Following a picture of a pupil wearing a tattered uniform that was published in The Daily Times of June 30, 2016, well-meaning Malawians have started helping the 13-year-old, Standard Five pupil with learning materials and school uniform.
The boy, Ernest Namacha, who hails from Manasseh Township in Blantyre, was captured on June 29, 2016.
According to Ernest, he lives with his grandparents who are currently supporting six other children.
He said his grandfather earns a living through tailoring and he is also a security guard at Catholic Institute Bishop’s house.
“My grandmother sells maize bran [madeya]. She buys them here in town and sells them in Thyolo. Things are not as good at home as one might think looking also at how many we are and that the grandparents are aging. I cannot say anything about my father because I have never seen him. My mother sells fried fish [kanyenya] and she supports my brothers and sister. I am the first born and I decided to stay with my grandparents looking at how hard life was staying with my mother.
“But this cannot certainly stop me from thanking the one who helped me with the school uniform. I currently have too pairs of shirts and shorts for the uniform. I must say this will encourage me to work hard in class,” he said.
A well-wisher, Frank Jomo, who provided the two pairs of uniform to Ernest as well as K5,000 cash said he was moved by the spirit of determination of the boy to forge ahead with school despite learning in tattered clothes.
Headteacher at CI, where Ernest learns, Vincent Kapangama, said they were quite amazed by the rapid response from the well-wisher.
“Of course Ernest is just a fraction of many learners here who also lack necessities. We are failing to look after all the vulnerable learners here because the funding we get for such matters is not enough,” he said.
According to Kapangama, the school receives about K1 million for different projects from which 10 percent is used to meet needs of orphans and vulnerable children.
When The Daily Times visited Ernest at his school, he had just received his end of term science subject examination paper with an impressive grade of 72 percent.
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