Footbridge is Needed to Help Keep Malawi Children in School
There was a moment this week when I found myself holding a GPS unit and standing on top of our truck on a baobab studded plain near Liwonde National Park. I was with several staff members and a civil engineer from the US. The ground was unnervingly flat—and it was difficult to get our bearings. The wide plain was concealed by medium height grasses, and the monotony of the landscape was punctuated by massive baobab trees and the occasional termite mound. It looked very atmospheric. Unfortunately, this savanna-like landscape which looks like a timeless image is fairly new. All of the “good” trees, those suitable for firewood or timber, have been chopped down. The massive baobabs have been left standing due to their fibrous wood, unsuitable for burning or commercial use.
The open plains that surrounded the truck are an important transition zone between the forested mountains and the Shire River’s lagoons. This transition zone gradually slopes from the hills to the river and was once covered with many trees. Since the area has been deforested, the water rushes down off of the hills, stripping the topsoil from the ground and creating wide cuts in the earth.
We were parked beside one of these cuts, a dry riverbed 53 feet long and five feet deep. According to locals, the entire riverbed fills with water during the rainy season. They told us that during the heaviest rains the river overflows about 10 feet on each side. They also said that the river is less than five years old and that it continues to grow by a few yards each year.
A few months ago HELP Malawi had received complaints from families in Mvera, the fishing village at the end of this road. Mvera does not have a primary school, so more than 50 children from the village attend one of HELP Malawi’s partner schools. The students walk two and a half hours each way to school. During the rainy season the students can not cross this river and do not attend school. When this occurs some kids are drawn to poaching and other illegal activities within the national park.
We’re currently working with an engineer to see if a footbridge is feasible for this site. As an interim solution we are going to work with the community to plant soil stabilizing grasses along both banks. As with every HELP Malawi project and program this footbridge project will have a strong community participation component. If anyone is interesting in helping us raise funds for this project please contact me or anyone of our HELP Malawi representatives. Thank you.
Posted By: Jordan Price
