Building a Girl’s Hostel
Location: Chikwawa District, Malawi
Global Partner: The Luena Foundation
Local Partner: Chifundo Epilepsy Foundation
Project year(S): 2025-2026
Building a Girl’s Hostel
The construction of the girls’ inclusive hostel at Chifundo Secondary School is a collaborative effort led by Petro Chifundo and the generosity of the Luena Foundation and the Sumar Lakhani Foundation. This vital infrastructure is being built on land which was graciously allocated by local chiefs to support the school’s mission. The project exemplifies deep community ownership, as local youth and residents have provided free labor and mobilized essential resources, such as sand and quarry stones. To bridge funding gaps, the school even engaged in selling 10,000 bricks to purchase cement, demonstrating a resilient and self-sustaining spirit.
Construction in Progress
The Need
The need for this hostel is urgent and life-saving. For girls with epilepsy, the daily commute to school is fraught with danger, as frequent seizures while walking alone put them at risk of injury or exploitation. Furthermore, in a region where students with albinism face severe threats due to harmful misconceptions and violence, a secure on-campus residence provides a necessary "safe haven." Currently, many girls must navigate long distances or reside in insecure environments, which creates a significant barrier to their education and physical safety.
The Impact
Once completed, the hostel will provide a transformative environment where girls can live with confidence, dignity, and security. By removing the physical and safety barriers to attendance, the project ensures that these students can focus entirely on their studies. The expected impact is a generation of empowered young women who are equipped to break the cycle of poverty and segregation. This hostel represents a permanent legacy of inclusion and global collaboration, thus ensuring that education remains accessible to the most vulnerable learners of Malawi for decades to come.
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