Trustees Opportunities - The Chesney Trust

Are you passionate about education for girls? The Chesney Trust is a successful charity supporting female education in rural Malawi. We raise money to maintain, develop and run a secondary girls’ boarding school in Engcongolweni, near Mzuzu. We also work with the local community to improve infrastructure and amenities in the area. The school, known as the Edinburgh Girls’ High School (EGHS), is now in its tenth year with a total roll of over 200 girls.

Receiving a quality education is a girl’s human right and a global developmental goal. Female education is beneficial, not only for individual young women, but also for their families, children and the entire nation in which they live. Girls face barriers to education including poverty, cultural norms and practices, poor infrastructure, violence and fragility. The Chesney Trust provides funds and support to overcome these barriers so that girls can receive the quality education they deserve.

The Chesney Trust, with its CEO Janet Chesney, are looking for committed individuals to join our Board of Trustees. This is a great opportunity to make a difference and build your skills. We are currently recruiting for Trustees to join our board from January 2024. We are particularly interested in candidates with fund-raising, accounting and/or digital experience, although this is not essential. The most important attributes of trustees include a passion for the cause, commitment to the role and shared values of equality, transparency and community. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you.

Responsibilities include: Attend 4 board meetings and an AGM a year (usually held online on Saturday mornings) together with the CEO, Chairman, Treasurer and 7 other board members. Sub-groups are sometimes established for specific projects/fundraiser planning, as needed. We also ask our Trustees to get involved with the initiation/organisation of/participation in fundraising events.

To express interest, please contact our Chair, John Dymond, directly by email at: dunmorecot@tiscali.co.uk

The School's 10th Anniversary

The school opened on 12 October 2012 to 5 non-boarding students and has come a long way since then with a current roll of 194 boarding students, a science block with biology, chemistry and physics laboratories, a large hall and a well-equipped library and computer room, as well as classrooms and hostels. 

As the 2022/2023 school year only started on 10 October, the Anniversary celebrations will be held on 5 November, with 500 invited guests.   We are delighted that the Minister of Education Honourable Agnes Nyalonje has agreed to be the guest of honour, and that Honourable Catherine Gotani Hara who, in 2009 as Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Community Development, performed the Ground Breaking Ceremony, will also be there.  The celebrations will include student activities such as traditional dances, poetry recitals, songs, a fun fair and drama. There will also be sporting activities for parents, teachers and students, plus a jumble sale, raffle and sale of food.

Mary Erskine School: Row Lake Malawi Challenge

We are thrilled to share this guest post with you from SMP member Zainab, student at The Mary Erskine School!

"On Friday 3rd December, students and teachers from The Mary Erskine School took part in Malawow Club’s ‘Row Lake Malawi’ fundraiser in support of our partner school, The Edinburgh Girls High School in Northern Malawi. Many consider Lake Malawi to be the heart of the country, so we took on the challenge of collectively rowing, on machines, the 580km distance across the width of the beautiful lake… and we added a twist!

The four teams also competed against each other to see who could row the furthest distance, fully costumed according to their team theme. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the teachers’ team in their fantastic 80’s outfits, the S4 team in their stunning array of headwear, and, to help us get into the festive season, the Rowing Reindeers. The winners of the ‘best dressed’ title was Team Pitbull with all seven members donning bald caps and facial hair. Each team stayed positive, pulling through though they were tired and sore, as well as bringing energy and friendly competition to the fundraising event.

The event featured many added extras, ranging from a Pitbull inspired rave, to the Christmas team having fun games for others to play, such as ‘how many sweets in the jar’, aiding to the contributions. The tuck shop was run by members of Malawow Club and was the main source of donations, raking in an amazing sum of £500, just in the space of one lunchtime. As enjoyable as the whole event was for everyone taking part it was more importantly a huge success. Our aim was to raise £500 to buy a TV monitor for EGHS so that students can watch educational videos and thankfully we are now able to purchase this for the girls. However, we managed to surpass the distance of the lake and our donation goal. In total, Malawow Club raised a whooping £900 for the cause through the help of the sponsors of each rower. We could not be more thankful for all the hard work put in from everyone taking part but especially Miss Flockhart and Mrs Love for organizing the successful event. We look forward to raising even more money for the Chesney Trust in the new year and helping our friends across the globe."

Announcing the New Edinburgh Girls High School Head Teacher

We’re delighted to announce the appointment of new Head Teacher Mr Vincent Mbazi Mudolo (M. Ed; B. Ed; Dip.Ed)

Mr Mudolo comes from the North-Western District of Chitipa in Malawi. He is married, and has five children. He possesses a Master's Degree in Education, a Bachelor's Degree in Education and a Diploma in Education, all of which he obtained from the University of Malawi.

