KAMBONA

News Update - Late September/October 2008 Regional Water Emergency The regional water emergency affecting more than 9,000 people in the Phalombe region..caused by a mix of drought, broken borehole machinery and soil erosion has now been overcome through funding from The Australian AIDS Fund working with Searchlight Orphan Care and its chartered repair crew and local builders. Msema Village Headman Kambona Village Headman Singano Village Headman The Village Headmen of Msema, Kambona and Singano are now arranging measures to head off any similar crisis in the future by arranging community donations to a central fund to meet future maintenance and repair needs. As part of the solution, funds were also provided to bring back into service the borehole in the Singano village, 2 kilometres outside Msema, that's been broken down and out of service for two years. This village has a population of some 1,700 people but its adjacent village, Filisa, has more than 2,000 inhabitants. The repair of the Singano borehole now means it can service about 4,000 people from the 2 villages and beyond,alleviating pressure on the 2 boreholes at Msema and that at Kambona. When the Singano borehole was out of action, the local villagers had to be out of bed early in the morning...from 2am onwards...to satisfy their water needs further afield. Often young girls were sent out in the dark to find and collect the water. The Kambona borehole needed significant work as its machinery was quite old. The engineer is confident that the new parts will last for at least 2 years and there are spares in reserve. The erosion around the Kambona borehole was also arrested with a mix of rock and cement beneath the water supply slab. The two boreholes at Msema have also been repaired and the demand on them lessened by the repair works at Singano and Kambona.

News Update - September 2008 Regional Water Emergency The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated is presently responding to a water emergency affecting more than five thousand people, commissioning a specialist and local builders to begin immediate repair and consolidation works to bring three vital and broken down boreholes back into service...to serve 9 villages desperate for water. Messages in from the Migowi area of the Phalombe District...specifically Msema and Kambona...have reported an acute shortage of water with traditional supply areas drying up in drought conditions. The breakdown of the bore machinery has worsened the situation. Children are having to take water bottles to school to take home what they can from the school's supply. Others stand around the boreholes, waiting for repairers to come...or to check on alternative supply sources. The central borehole in Kambona has stopped working..and the latest photographs tell the story of the big dry....the erosion of the soil around the bore hole site bearing its own testimony as to the situationthroughout Migowi. The Kambona Village Headman stands, appealing for assistance. He and the Msema Village Headman are together about to inaugurate a system that will ensure their communities financially provide for the maintenance and upkeep of the three boreholes in their areas. Children have been taking water bottles to the Australian Primary School at Msema school and the Australian secondary School at Kambona to stock up on supplies there.   Others queue at the boreholes...while others strike out further afield in search of water. Both boreholes in the Msema area are at the verge of breakdown.

News Update - July, 2008 How often we've heard that old saying..."a picture is worth a thousand words".   Our Australian Secondary School at Kambona had been in desperate need of a microscope for its science students..and in recent times we sent them  not one but two!   These photos have just arrived..proving that the old saying is so true!

News Update - March/April, 2008 The 'campus' of the Australian Secondary School at Kambona continues to thrive....and expand with its new buildings. The 'Secure Building' has now been built, housing the 'strong room' to ensure the safety and security of Examination Papers...this allows the school to be used for area examinations. And, like their counterparts all over the world, the teenage students also prize the arrival of a reliable telephone service, that's also been funded by The Australian AIDS Fund.! This small shop...also operated by Searchlight Orphan Care and bought by the Australian AIDS Fund..is handily situated to the school nearby. The new Science Lab also draws the senior students like a magnet, but the equipment is expensive to buy in Malawi. This is one of two Australian-made microscopes that The Australian AIDS Fund has bought for the school.   Advanced Student Microscope Australia 40X-100X-400X-1000X Magnification New Model now includes LED light illumination and rechargeable battery for cordless operation making this microscope ideal for use "in the field". This is one of the best student microscopes on the market today, it is equipped with four DIN objectives including the 100x oil immersion as standard with the mechanical stage slide holder for a fully featured and reliable microscope. Now with LED light source and cordless operation for greater flexibility, detachable AC power cord can be used to power the light or recharge the battery for portable use "in the field". Battery lasts for hours and can be recharged hundreds of times for years of valuable scientific research! Advantages of LED illumination: Life time of LED bulb is 100,000 hours LED consumes very little power Cool LED prevents focus deviation caused by heat-deformed equipment   Digital images below were produced using this microscope. 40X Magnification 100X Magnification 400X Magnification 1000X Magnification The purchase of two  microscopes by the Australian AIDS Fund came at a critical time...it allowed the Searchlight Orphan Care organisation to use its funds to bring back into service a broken down water bore just 300 metres from the Australian Secondary School at Kambona. It had been out of service for 6 years!

