Seibo NURSERY School Directors Meeting
On the 1st of July, a Nursery School Directors Meeting was held at the St. Kizito Catholic Primary School (part of the Mary Queen of Peace campus, Chilomoni). In addition to team members representing Seibo Malawi there were another 20 participants, each representing various Seibo partner nurseries. The topics discussed were as follows;

– Record Keeping: Some nurseries are still failing to properly record daily attendance & daily ‘Likuni Phala’ flour usage. Some nurseries (Bachi, Abundant Life) were only recording the required information days later and filling in information from memory. Prior to the July meeting, Seibo Malawi team members met with the relevant school directors to issue a verbal warning. Should these issues persist, a written warning will be issued. As such we used the meeting as an opportunity for directors to share their own experiences of how they manage to keep their records up to date. It was further reinforced just how important the information is for evaluating Seibo’s school feeding programme.

– Likuni Phala Usage: Directors were again reminded to make sure they supervise the usage of ‘Likuni Phala’ flour. This is particularly pertinent to nurseries who delegate the school meal to cooks who may need assistance in measuring the correct ratios.

– Communication: Many issues were raised highlighting the importance of two-way communication. Some nursery schools complained about how schools were notified about the recent music concert held at the Mary Queen of Peace campus. They lamented that the information was shared via WhatsApp as several directors do not use this medium. There were also complaints that only 2 schools that participated in the event received prizes and some felt that the school that got second position was undeserving. The team at Seibo Malawi have taken these concerns on board and will take measures to avoid the same mistakes in future.

Seibo School Monitoring-CBCCs
Seibo partner with 10 x CBCCs in addition to nurseries primarily located in urban areas. Feedback from recent school monitoring visits is positive with signs that community participation has much improved. In some cases parents have replaced the caregivers in preparing the school meal. In addition, it was noted that caregiver’s attendance has also improved as in the past there were no caregivers present when we visited.

Tikondane CBCC: Our team in Malawi visited this school on the 15th of August, just as the school meal was being prepared. In all there were 3 cooks present to prepare a meal for 30 children (10 boys, 20 girls). Parents are showing an increased willingness to get involved and even prepared another meal of ‘nsima’ to help encourage the children to stay longer in school. Finally we noticed the school had made an outdoor play area for the children. The biggest challenge the school is facing is access to clean water as there is no borehole near the school. Water is gathered from an open well which almost dries up during summer. Without water it is not possible to prepare a meal and long-term there are health issues. The team at Seibo Malawi have approached donors in Malawi to assist the community in securing a year-round source of water. It is our hope that we can assist in some way and will post again on the subject of Tikondane CBCC’s water source.

Seibo Kids Allocation Meeting
On the 26th of July & 2nd of August 2022, a series of meetings were held at the Mother Teresa Catholic Nursery on the Mary Queen of Peace Campus, in Chilomoni, Blantyre, Malawi. The main purpose was to identify children eligible for free nursery education at either the Mother Teresa Catholic Nursery School (MTCNS) or one of Seibo’s nursery partner schools. 34 applicant’s forms were reviewed, of which which 13 children were allocated a nursery place at a Seibo nursery with another 14 children offered a place at MTCNS. The remaining 7 applicants did not meet the selection criteria of the Seibo Kids Programme, with another 35 kids on the waiting list having met the criteria and still awaiting a nursery place near their homes.

Meet the New Seibo Kids

Tiyamike, Shaibu & Talitha: These 3 siblings are being raised by a single mother. In total there are 7 people in the household but only 1 adult. The children range in age from 1-15. At the time an allocation committee member identified the family as being ‘in need’, none of the children had ever attended school.

The children’s mother, Evelyn, was born in 1985, and left her home town of Zomba in 2019 in search of work. She initially slept outdoors while looking for work and managed to just about get by doing part-time work. Although she married in the same year to a local man with whom she has two children, her husband got sick and returned to his home village and the family have been struggling ever since.

Today Evelyn still does some part-time jobs such as fetching water and can earn 800-1000 kwacha a day but it is not enough to provide food for all her family. On the day Seibo visited their home the children were busy winnowing maize bran to make ‘nsima’ flour for a meal that day. The results of Seibo’s ‘growth monitoring’ showed the children were both underweight and showing signs of being stunted. The family were immediately issued with a 20kg pack of flour for use when home feeding.

On the 30th of August the family were evicted from their home due to non-payment of rent. They managed to find a place to stay with another tenant on the same plot, though this may not be permanent as the move was made without the landlord’s consent. Evelyn leaves home early each day to look for work. 8-year old Gladys stays home to mind her younger siblings. Although happy and clever, Gladys has never attended school. Her older sister, who is 15, has also never attended school but is hardly ever at home.

The 15th of September was a better day for Evelyn and her family. An anonymous donor in Malawi asked Seibo Malawi to arrange a relief pack that included items such as: maize flour, soya pieces, kids clothes, cooking oil, beans, sugar, salt, washing soap, bath soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, matches and money to cover several months’ rent. The team also assessed that Evelyn would benefit from psychological social support as taking care of her large family has taken a toll. As we departed, Evelyn said, ‘May God bless the donor‘.

Evelyn’s children of nursery age, of which there are three, are now attending nursery school for the first time at Atamandike 1 nursery school. May God bless all our donors who support our work in Malawi in ensuring the most needy children get to attend school for free.

Shamira: Although there are five people in Shamira’s family her mom is not well enough to look after the family and Shamira’s grandmother is responsible for everyone. She mostly collects sand to sell but cannot afford even basic needs. By the time the family came to our attention they had borrowed money to buy food. Shamira now attends nursery, as a Seibo Kid, at Atamandike 1 nursery.

Ashers: Lives in a family of 4 headed by mother Bridget. The children’s age ranges from 3 to 9 years old. Bridget’s husband is no longer supporting the family and as a result the family depend on well wishers as Bridget only has the use of one hand due to paralysis, and is unable to carry things. Prior to assisting the family through the Seibo Kids programme, Asher’s siblings would run home from primary school to share the ‘phala’ received at school with Asher. Today, Asher attends Atamandike 2 nursery thanks to your support.

Samantha: Lives with her parents in a family of 4. Samantha’s dad works in a quarry and her mother does laundry for other people. Nonetheless the family’s income is not enough to provide for all their basic needs and Samantha qualified for a free nursery place on the Seibo Kids Programme. Today she attends Atamandike 2 nursery.

Covenant An only child who lives with his parents. Both parents have sporadic, part-time work and are caretakers of the house they live in. Their house also suffered damage during the recent cyclone and poses a risk to the family. Covenant now attends St. Teresa nursery.

Seibo Kids Allocation Challenges
– It is often the case that families of children who apply for a nursery place tend to move often, due to the lack of a permanent home. It is therefore difficult to trace the children or to make contact with parents, most of whom do not have phones.

– We still have difficulties pairing children with a nursery near their place of residence. Although Seibo partner nurseries provide 10% of their annual allocation to our programme, it can still be the case that a nursery is full and the child allocated a free place must wait until the situation changes.

– Some children, many who come from the most needy families, lack the basics including clothes, shoes or underwear. In some cases, Seibo Kids to go school barefoot and unbathed. When issued a uniform for school it is worn every day and soon wears out.

Seibo Kids- In-House Improvements
Our team in Malawi deal daily with distressed families who suffer from issues ranging from physical abuse, extreme poverty, and hunger. It is precisely because of the work we do in Malawi that they felt the need to avail of ‘psychosocial training’ as offered by the Blantyre Social Welfare Office.