as young as three years old will now be able to start their education, significantly reducing the level of illiteracy in the community,” he added.
ESCOM’s Social and Gender Inclusion Manager, Mrs Elube Chienda, encouraged parents to send their children to the new school to achieve the project’s goal of reducing illiteracy.
“MOMA project is about giving back to the communities what has been taken from them. This school block is an example of how ESCOM contributes to community development. Part of the community’s forest reserve was affected by the project, and in return, MOMA has built this school,” she said.
Chienda also thanked the DC’s office for working with ESCOM to ensure the project was completed in time.
MOMA has brought various developments to the communities affected by the interconnection line in Mwanza, Neno and Balaka, including building 44 houses, churches, school blocks, hospitals, and drilling boreholes.
The project will enable Malawi to tap 50 megawatts from the Southern Africa Power Pool thereby increasing electricity supply capacity in the country.
The World Bank, European Union, KfW and the Malawi government are funding MOMA which involves constructing a high-voltage power transmission line from Matambo Substation in Tete, Mozambique to Malawi via Mwanza Border.