News Update - January, 2008 We have now taken steps, with the invaluable assistance of a generous supporter, to have The Australian Junior Secondary School at Kambona upgraded to the status of a 4 Grade Full Secondary School for the start of the new 2008 School Year. A 7 man inspection team from the Education Department's Mulanje office, headed by the Divisional Manager, has visited the school and has approved the licensing of the school as an Examination Centre for both the Junior Certificate Examinations (JCE) and the Malawi School of Certificate Examinations (MSCE) . This followed an application to the Education Department's headquarters in the capital, Lilongwe, and the Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB). The inspection team expressed its appreciation at the spacious, well ventilated classrooms and the host of facilities that are available to the students. The Australian AIDS Fund is now providing additional funding for extra support infrastructure...which will also allow the enrolment figure to be lifted above 300 in the New Year. Here are some of the newcomers! An extra building with a built-in strong room will also be built to meet the requirements of a licensed Examination Centre. Already extensions have been made to an existing house to accommodate 2 more teachers....facilities such as kitchen, bathing room and toilet facilities.   Additional toilets are also being built on the school site to serve the increased enrolment. A range of laboratory equipment is also being bought to widen the teaching aids for the student body....along with an adjoining plot of agricultural land which will also be used by the students in their experimentations. A dedicated building will also be allocated as a science laboratory structure. The approval of the Kambona school as an officially registered Examination Centre will not only spare its students from travelling afield to sit examinations elsewhere but it will also provide an income from those schools that will now send their students to our school at Kambona for these examinations.

News Update - June, 2007 Work is now well on with the building of our third "mini-orphanage" in Malawi, this time at Kambona. It'll accommodate about 50 orphans in addition to those at San Michel and Malawi House at nearby Msema. This new building has been named Kambona House and will also incorporate the headquarters of the Searchlight Orphan Care (SOC)organisation, plus resource and storage areas. It'll take several months to complete. It'll feature an internal water supply, an internal bathing room and toilet and large sleeping areas. A heated water service is also being considered.

News Update - July, 2007 The maize sheller at Kambona has been installed and is now fully operational...performing as vital community service as well as a good income-earner that'll help meet the cost of feeding 150 loccal AIDS orphans. These are the first photos just in.

News Update - June, 2007 A short distance from the Msema village which now has a very busy diesel maize mill (scroll down this page to see), is the village of Kambona where the Australian AIDS Fund has funded the building of the Australian Junior Secondary School. A building has now been built to house a maize sheller which would be a valuable income-earning addition for the Searchlight Orphan Care (SOC) organisation. It's currently storing a number of 50kg bags of maize from the recent bumper harvest. The machinery itself is quite elaborate as can be seen in one of these photographs. The income from a maize sheller could help feed as many as 150 needy orphans in the Kambona area

The big TV.......this very large television set is part of a sophisticated system that'll allow the teachers to use videos and dish reception for their students almost in a mini-cinema setting

A major work was the clearing of trees and bushes to establish the football and netball playing grounds for the school teams...for boys and girls. The recreational value of these teams is very highly rated by the villagers.

The boys wasted little time getting themselves kitted out in their new uniforms and taking to the field.

