Projects

Following the success of the pilot for setting up a pre-school in Timoonaayili, Partnership Ghana (PG) decided to extend this to 3 communities currently without a school. The project covered the 3 small villages of Yemo, Vogu and Tignaayili located in the Tamale district. During school year 2014-2015-2016 30 women were trained to provide education, at a pre-school in a location that has no school, to children up to the age of 8 years.

PG approached Education Runway for funding of the training for these 30 women. The pre-school is particularly important because children learn more quickly at a young age and so will be introduced to a more participative form of education, contrary to the more traditional education system where the focus is on constant listening and simple repetition of content. Encouraging children to participate and actively educating them helps to improve their school results and their self-confidence. This in turn helps children and adolescents to develop their learning and to shape their own future. Eventually the pre-school will need to be transfered to “government approved education”.

By supporting this training we will soon be able to provide education to 100 children in each community (300 in total). Education Runway’s funding of the entire training programme for the women is at a cost of €3.800 spread across 2014, 2015 and 2016. The funding covered 4 lecturers per community to train 10 women. The costs for 2014 were €310 per community ( €930 in total ) and in 2015: €368 per community (€1104 in total). In addition we funded the costs associated with materials and activities for the training, a total of €1780.

Due to the vast success of these projects, the local governement decided to take care of the projects and their funding themselves. Education Runway is investiging possible new projects in Ghana in 2017.’

In Ghana Falilatu Ziblim and Mariam Pumaya Yussif, who have started their education at a Teachers Training College in September 2017 have finished their theoratical training and are currently doing their apprenticeships in Tamale and in this Letter Mariam expresses her gratitude also on behalf of Falilatu. We have 3 new (female) candidates to start their education in September 2019 and are in anticipation of the required budgets to approve.

In October 2018, Joost paid a visit to Tamale, Ghana to visit the students Mariam and Falida and to visits the schools where they were doing their apprenticeships. At the same time, it was good to discuss the future plans of Education Runway in Ghana with our contact persons of CPYWD (Community Partnership for Young Women Development)Yakubu Iddrisu and Osman Issifu. Both are volunteers and the organization totally depending on gifts.

Falilatu Ziblim and Mariam Pumaya Yussif (who both started their education to become primary school teachers in september 2017) graduated in the Summer of 2019 and both are teaching in the Tamala region. Falida started in september 2019 and Mariam as per January 2020.

We are happy that we can support 3 new students as of 2019 for a 3-year or 4- year education. Hopefully as of the middle of 2023 they will be ready to be teaching in class.

We recently received a new set of pictures of the students while at the campus of their teacher training college.

Effective January 2023, 4 new students have started their vocational training. Education Runway pays for the entire study in the coming years for these 4 students.

Fadilah Mohammed will be following a general study called ‘Junior High Education’ at the Tamale College of Education.
Janet Napari is studying ‘Early Childhood Education’ at the University for Development Studies in Tamale.
Sanatu Baachi also studies at the same University for Development Studies but follows the subject “Basic Education’.
Sadia Salifu follows Social Studies at the University of Education in Manpong, in the South of Ghana, not far from the capital Accra.

Our loyal contact person in Ghana is Osman Issifu in Tamale. He takes care of all our paperwork and ensures a timely payment to the students and makes sure they pay their bills in time.

In June 2023 we received a very nice letter from Lydia, Hannah and Comfort to thank Education Runway and ‘our man in Ghana’, Osman.Please click here to download the letter.

Click To Watch The After School Programes in Ghana

Foundation Education Runway financially supports students to become teachers in Malawi. Between 2012 and 2014 Education Runway paid for the 2 ½ year education of Mary Madise at the DAPP Teacher Training College in Blantyre. Mary is a born Malawian who joined theorder of the “Sisters of Our Lady” in 2010. In the Summer of 2014 she graduated after finalizing her apprenticeships and after she had worked for a number of years as homework-coach at the “Jacaranda Children’s Home” an orphanage in Blantyre. Until 2018 Mary worked as a teacher in a primary school in Bangula in the south of Malawi until she went back for a 4-year University education Special Needs and English from which she graduated in 2021.

In June 2017 Agnes Foley graduated as primary school teacher from the Emmanuel Teacher Training College in Lilongwe and as per 1 January 2018 she has a job in a primary school in the Nkhotakota District in Central Malawi. In the meantime, Education Runway started supporting Dan Peter Dunga in Blantyre, Malawi.

