St Mary’s Karonga Girls Secondary School Shines; Sends Two Students To a National and an International Event
By Benedict R.K.Nyondo
The saying “Miracles happen to those who believe in them” is becoming true to the two girls from St Mary’s Karonga Girls’ Secondary School. The two girls: Ellen and Chikondi have been identified for the national essay competition and international conference.
Ellen Mwenechanya, aged 14 years who is in form 1 entered a national essay competition with an essay entitled: What should be done to address sexual and physical abuse of children. Ellen is one of the 20 successful contestants who were selected out of thousands of students who had entered the competition. In her essay, Ellen writes about a girl who stays with her uncle because she lost her both parents. She does a lot of work while at home and fails to concentrate in class but sleeps most of the time. The male teacher at school takes advantage of her situation. She gets pregnant and is chased by her uncle. She finally goes to child rights’ organizations after which the matter is reported to the police and the teacher gets imprisoned for violating the student’s rights.
On the other hand, Chikondi Gongolo, another form one student aged 14 has been identified to attend Baobab Summit in Accra, Ghana from 29tht to 31st August, 2017. The conference is an annual in person convening secondary school students sponsored by Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED).
The name Baobab signifies a sense of community, a place to listen, exchange ideas and learn from one another. The summit will enable the students to: have an opportunity to explore leadership concepts; understand their own personal value and beliefs; interact with guest mentors; discuss the purpose of scholars, community and what it can mean to them personally, and finally discover their unique potential to make a difference.
Twenty students from Malawi will attend the conference. The 20 students are under the CAMFED bursary national wide and were identified on merit.