Education Is A Powerful Tool For Creating Future Leaders
Education Is A Powerful Tool For Creating Future Leaders
In Malawi, the barriers to education are often heartbreakingly simple. No school uniform. No pencils. A classroom with 100 students and one teacher. A secondary school tuition fee that puts the ninth grade permanently out of reach. MCV works to remove every one of those barriers so that the only thing standing between an orphaned child and their potential is their own ambition.
Our education programs span the full arc from primary school support to university scholarships, preparing Malawi's next generation of leaders. Many of our program graduates are already making this vision a reality today by serving as teachers, NGO administrators, health workers, and business professionals in the community.
School-to-School Program
School-to-School Program
Primary education is free in Malawi, but drastically underfunded. Classrooms lack desks, books, and basic sanitation. A single teacher may face 100 students. The absence of pit latrine bathrooms discourages attendance, especially for girls.
MCV's School-to-School Program matches U.S. primary schools with partner schools in MCV's service area. American students fundraise through bake sales, host African auction nights, and sell African art projects, raising money that builds latrines, fills classrooms with desks, benches, and books, and sometimes literally adds rooms to schools. Six Malawian primary schools now have U.S. partners. Most of these US schools have used the experience to add to their geography curriculum, and many have developed correspondence programs, giving students on both sides of the world a human connection across the globe.
Primary education is free in Malawi, but drastically underfunded. Classrooms lack desks, books, and basic sanitation. A single teacher may face 100 students. The absence of pit latrine bathrooms discourages attendance, especially for girls.
MCV's School-to-School Program matches U.S. primary schools with partner schools in MCV's service area. American students fundraise through bake sales, host African auction nights, and sell African art projects, raising money that builds latrines, fills classrooms with desks, benches, and books, and sometimes literally adds rooms to schools. Six Malawian primary schools now have U.S. partners. Most of these US schools have used the experience to add to their geography curriculum, and many have developed correspondence programs, giving students on both sides of the world a human connection across the globe.
Secondary School
Secondary School
Secondary schools in Malawi are almost entirely private. The tuition cost puts them beyond reach for most families, and the quality of many schools is poor.
Since 2006, MCV has worked to change that by expanding access to quality secondary education for orphaned and vulnerable children. This was done with three main goals: to provide a high-quality education to MCV’s sponsored orphans and vulnerable children, to improve the long-term financial sustainability of MCV through the collection of school fees, and to establish one of the best schools in Malawi.
MCV currently provides full scholarships, covering tuition, lunch fees, and school materials, to approximately 125 orphaned students.
Students follow the national curriculum: English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Agriculture, Social Studies, History, and Chichewa (Malawi’s national language). With the exception of Chichewa, all instruction is done in English, as is the case in all of Malawi’s secondary schools. At the conclusion of their four years, students take the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) Exam.
We are proud to say that our secondary students have exceeded all our expectations. In 2015, 86% of them passed the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) national exam, compared to a 55% national pass rate. Our students don't just attend school; they excel.
Secondary schools in Malawi are almost entirely private. The tuition cost puts them beyond reach for most families, and the quality of many schools is poor.
Since 2006, MCV has worked to change that by expanding access to quality secondary education for orphaned and vulnerable children. This was done with three main goals: to provide a high-quality education to MCV’s sponsored orphans and vulnerable children, to improve the long-term financial sustainability of MCV through the collection of school fees, and to establish one of the best schools in Malawi.
MCV currently provides full scholarships, covering tuition, lunch fees, and school materials, to approximately 125 orphaned students.
Students follow the national curriculum: English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Agriculture, Social Studies, History, and Chichewa (Malawi’s national language). With the exception of Chichewa, all instruction is done in English, as is the case in all of Malawi’s secondary schools. At the conclusion of their four years, students take the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) Exam.
We are proud to say that our secondary students have exceeded all our expectations. In 2015, 86% of them passed the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) national exam, compared to a 55% national pass rate. Our students don't just attend school; they excel.
Technical School
Technical School
Most students who graduate from secondary school do not qualify for the competitive national universities, and other post-secondary education options are limited. In order to develop economic stability, students need practical skills, and Malawi needs skilled tradespeople, builders, tailors, carpenters, and mechanics. MCV's Technical School trains both paying students and sponsored orphans in exactly these skills, creating a pathway to economic independence that doesn't require a degree.
