Debora Kamwendo, a standard 8 learner at Katimbira primary school tries to rewind her memory of the attention she gave to lessons in the days she ever went to school out of pressure from parents.
Nevertheless, the only fantasizing moments for her were only during break time and the time to knock off from school.
The most pressing concern causing her anxiety to attend classes in jovial mood happens to be the only 5 common toilets that all genders at the school would collide when nature calls.
‘During period moments all I want is clean environment and private spaces to check on my pad from time to time and whenever I couldn’t faign illness to be absent for classes and went out of my parents will, honestly I never got to hear anything.’she said
However, construction of change rooms at the school is a mind blowing innitiative for adolescent female students like Debora as its an renewed opportunity for them to never ever trade their dignity with shame at the expense of attendig classes.
For Debora, the changerooms to be constructed with cement from its foundation ,its walls to the floor, is another pride she can take because the concern to clean muddy toilets floors when she is on duty to clean toilets poised fear more especially during the rainy season.
According to her, being one of the schools situated alongside the lake shores of lake Malawi,students shun to go in some of the toilets at the school not only because of its dirty muddy floors but because the rains poses a threat for the walls and the foor to collapse.
The cement built construction change rooms are expected to benefit over 300 adolescent female students at the school and are earmarked to keep these girls in school irrespective of the rain weather or during menses.
The construction of the change room innitiative is one of the of the interventions under the Clean Water and Sanitation for Safe Schools and Communities Project which also makes the school boast of rehabilitation of the old toilets and renovation of water kiosk.
The Clean Water and Sanitation for Safe Schools and Communities Project targets 3 schools in Nkhotakota district and was being implemented by Umunthuplus with financial support from Nederlands Albert Schweitzer Fonds-NASF
