Scholarship programme

Scholarship programme

Skilled workers for Malawi: Scholarship programme enables people in need to study or undergo vocational training

Their names are Esther, Samuel, Deborah and Simplex. They come from different, very poor villages with differing family backgrounds. They are around 20 years old, some already have children, others lost their parents at an early age. What they have in common is a vision: a vision for their future.

They have worked hard for this, as they are among the best of their year at secondary school. And on this basis, they can learn a profession that will enable them to provide for themselves and their families. Our scholarship programme is designed to support future specialists like them.

Aims:
Scholarships for secondary school leavers who need support and who wish to study or undertake vocational training. Grant for fees and/or living expenses.
Project duration
since 2005
Status:
Ongoing, max. 4 scholarships per year

This is easier said than done, as our many years of involvement in Malawi have shown us. After all, studying education or engineering, training as a car mechanic or a midwife – the fees and in particular, due to inflation, the constantly rising cost of living in a large city like Blantyre, is rarely affordable for the desperately poor families.

Skilled workers not only benefit themselves, but also the country

Scholarship holders from the Christian Liebig Secondary School say thank you for the support.

Even top grades are of no use if the educational path stops afterwards.

Our scholarship programme enables us to continue to encourage the enthusiasm and commitment of these young people, even after they have finished secondary school. And one thing is sure: As skilled workers, young people like Simplex or Esther not only improve their own situation, but also the situation in Malawi as a whole. Because trained staff are in short supply.

Educational scholarships for those in need since 2005

From 2005 to 2015, we worked together with Chancen durch Bildung e. V. to support various vocational training programmes at Mzuzu Technical College. In 2017, we launched our own scholarship programme, which is primarily open to graduates of the Christian Liebig Secondary School Christian Liebig Secondary Schoolor the secondary school in Mtakataka.

The young men and women can apply directly to us using their leaving certificate and proof that their family cannot afford the fees in full. A recommendation from the secondary schools and their teachers, head teachers and the parents’ council also support us in our assessment and decision.

“Thank you for giving me the courage!”: Esther Chikupira will be able to offer her daughters a better future.

There is, however, the requirement that a portion of the costs are borne by the families until the programme has been completed. A local representative stays in touch with the scholarship holders, reports on their progress and takes care of the disbursement of funds during the programme. They are also often in direct contact with our chairwoman Beatrice von Keyserlingk and with Carolin Nagler, the head of our organisation’s office, and send them photos or reports on how they are getting on.

Would you like to find out more? Read the in-depth story about scholarship holder Esther Chikupira and her career. Göran Schattauer, FOCUS Online senior reporter, visited her and her family in Malawi in October 2023.

Subsidy – but only with personal contribution

The CLS team always tries to meet the sponsored scholarship holders during the annual visit to Malawi. Here they are with Carolin Nagler, Head of the office

There is, however, the requirement that a portion of the costs are borne by the families of those being supported until the programme has been completed. A local representative stays in touch with the scholarship holders, reports on their progress and takes care of the disbursement of funds during the programme. They are also often in direct contact with our chairwoman Beatrice von Keyserlingk and with Carolin Nagler, the head of our organisation’s office, and send them photos or reports on how they are getting on.

The annual costs per scholarship amount to around 800 euros – depending on the study/training and always dependent on the economic development in the country (as of: March 2024).

Photos: Carolin Nagler, Iain Phillips, privat/Esther Chikupira, Göran Schattauer.

Please support us with your donation. Education changes lives.

Donate

Note: Our scholarship programme is person-related, but is not offered as a sponsorship programme. Your general donation helps us to support up to four young people each year with their studies or training.

Skilled workers for Malawi: Scholarship programme enables people in need to study or undergo vocational training

Skilled workers not only benefit themselves, but also the country

Educational scholarships for those in need since 2005

Subsidy – but only with personal contribution

Please support us with your donation. Education changes lives.

Service

Legal

Contact

Donation account