Mr Mudolo has worked with the Ministry of Education for 38 years and has been Headteacher of various reputable secondary schools in Malawi for 20 of the 38 years of service. He also served as Acting District Education Manager for 2 years and played an advisory role to the Education Divisional and District Offices. He has been hired by several education institutions to facilitate on educational matters, with a special focus on teacher/pupil motivation and staff development. In December 2019 he made an Educational Visit to London in the United Kingdom on Teacher - Exchange Programme to share best classroom practices in the field of Special Educational Needs, teaching and learning with Shaftesbury High School (Harrow, UK) which is in partnership with Mzuzu Government Secondary School, sponsored by the British Council.

Mr Mudolo joins Edinburgh Girls High School with high expectations. Together as one, we can realize the dreams of the founder of this beautiful institution.

MSCE Results

In the Malawi School Certificate Examination held in January 2021, 33 out of 39 pupils passed, a commendable pass rate of 84.6%, compared with a national pass rate of 34.6% for girls.

2020-2021 School Year Dates due to Covid-19

24 Feb. 2021 New Form 1 pupils start school.

12 Oct. 2020 Last year’s Forms 1 to 3 return.

7 Sept. 2020 Last year’s Form 4 return to school to prepare for the Malawi School Certificate Examinations.

School closure due to COVID-19

The Malawian government has ordered the closure of all schools, colleges and universities, as a measure to reduce the spread of Covid-19. As a result, EGHS students are being sent home and are awaiting advice regarding the reopening of the school.

Our thoughts are with the students, staff and local trustees, as they deal with this unfortunate turn of events. We will update the site in the coming weeks as we learn more.

Malawi Scotland Partnership visit

Today, 21/03/20, saw a visit by Malawi Scotland Partnership representatives from Lilongwe. They visited EGHS campus to hold a special ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of David Livingstone (19 March 1813), the Scottish missionary and hugely influential figure in Malawi. A party of girls sang and danced as part of this celebration.

In the accompanying picture, we can see the new coaster, kindly donated by ESMS Junior School; it is now in regular use for transporting girls on school trips and sports fixtures.

Girls next to the new coaster

Girls next to the new coaster

School campus ready for new session

Ground staff have been working hard to prepare the school campus for the start of the new session. The campus is looking great, as you can see from the pictures below, including the completed school hall with its proud motto.

New school bus!

The Edinburgh Girls' High School in Malawi was pleased to purchase a mini bus for the school. The minibus is invaluable for the functioning of the school and we’d like to thank all fundraisers who helped with this, especially the pupils at the Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools, who took part in last year's West Highland Way Challenge Walk.

THE EDINBURGH TATTOO - HIGHLIGHT OF 2018

Twenty pupils from the Edinburgh Girl’s High School, Engcongolweni, Malawi took part in the Edinburgh Tattoo by invitation, singing, dancing and taking part in an item on children’s games. They formed a guard of honour with pupils from the Mary Erskine School, Edinburgh for visiting dignitaries each evening.

Close friendships were formed with girls from the Mary Erskine School through home stays and many outings organised by the school.

Pupils from the Edinburgh Girl’s High School and Mary Erskine School form a guard of honour.

Pupils from the Edinburgh Girl’s High School and Mary Erskine School form a guard of honour.

Malawi girls on their way to the Tattoo.

Malawi girls on their way to the Tattoo.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS IN 2018

  • Twenty P7 pupils, plus staff, from the Erskine Stewart’s Melville Junior School, Edinburgh walked fifty miles along the West Highland Way in the summer, raising over £9,000 towards the purchase of a vehicle for our school in Malawi.

  • Selina McCole took on the challenge of the ‘City to Summit’ (Edinburgh to the top of Ben Nevis) duathlon in July, adding £2,660 to our funds.

  • Just over £7,000 was raised from the Mary Erskine’s Kaleidoscope Dance Show in March.

  • Non-uniform days at the Erskine Stewart’s Melville Schools raised £2,160.

  • We received a donation of £1,000 from a charity concert held in March by the Rotary Club of Leith.

As always we are extremely grateful to our partners and contributors who work so hard to raise money for our work.

Recent and upcoming fundraising events

FORTHCOMING FUNDRAISING EVENTS

  • Erskine Stewart's Melville Junior School P7 West Highland walk in the summer.

 

RECENT FUNDRAISING EVENTS

  • A Concert was organised by Leith Rotary Club at Inverleith St Serf's Church, 250 Ferry Road, Edinburgh on 24 March.

  • Senior Kaleidoscope Dance Show at the Mary Erskine school in March.

 

As always we are extremely thankful to our partners and contributors who work so hard to raise money for our work.