Community Based Childcare Centres (CBCCs)

African Vision Malawi runs 13 Community Based Childcare Centres (CBCCs) across our area. 11 are supported by Feed the Children. In the UK they would be called pre-schools.

They are located in Chipasula, Chiweza II, Kafutwe, Masiye, Mkhambwe, Mlumbwira, Mngwizi, M’teza and Namanyanga. Caregiver teaching the children an action game at Namanyanga CBCC

What is a CBCC?

A CBCC is a building with a multiple use – as a pre-school and as a feeding station for children 3-5 years old.

Our main inspiration for setting up these CBCCs is that we know the most vulnerable age of a child is 0 – 5 years. In Malawi, children are particularly badly affected by malnourishment: the Malawi Demographic Health Survey (MDHS) 2000, shows that in Malawi 49% of the children are stunted, 25% are underweight and 6% are wasted.

Most children in rural areas also do not have access to early learning opportunities through pre-schools and are ill-prepared when they start school. Research shows that 80% of brain development occurs in the first two years of a child’s life (Malawi National Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Development 2009) – and yet most children in Malawi are not given the stimulation they need to develop healthy brains.

This manifests itself later in life – with high drop-out rates at school and low enrolment in secondary schools. Only 23% of primary pupils complete the full 8 years of primary school. If we can support Early Childhood Development through educational, physical, social and emotional provision; we can give the children in our area a much better foundation for future life. Already we have seen the impact that the CBCCs are having on our community.

The pre-schools are run by Caregivers who are all volunteers with minimal training. We show appreciation and encourage them by providing them with soap to keep them smart and clean. We also give them a T-shirt.

The feeding stations provide a nutritional porridge 5 times a week. The weight and height of children is monitored on a monthly basis, and all pre-school volunteers have been trained in how to do this. Food is currently provided by Feed the Children, Malawi, but Feed the Children are phasing out this project, and so, hand in hand with the local communities, we are setting up ‘sustainable food gardens’ in the pre-schools to provide the food.

Future Plans

In the future, we intend that the CBCCs will also be used in the afternoons (when pre-schools and feeding programmes are finished) for Adult Education. Parenting courses will be provided to mothers and fathers, from pregnancy through to 3 yrs old, focusing on Early Childhood Development. There will also be adult literacy and numeracy classes and civic education, empowering communities to take action when services are not provided and giving them the skills to feel confident when challenging authority. Our ultimate goal is to build a self-sufficient community.

CBCC Renovations

In 2015, we carried out significant renovations to the classrooms, toilets and kitchen units at Chipasula, Mkambwe and Mngwizi CBCCs. You can see the before and after photos below. We are so happy that these renovations have been a big success and give the children a safe and hygienic environment in which to learn and be fed. Mazars provided the funding for these three renovations – thank you so much for your continuing support.

Would you like to donate to future developments at the CBCCs and make a difference to the young children of our area?

Photos of each CBCC:

Chipasula

Chipasula CBCC is in Lombwa. It was built in 2004 by CPAR and was renovated in 2015, organised by African Vision Malawi with funding from Mazars. Both the classroom and toilet blocks were renovated.

Chiweza II

Chiweza II is in Chitsime and was built in 2008 by CPAR. There are about 109 children with two government-trained caregivers out of the five who work there. The Caregivers are very committed, trying to apply what they learned through their training & displayed the learning areas. The community participates in cooking the Vitameal porridge & collecting firewood.

Funsani

Gandys ‘Orphans for Orphans’ has funded the building of our latest pre-school at Funsani, Lumbadzi Centre in 2017. It will provide education and a feeding programme to over 70 children within the area.

Kafutwe

Kafutwe CBCC is in Kafutwe area. It was built in 2011 by African Vision Malawi and has about 200 children. We are very grateful for the support of the Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust without whose support this would not have been possible. They are committed to education, peace and development in the Third World and our local people are enormously grateful for this opportunity to educate and feed the youngest in the community.

Two of the caregivers are government-trained out of the three caregivers who work there.

The main building is in good condition but toilet facilities are needed urgently and a grass fence is still to be erected around the whole building. The rooms which house the CBCC’s learning materials also need to be secured. Kafutwe CBCC building

Masiye

Masiye is in the Masiye district. It was built in 2007 and then renovated by African Vision Malawi. The building is fairly good, needs painting inside & to redo the blackboard but toilets are still needed. The Caregivers know their jobs well and are good at using teaching aids etc.

Would you like to contribute to the projects going on at our CBCCs?

Mkhambwe

Mkhambwe CBCC is in Lombwa district. It was built in 2004 by CPAR and has about 100 children. One of the caregivers is government-trained out of the five who work there. In 2015 the classroom, toilets and kitchen unit were all renovated, organised by African Vision Malawi with funding from Mazars.

Mlumbwira

Mlumbwira is in M’bang’ombe area. It was built in 2004 by CPAR and the community.

Mngwizi

Mngwizi CBCC is in Chamcholo district. It was built in 2006 by CPAR and the community, and the classroom, toilets and kitchen unit were renovated in 2015 – this project was organised by African Vision Malawi with funding from Mazars. There are about 150 children with two government-trained caregivers out of the five who work there.

M’teza

M’teza CBCC is in M’bang’ombe and it was built in 2012 by African Vision Malawi. It is a permanent structure in excellent condition and is part of African Vision Malawi’s training village – Sam’s Village. M’teza CBCC is twinned with Katey’s House Nursery & Pre-School in Kingston, UK.

Namanyanga

Namanyanga CBCC is in Namanyanga district and was built in 2010 by African Vision Malawi, funded by Project4Africa. There are about 135 children with two government-trained caregivers out of the three who work there.

If you would donate towards any of our work at the CBCCs, such as renovations or developing sustainable food gardens, please donate here: