Helping the orphans of Malawi to obtain a proper education

Dave and his partner, Helen Salter, from York, founded and run MOSES, the Malawi Orphans Sponsored Education Scheme.

From just a handful of orphans when the charity was founded in 2004, MOSES, through its benefactors, now sponsors 75 children through secondary education without which their future would be bleak.

"Malawi is a very poor country with a high proportion of orphans," explains Dave, who teaches physics at Ashville College in Harrogate. "Secondary education has to be paid for and there are a lot of families who just cannot afford to pay.

"Without our benefactors these children would have no secondary education and would have a future working in the fields and scraping together a living. This way they are educated to a very high standard and get the chance to go to university."

It was while Dave was working at an international school in Malawi that he and Helen decided to help.

"I had been teaching at a school in Driffield and was looking to move on," explains Dave. "I saw an advert for head of physics at the international school in Malawi. Driffield already had a connection with Malawi so we decided to take the plunge."

Dave moved out to Malawi in September 2003 and was followed by Helen after she had worked her notice on her job in retail.

Working in the international school, teaching the children of government ministers and foreign workers, Dave and Helen, who had done a TEFL course in the UK, were immediately struck by the contrast between their privileged students and the extreme poverty of the vast majority of Malawians and the lack of education available to them, especially the estimated 1.2 million HIV/Aids orphans.

"We'd been given some money from benefactors before we went to help do something in the country and we decided to spend that supporting 10 students through their secondary education."

The couple returned to the UK in summer 2004 as Helen was pregnant and they wanted Sam to be born in this country.

"I wanted to be surrounded by my family when I gave birth to Sammy," says Helen.

But their hearts were still in Malawi and they were determined that the work they had started should continue, and so MOSES

was born.

The couple take no money out of the charity, so every penny of the 90 a year which sponsors pay goes to a student's education.

"My sister is in IT and she designed the website for free and we do various sponsored events to raise any extra money we need for MOSES."

On May 31, Dave will be pushing an 18-gallon beer barrel up a steep hill in Finghall village, near Bedale, in a bid to raise 500 for MOSES.

Children are educated to a high standard in Malawi, similar to the baccalaureate system, but, because of the nature of the country, often their education has been disrupted. Some may not enter secondary education until they are 19.

Sponsors are initially asked to sponsor a child for two years and they will get regular updates on their progress such as exam results and school reports.

"We allow one-way communication. The sponsors can contact the students but we advise people to do that through us. The details of the sponsor

are not given to the student."

Each sponsor pays 90 a year which equates to 7.50 a week for the student's school fees although Dave fears it may have to go up slightly for the first time.

"The Malawian government has closed 600 schools because they were underperforming, which has meant those that remain open are charging more. We are reluctantly having to consider puttingup the amount we ask our benefactors for."

The government's school closure also gave Dave and Helen the idea of doing something which would

help the orphans and other children long into the future.

"We want to build and run our own school for around 160 students."

The school would take the charity's orphans but also other fee-paying children which would help to pay towards the orphans' education.

"We are really lucky that one of our representatives in Malawi is also a FIFA referee; he recently refereed in the African Cup of Nations.

"His father is the chief of one of the regions in Malawi and he has agreed to give us the land to build the school on. We just have to find the money to build it."

Dave estimates it will cost 5,000 to build the school, but they also need to find the annual running costs.

"It's a long-term project but we hope it will be open within the next five years."

So would Dave, 34, like to run his own school in Malawi? "Of course I would, but it is more complicated than that. I have my career here and family. It would have to be right for everyone."

Helen, who is assistant manager for Denby Pottery in York, and Dave have returned to Malawi a number of times since they moved back to the UK. Sam, now five, has visited twice and loves it, says Helen.

"He learnt to play hide and seek in the local language with the other children. He was absolutely brilliant. We went for three weeks when Sammy was four and it was quite challenging, but he loved it," says Helen, who spent much of her time in Malawi interviewing and talking to the students sponsored by MOSES to see how they were progressing.

Madonna's high-profile interest in Malawi – she has adopted two children from the African country – has raised its profile internationally.

"The Malawians think that her involvement is beneficial and I think on the whole it is as it has raised Malawi's plight. But personally I do think the amount of money she has put into the country could be put to better use."

Although Dave is struck by the contrast between the lives of his pupils at Ashville and those orphans in Malawi, he says the school and his students have been very supportive.

"Sometimes I do think for what it costs one student here we could educate 100 students in Malawi. But the school and pupils raise a lot of money for MOSES and all my students know and support the other work I do.

"While it is hard juggling everything, we are passionate about trying to make a difference, so we

find time."

Anyone who would like to find out more about the charity and how they can help, should visit www. malawianorphans.co.uk or to sponsor Dave in his marathon barrel push, log on to www.justgiving.com /Dave-Grainger