We are now waiting to sight the girls in their netballing gear!

And here they are! They look to be giant killers in the making!

The staffroom in the administrative building was quickly set up with its own computer, books stands, shelves, and supplies.

Computers in Malawian junior secondary schools are not a common sight...which explains why students and tachers alike are drawn to them like magnets.

Because of the range of subjects being taught at the Kambona school, individual school day times vary ...with some students starting at 7.30 in the morning, and others later, from 10 am.

They use solid two-seater wooden desks.

Already 80 students have been enrolled at Kambona, 20 of them who've been excused fees because of family poverty.

Another 38 students have signed up to commence studies at the start of the next term.

Their smart uniforms feature sparkling white shirts or blouses and rust-coloured trousers or skirts

April 23, 2007

Village chiefs, dignitaries, government and community representatives, Education Department officials, members of the Searchlight Orphan Care organisation, villagers from far and wide, dancers, teachers, children from all over...and the red and white costumed youngsters from the Australian Primary School at Msema...they all flocked to Kambona for a day of celebration, singing, dancing and poetry readings to mark the big occasion.

Within just three months, the 4-classroomed school and its support buildings and facilities had sprung out of the red soil....ready to greet at least 200 teenage students....and also to offer night schooling classes to others. Staff facilities, a big-screen TV system to back up the skills of the teaching staff of 5, a computer skills building, a sportsclub building to house footy and netball teams,a kitchen and storage buildings...and shady verandahs..and an extensive toilets system.

Water piped to the site and electricity and telephone services connected. A great challenge..with the outcome applauded by all.

The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated was represented at the opening ceremonies by Christopher and Marj Laughton of Ormond, Melbourne...themselves heading education initiatives (nursery and secondary) at Zomba. They delivered a specially made trophy to mark the occasion.

Left / Center : The Village Headman Kambona, who'd donated land for the project, thanked Australians for their support. He's also hoping for a School Hall and perhaps a school clinic too.

Right: The Kambona School Principal, left, with the executive director of Searchlight Orphan Care, Pastor Duncan Nyozani

Chris and Marj Laughton, below,right, at the opening ceremonials.

It was no mean feat for Chris and Marj Laughton to drive to Kambona from Zomba....an 80 k trip at 20kph..on muddy, rutted roads, but with spectaculat views of the mountains.They've also got proof of their visit....signing the visitors' book!

The women and children also took key roles in the singing and dancing.Some of the women were from Searchlight Orphan Care organisation, as well as its Youth group.The Titani Drama group was also there..encouraging all to embrace education.Group Village Headmen and Village Headmen were also among the guests.

There was a sea of colour and movement that rolled back and forth throughout the day.

The newly appointed Kambona School Committee were also presented.

The group Village Headwoman Mankhanamba also offered her thanks for the school project.

The Deputy Education Officer formally thanked The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated for funding the project and commended the high standard of the building works.He encouraged parents to send their chuildren to school so that they could be the nation's leaders of tomorrow.

Chris Laughton also addressed the gathering, thanking everyone who'd participated and promising to relay the further hopes of the community to The Australian AIDS Fund.

Among the distinguished guests, the Senior Chief T/A Kaduya who expressed his amazements at the works, and expressed his hopes that one day the site might also boast a School Hall and Science and biology facilities.

In February, 2007, The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated began its Kambona Junior Secondary School Project in Malawi....a project to provide secondary education to some 200 rural students, 50 of them (10 from each of 5 area villages) too poor to pay fees. The Australian AIDS Fund Inc and its supporters regard education as the most vital contribution it can male to Malawi village life, especially in impoverished areas.

The project is a hand- in- hand project with the Searchlight Orphan Care organisation and the people of the Kambona Village/ A Kaduya, Phalombe District, whose Headman, Henderson Sailess Kambona, donated a large piece of land as a special village donation.