How much do you need to pay for an education?
You will be surprised at the costs and the fact that with few financial means we can achieve a lot. Foundation Education Runway pays for the entire study, including lodging, transportation and insurance for the amount of some MKW 1.200.000 per year which equals some € 1.250. In August 2019 Education Runway paid a visit to the students, the alumni and our contact people in Malawi as you may see in the above picture. With a bit of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan Peter Dunga graduated in December 2020 and as of March 2021 he is teaching in a temporary job awaiting a final government posting. As soon as we have news on this, we will report this.

Meanwhile Education Runway also co-finances the University Education of Sr. Judith Mandwama. Like Sr. Mary Madise she is being trained as a Teacher Special Needs for handicapped children. Judith commenced her study in 2021 and hopes to graduate in Summer of 2024.

Gift Foley graduated in 2022

Early 2020 Gift Foley passed his admission exams for the Kasungu Teacher Training college in Blantyre where he started per 1 March ofthat year. Gift lost his parents already at a very young age and grew up at the Jacaranda Orphanage. After finishing primary school, he successfully went through high school and then he wanted to become a teacher, just like his sister Agnes who Education Runway supported earlier. His studies took three years and in August 2022 he received his diploma. We hope that he will find a permanent teaching position soon.

In 2021 and 2022 no admission exams

The Malawian Government has not held any admission exams for Teacher Training Colleges in 2021 and 2022. This meant that we did not have a new influx of students, which made Education Runway decide that in the meantime she could support last-year students who for whatever reason had lost the financial support from relatives.

In the college year 2021/22 we have been able to assist Elenesi Walasi, Isaac Matiyasi and Tiyanjane Banda getting through their final year. It is so rewarding to see that they effectively graduated in 2022.

Next, we were able to support another 3 needy students by financing their final year at College. These three students Emmanuel Shawah, Martha, Dzowa en Thomas Bonjesi have also finished their studies and can start applying for jobs now. Unfortunately, the tropical Storm Freddy which hit Malawi in March 2023 ruined most of the crops and demolished houses and infrastructure, which means that the Malawian Government has other worries than providing young teachers with jobs.

New admission exams in March 2023

As of May 2023, a new batch of students at started a two-year primary school teacher training Blantyre Teacher Training College. Since the government has more than doubled school fees from MKW 70,000 per year to MKW 150,000 per year, it is extremely difficult for many students to get their education funded. Education Runway has decided to support 4 students this year for the next two years.
Yamikani Mchinga is a 22-year-old boy from a single-parent family from South-eastern Malawi. He is the 2nd of 3 children and his mother earns very little with a little farming.
Julian Kabango Zacharia is a 27-year young woman, the eldest of 5 children. Julian comes from the Mwanza District bordering to Mozambique in the South of Malawi. Her father died in 2002 and the children of which 1 is mentally handicapped are being raised by the mother alone. Mother makes a small living farming.
Grace Nakhate, is 26 years old and is the oldest of 4 children of which only her mother is still around. Also from the southeast of Malawi and her mother only earns something from agriculture, where the crops also have been lost. And finally, we support Edina Manyumba, also from Southeast Malawi, 24 years old and she lives alone with her mother who also grows some crops whose yield is not even enough for their own consumption. We wish all these students every success in the coming years.

Via the “Medical Mission Sisters” in Utrecht, Netherlands, Education Runway has been supporting young people form the Ang’iya Village in Kenya since 2012. Between 2012 and 2014 Philip Osindo, Richard Otieno, Benta Oguta and Ohieng Odhiamo received their 2-year vocational training. And between 2014 and 2016 Pauline Wakoli, Calvince Opiyo, Lawrence Achieng and Bernard Omondi were all trained to become primary school teachers. All passed their exams well. Unfortunately, Bernard Omondi died of tuberculosis only weeks after his final exams. Bernard was the hope for his family and community. As of the school year 2016/17 Emelda Otieno and Odiwuor Oyier have started their 2-year training to become primary school teachers. They hope to be able to teach as of Summer 2018.

Beneath the information about our previous students.

