FAWEMA Hails Mother Groups For Boosting School Retention

The Forum for African Women Educationalists in Malawi (FAWEMA) has commended the vital role mother groups are playing in keeping girls and boys in school.

FAWEMA Executive Director, Mr Wesley Chabwera, made the remarks in Lilongwe on Friday during the closing of a two-day refresher course targeting 430 mother group members from 43 schools in Lilongwe, Dowa and Ntchisi districts.

Mr Chabwera said mother groups are a critical pillar in mentoring and counselling young people, particularly on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) issues, to enable them to complete their education.

“Mother groups play a critical role in mentoring, counselling and supporting the youth on how to navigate sexual and reproductive health rights issues so that they finish their education,” said Mr Chabwera.

He added that FAWEMA places strong emphasis on strengthening the skills and capacity of mother groups in the communities where the organisation operates. Chabwera urged the 430 mother group members who participated in the training to put into practice the knowledge and skills gained.

The training was conducted under the Innovations in Health, Rights and Development (iHEARD) Project, funded by Global Affairs Canada According.

Mr Chabwera said the refresher course, was aimed at enhancing the capacity of the mother groups to ensure sustainability of their work beyond the project’s lifespan.

“These committee members were initially trained in mother group concepts, but the refresher was necessary to strengthen their knowledge and ensure sustainability,” he said.

One of the participants, Domisa Seliso from Kachule primary school mother group in Lilongwe, said the training had boosted her confidence and clarity on her role.

“We now understand our key roles and responsibilities, mentoring techniques, resource mobilization and how to work with other school structures to keep children in school,” she said.

Under the iHEARD Project, an SRHR initiative, FAWEMA works with mother groups to address challenges faced by adolescents in their daily lives. The mother groups play an important role in promoting girls’ education, combating child marriages and teenage pregnancies and implementation of the readmission policy.