The school has generated income for the program through tuition and product sales, carpentry pieces, school uniforms, and handcrafted goods from the sewing program, which are sold on-site and to local businesses.
The Sewing Project, launched in 2002, is a self-sustaining training program at MCV that was started by Nettie Graulich. This technical program teaches students both fashion design and/or tailoring and has produced more than 30 graduates who are working as fully trained tailors and are able to support their families. This project also produces work clothing for local companies and school uniforms, which provides income for MCV and the students.
In the past couple of years, the project has started making handicrafts from local, colorful fabrics that are sold in the on-site shop. It is a program that teaches a skill, creates an income stream, and dignifies work, all at once. To learn more, please visit
https://malawichildrensvillage.org/category/sewing/
Most students who graduate from secondary school do not qualify for the competitive national universities, and other post-secondary education options are limited. In order to develop economic stability, students need practical skills, and Malawi needs skilled tradespeople, builders, tailors, carpenters, and mechanics. MCV's Technical School trains both paying students and sponsored orphans in exactly these skills, creating a pathway to economic independence that doesn't require a degree.
The school has generated income for the program through tuition and product sales, carpentry pieces, school uniforms, and handcrafted goods from the sewing program, which are sold on-site and to local businesses.
The Sewing Project, launched in 2002, is a self-sustaining training program at MCV that was started by Nettie Graulich. This technical program teaches students both fashion design and/or tailoring and has produced more than 30 graduates who are working as fully trained tailors and are able to support their families. This project also produces work clothing for local companies and school uniforms, which provides income for MCV and the students.
In the past couple of years, the project has started making handicrafts from local, colorful fabrics that are sold in the on-site shop. It is a program that teaches a skill, creates an income stream, and dignifies work, all at once. To learn more, please visit
https://malawichildrensvillage.org/category/sewing/
University Scholarships
University Scholarships
MCV is proud of our orphan graduates who have excelled at secondary school, going on to earn entry into one of Malawi’s competitive universities. Thanks to generous donors, MCV’s Scholarship Program has been able to sponsor several of our promising future leaders as they earn degrees in education, environmental studies and agriculture, healthcare, mathematics, and other subjects.
We enjoy seeing many return to give back: MCV-sponsored university students often volunteer with younger orphans while earning their own degrees, creating a culture of reciprocity that strengthens the entire community.
“MCV picked me. After my father died, my single mom couldn’t make it. The next four years were a dark age in my life, wasting and rotting at home…until the guardian angel MCV picked me”
— Gerald Mulingo, now a secondary school teacher in Salima
MCV is proud of our orphan graduates who have excelled at secondary school, going on to earn entry into one of Malawi’s competitive universities. Thanks to generous donors, MCV’s Scholarship Program has been able to sponsor several of our promising future leaders as they earn degrees in education, environmental studies and agriculture, healthcare, mathematics, and other subjects.
We enjoy seeing many return to give back: MCV-sponsored university students often volunteer with younger orphans while earning their own degrees, creating a culture of reciprocity that strengthens the entire community.
“MCV picked me. After my father died, my single mom couldn’t make it. The next four years were a dark age in my life, wasting and rotting at home…until the guardian angel MCV picked me”
— Gerald Mulingo, now a secondary school teacher in Salima
Skills Training Program
Skills Training Program
Launched in early 2022, MCV started an expedited technical skills project. This project takes a direct approach to economic inclusion. It focuses on the un- and undereducated poor, people who may have missed or dropped out of formal schooling, but who have the drive to build something better, giving them a chance to find a reliable source of income. In just three months, students gain job-ready competency in masonry, woodworking, sewing, tourism, and other trades.
By late 2023, just two years in, 120 students had completed the program, with an 87% job placement rate. These are not just statistics. These are people who now have income, stability, and a future they built with their own hands.
Launched in early 2022, MCV started an expedited technical skills project. This project takes a direct approach to economic inclusion. It focuses on the un- and undereducated poor, people who may have missed or dropped out of formal schooling, but who have the drive to build something better, giving them a chance to find a reliable source of income. In just three months, students gain job-ready competency in masonry, woodworking, sewing, tourism, and other trades.
By late 2023, just two years in, 120 students had completed the program, with an 87% job placement rate. These are not just statistics. These are people who now have income, stability, and a future they built with their own hands.