Principles and Values

All work on behalf of the Fund is voluntary and unremunerated and any administrative and fundraising events costs are borne by the Trustees personally. 

The Fund does not lay down any academic conditions for the girls supported, other than that they do their very best and have confidence in themselves and flourish. St. Mary’s results have soared and dropouts are now unheard off – a totally unprecedented achievement for a Malawian school.

Malawi

Malawi is a landlocked country in South-eastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south and southwest. Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) and has an estimated population of c.20.5 million.

Malawi's capital (and largest city) is Lilongwe. Its second-largest is Blantyre, its third-largest is Mzuzu and its fourth-largest is its former capital, Zomba, home to St Marys Secondary School. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name for the Chewa people who inhabit the area.

Malawi is one of the world's least-developed countries in United Nations terminology. The economy is heavily based on agriculture, and it has a largely rural and rapidly growing population. However, this small sliver of a country contains an incredible amount of scenic diversity, from the vast, idyllic Lake Malawi and the zebra-dotted high plains to the epic heights of Mount Mulanje and the escarpment views at Livingstonia.  The country is nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" not only from the country's warm temperatures and beautiful scenery, but also from the warm hearts and the friendliness of its people.

St Mary’s School, Zomba

St Mary’s was built in 1939 and has facilities for 340 girls, but currently accommodates over 600. With the population of Malawi doubling over the last 20 years, from 8 to 16 million, and primary school completion rates increasing there is enormous pressure on places in every secondary school.

St Mary’s is good school, producing excellent results and in recent years has emerged as one of the top school in the country academically. Girls supported by the Fund generally enter the scheme in first year, but in some cases where their personal circumstances change, the Trustees are happy to sponsor girls in later years. 

During 2022 for example, we were able to increase the number of students we support to 38 girls. This bring the total number of girls that have received secondary education thanks to the Fund and as a direct result of your donations to the Fund.

Sr. Mary Chimalizeni.

The project is managed in St Mary’s by Sr. Mary Chimalizeni.

Sr. Mary was principal of St. Mary’s for five years and has recently been promoted to Provincial Superior of the Daughters of Wisdom in Malawi.  Despite this significant increase in both workload and responsibility, Sr. Mary, along with her team that includes Sr. Stella and Sr. Annie, continue to manage our school project and are utterly committed to the education of the girls.

Although St Mary’s is a well-respected school and does have girls from relatively wealthy backgrounds, at least 40% of pupils struggle to pay the fees, with many more simple unable to attend any secondary school without assistance. It can be challenging to decide who is selected as there are more deserving cases than support available. The sisters works to prioritise the neediest – interviews are held with each candidate and their family or community in advance of making the final decision.

There are several mechanisms by which the poorest girls come to Sr. Mary’s attention:

• Each girl has a mentor whom they meet with when they join the school and at other times. These mentors as well as the teachers regularly meet with Sr. Mary and report on how the girls are getting on
• Term fees have not been paid and Sr. Mary goes to meet family to discover the circumstances
• Some girls who are selected, but have no family are simply deposited at the school by the community, literally empty handed
• The school operates a mother/daughter system whereby form four girls (the final year) each “mother” a form one “daughter” and these girls report any problems to the matron, mentor or Sr. Mary

Trustee Visits

In June 2022, a Trustee was in Southern Africa and visited the school (at her own expense) to meet Sr Annie and the girls.

Prior to that, another Trustee visited the school (also at her own expense) in May 2019 when she was working with the EU Elections Commission.

Reports of these visits have been shared with our supporters and provide good assurance to the Trustees and our supporters on the governance of the scheme and on compliance with the objects of the trust deed.