The purposes of the project...as described by its supporters... are:

(a) To relieve the students from walking long distances for secondary education.
(b) To especially help the very needy and poor unable to pay school fees.
(c) To provide a better quality secondary education in the area.
(d) To equip the students with both academic and computer experiences to help improve their employment prospects.(e) To provide its students with a widened education through the provision of Internet access via school computers.
(f) To help alleviate ignorance and illiteracy .
(g) To help in the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS.

Once the land was cleared by the enthusiastic volunteers, the first job was to build a materials storage warehouse where tools could also be stored.

Then there was the trenching for the installation and construction of six toilets and four urinals.

The toilet pits are 3.5 metres deep x 5 metres long x 2 metres wide.

Two brick-lined and cemented pits will take care of waste that'll be composted over time.

It wasn't long before the eager workers let the world know what they were building.

CATCHMENT

The Junior Secondary School is being built at Kambona village almost 3KM away from Msema village where The Australian Primary School was built..Kambona, with the attraction of its electricity supply, now has a growing population presently totalling 3,766.The new school will service Kambona and its surrounding villages...Manyowa,Filisa,Msema,Singano, and Ngoma ...a combined population of almost 7,000 people.


PROPOSED STUDENTS

(a) Orphans and impoverished students.
(b) Students from surrounding areas
(c) Students from Australian Primary School [in the future when its able to cater for up to the Standard 8 level]

The school will have its own water piped to the site and will also have a mains power supply linked to its buildings.

There'll also be a water reservoir there.

It wasn't long before the foundations were laid for the three main central buildings.....the classroom blocks and the school administration building.

Once the foundations are right.....the buildings rise rapidly...with many willing hands and kind weather

The classroom blocks are also finished.....and then there was the matter of clearing up around the buildings.

......But there was no shortage of willing hands

Then the focus was switched to the building of the houses and facilities for the teachers.

And it was a case of all hands to the pumps, literally, as the women joined their menfolk in bringing in the water via the bucket brigade!

The centrepiece is the Staff/administrative block which is flanked on both sides by classroom blocks.

The teachers' houses are now finished...complete with their walled gardens

The staff/ admin building is virtually finished now (April 6)...and the school is scheduled to open on 23 April, the start of the Second Term.

Our men on the inside!

It's hard work at the best of times...but even in hot, confined spaces..there are no complaints.Only broad and happy smiles.

In these photographs, the cream coloured staff/admin building in the centre is flanked by 2-roomed classroom blocks on either side.

An additional, separate, classroom is to be added before the school opens on 23 April. This will keep classroom student numbers down to 50 per class.

The power's hooked up to the site...and exterior lights fitted.

The importance of having the electricity brought to the school site can't be under-estimated......it means the school can also offer classes at night!

A front view and Shady verandahs to offer protection from the heat.

Shade from the summer heat is an important consideration. Of the 200 trees that have now been planted on the school site, 180 are shade trees and a score are fruit trees. More fruit trees are still to be planted.

The "Sportsclub" building that'll house the boys' football team and the girls' netball team is also just about finished.Now the Kambona villagers have the job of naming the teams that'll be using it.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Students must meet the selection criteria:

(a) Completion of primary school studies.
(b) Proof of commitment and a willingness to pursue secondary school studies.
(c) Recommendations from SOC committee.
(d) Entrance Examinations.

TEACHERS

• The Junior Secondary School will be staffed by four Teachers, two to be housed on site and the others provided with rented housing.
  

SCHOOL FEES

Unlike primary schooling, secondary education in Malawi is not free. However, the fees for admission to The Australian Junior Secondary school at Kambona will be modest and 25% of the student body will be excused fees. The fees will cover wages and maintenance costs.

LOCAL COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION

SOC members and the villagers undertook to make the following contributions to the project :

• Village Headman Kambona donated a land worth MK 150,000 for the building project
• Volunteers would clear and excavate the school land site.
• Provide water for the building works
• Provide some casual labor for other works such as bricks handling.
• Carry sand and other materials to the project site.
• Help in the general management of the project