CRECCOM empowers Meteni Kapenda and other girls through Mother Group at Njerengwa CDSS

United for Education – The Njerengwa CDSS Mother Group poses with six girls they helped bring back to school, alongside Headteacher Laurent Mwiba

At just 20 years old, Meteni Kapenda of Mugalire GVH, TA Mwaulambya from Njerengwa Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Chitipa has lived a lifetime of struggle.

“My name is Meteni Kapenda, and I am 20 years old,” she begins. “I’m in Form 4 at Njerengwa CDSS. We are five in our family, and I am the third born. When I was in Form 2, my parents told me to stop school because they didn’t have money for my school fees — it was only K24,000 then, but even finding food at home was hard. I thought my education had ended there.”

Feeling hopeless, Meteni got into a relationship and soon married a man from across the Songwe River in Tanzania.

Meteni Kapenda back in school.

“At first, I thought marriage would help me, but it only brought pain,” she says. “The man was violent. He used to beat me, and I ran away when I was pregnant and came back home. I gave birth, but life was tough with no money, no school, no future.”

Her turning point came when the Njerengwa CDSS Mother Group, trained and supported by the Creative Centre for Community Mobilisation (CRECCOM) through the Let Girls Learn II Project, visited her home.

“They met my father first. He was very harsh and asked them, ‘You want my child to go back to school? Are you going to pay her fees?’ But the mothers encouraged him. They explained how education could change my life. They also spoke to me, encouraged me, and promised to help. That day changed everything,” Meteni recalls.

True to their word, the Mother Group paid K45,000 in school fees for Meteni, provided soap, notebooks, pens, and a school uniform all valued at K38,000. They have done so from form 3 up to now.

The Njerengwa Mother Group has turned empowerment into tangible change. With K50,000 (about USD 28) seed capital provided by CRECCOM under the Let Girls Learn II Project, the group started small-scale farming and Village Savings and Loans (VSL) activities.

They currently cultivate a maize field, and last season, they harvested 8 bags of maize. By selling the maize and continuing to save through their VSL, their fund has grown significantly.

“We used part of that money to support Meteni,” says Mary Msango, the group’s chairperson. “But she’s not the only one. We are also supporting five other girls who faced similar challenges — Hanna Muyira, Mary Mutawa, Violet Kayuni, Joyce Mwaha, and Aida Nyoni. We pay their fees, buy their soap, and provide learning materials. We do this because we want to give every girl a second chance.”

“This year, we are farming again,” Msango adds with pride. “We also want to construct a girls’ changing room at Njerengwa CDSS because there is none.”

According to Headteacher Laurent Mwibva, the Let Girls Learn II Project has significantly improved the school’s enrolment.

“When the project started, we had 123 learners, but now we have 178,” he says. “That’s an increase of about 45%, and most of this growth is among girls. The work of the Mother Group, together with the chiefs and community, has made a huge difference.”

Group Village Head (GVH) Mugalire of the area has also been instrumental in sustaining the gains. “After seeing how the Mother Group has transformed girls’ lives,” GVH Mugalire,  explains, “I declared that all girls who got pregnant or married must return to school. Any parent who hides their daughter or allows her to drop out must pay a fine and ensure that the girl is counselled and re-enrolled. We can’t allow poverty or early marriage to destroy our daughters’ futures.”

The transformation at Njerengwa CDSS is part of a larger movement driven by CRECCOM’s Let Girls Learn II Project, a three-year, USD 750,000 initiative funded by Echidna Giving. The project operates in 36 Community Day Secondary Schools across Chitipa, Ntchisi, Thyolo, and Mulanje Districts.

So far, it has trained 504 Mother Group members in counselling, leadership, gender, and enterprise management; directly supported 216 learners with fees, materials, and psychosocial care, retained 178 girls to school; and reached over 4,500 youths with life skills and mentorship through youth clubs and forums.