Mzuzu, Malawi

Mzuzu is Malawi's third largest city, located in Northern Malawi. It is in the center of an agricultural region. The people in Mzuzu are hard-working and dedicated to paving a new road towards a more developed and sustainable society. Malawi is known for being 'The Warm Heart of Africa,' a name it truly deserves. It gets the name because the people are friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately, it is also known as being one of the poorest countries in Africa and has problems with HIV/AIDS and malaria. In Mzuzu the AIDS rate is at a staggering 20% making the average age of the population fourteen.

A child's life in Mzuzu
Mzuzu is lacking in family activities and good schools which deters families from living here. The town does not have parks, playgrounds, a public library, a public pool, or organized activities and sports for children. This deters families from living here, as the children do not have much to do.

Education in Malawi
Children start school at age 6, and attend for 8 years in Standards 1-8. They then can take exams, and if they pass, they go on to secondary school. In 1994, public primary schools stopped charging fees, resulting in the primary school enrollment to increase from 1.9 million students to 3.2 students. From 2000-2005, about 82% of children in Malawi attended primary school. Although it is great that so many children attend primary school, the infrastructure of the schools was not ready for the increase in students and resulted in a deterioration of standards. The primary schools have very large class sizes, on average the student teacher ratio at primary schools is 1 to 72. Teachers are overworked, underpaid, and under qualified. 80% of students do not meet reading and math minimal standards. Students repeat years and most drop out before they reach the equivalent of 8th grade - only 32% of students make it to secondary school. The literacy rate for Malawi is 63%. (UNICEF)