The thing which some people might describe as ungrateful, Muslims from Somba Village T/A Bwananyambi in Mangochi have asked Mai Aisha Trust organisation to reverse its decission and make sure that the school which it constructed in the area, is for both boys and girls.
Mai Aisha Trust has constructed standard 1-4 Islamic junior primary school in the area of which according to its plans, it is supposed to be for boys only.
But, speaking at the community mobilizing function that the organization held yesterday in the area, members of the community expressed their disagreement with the decision saying it is “unfair” and it is just imed at punishing young girls.
“When we heard that this school is going be opened in our area, we all had a hope that our children will have access to education. So, if you say only boys are allowed to learn here, then what about these young girls, where are they going to learn? We want this school to be for both boys and girls and not only for boys,” said one woman amid ululations from her colleagues.
“These are young kids who don’t know anything which we think they can do. Moreover, the school is just only for standard 1–4 pupils. Why should we punish girls?” she asked.
In his response, Mai Aisha Trust director Br. Abdul-azziz Yassin assured the concerned community that his organisation will consider the request after consulting his colleagues.
“Your request has been taken into consideration but as you know that this school was built by Muslims who do not want boys and girls to be mixed, it may be tough to take it but I will still try to address the matter to the owners and we will tell you the way forward,” said Br. Yassin.
“Teachers will be arriving any day from today but my appeal to all of you is that you have to encourage your children to go to school and not rush into marriages and make sure that this property is being taken care of. It is everyone’s responsibility to do that,” he said.
The director also assured the people in the area that they will construct two more blocks to make it full primary school and that if the chance will be there, a community day secondary school will born soon.
Meanwhile, chief Somba said he will ask his community to mould some more bricks to make the job of extending blocks and construction of the secondary school easier.
Mai Aisha Trust is an independent, national and non-profit making organization established in 2002. The purpose is to empower rural communities to improve their living conditions through different programs.
Realising that education is a key to development in an society, it is from this background that Mai Aisha Trust attaches great importance in ensuring that less privileged communities have access to quality education in the rural areas.
With financial support from IDB, Mai Aisha Trust constructed two blocks of two classrooms each and administration block including health centre in the area.