Emelda Otieno Otieno is a young Kenyan woman who lives in Migori in the
Southwest part of Kenya, near Lake Victoria. Migori is a town in the district of Nyanza and the capital of the district. Migori is situated 50 kms south of Kisii and 20 kms north of the Tanzanian border.The city counts 31.644 inhabitants. Emelda is half-orphan and is 22 years of age. She very much wishes to support her mother with the care of  her siblings. The ‘Goudenregenschool’ in Hilversum, Netherlands (http://www.goudenregenschool.nl) started a school-project in November 2016 to raise money to pay for Emelda’s education. The theme of this fundraising project was: “Will Emelda become a teacher in Kenya?”.

Odiwuor Oyiera is young man of 21 years of age from a very small community northwest of Migori, where Emelda lives. Odiwuor too started in September 2016 with his 2-year training to become primary school teacher. It would be grand if we could find a Dutch school acting as sponsor for him as well! Next to these two students we have decided also to support the studies of Sister Goudencia Wanyonyi in 2016. Sr. Gaudencia has been our local Kenyan contact person for many years and takes care of all communication between the students and Education Runway. We are very grateful for her help.

Due to the fact that children at the Goudenregenschool were so successful raising money for Emelda, the schoolboard decided to sponsor Education Runway for yet another year and now the kids are all saving money for Odiwuor, who in short, we call ‘Odi’. At the Christmas auction in December 2017, the children and their parents raised € 725! A wonderful success!

Now that both Emelda and Odiwuor have finished their education we are happy to support Octovine Oyugi en Kennedy Ouma Ochieng.
You may find more information on Kennedy here.

Unfortunately, we never received a picture of Octovine.

As per January 2020 Education runway supports 2 new students; Quinter Achieng (2-year education) and Jackline Adhiambo (3 years). Due to COVID-19 the schools closed for quite a while but as of Spring 2021 programs are began.

During their holidays in Ethiopia in 2014, Evelyn and Joost met with 2 young men,
Yohanes and Muluye. Both are working as tour-guides after they were able to study
with grants from Dutch families. Because they received this chance – unlike many in their country who do not get chances like these- they decided to set up a school in their hometown of Lalibela aiming to improve the level of education. The name of their school is Merci Lal School. At this school there are 6 teachers who do have a teaching degree, however they lack the necessary skills and knowledge to improve the level of education, especially for subjects such as English, Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry.

In June 2017 both Erimias Yilma (24) and Asefu Getu (26) graduated after their 3- year education. Erimias taught English as of 2017 and in 2019 started an academic bachelor programme English at the Hawasa University to raise the level of English tuition at schools. He expects to graduate towards the Summer of 2023. Asefu is teaching mathematics in Lalibela.

Starting the educational year 2017/18 we were able to support 2 new students.
Anguach Kassa (f) followed a 3-year education mathematics at the Haramaya University and graduated in 2020. Asmamaw Abate (m) who also started in 2017 with his education Physics at the Dessie College of Teachers Training in Wollo Province graduated in October 2019.

New student Desale Mekuriaw!
As of Springtime 2021 Desale Mekuriaw started his studies mathematics at the Mekelle University. You can download the letter of Desale in which he introduces himself here. And you can read that his parents passed away at young age and subsequently that he was raised by his grandparents.

In 2019/2020 (prior to the COVID-pandemic) he finalized his first year with very good grades, but due to the civil war in the North of Ethiopia he had to flee from Mekelle. Unfortunately, he could resume his studies half a year later a the University of Bahir Dar. According to our contact person Muluye he is really a TOP candidate. Desale hopes to graduate in the Summer of 2023.

Beginning of 2022 peace returned somewhat to the North of Ethiopia and as of March 2022 four new students were able to commence their education with the financial support of Education Runway: 2 female students Mekoya and Woynshet. and 2 male students Moges and Mengistu. For all of them this means a 4-year education:

Mekoya started a study Physics at the Debre Berhan University, Woynshet commenced her study Social Sciences at the Salale University, whereas Moges started his studies Physics at the Bahir Dar University and Mengistu studies Physics at Addis Ababa University. Every semester the students have to do an exam in order to be able to continue their study. Unfortunately, Mekoya and Woyshet did not pass the exams resulting in the fact that already after one year had to cease their studies. Moges and Mengistu continue their studies and we hope that they can finalize their studies with good results.

As of September 2012 Education Runway is comitted to the funding of the training of Prossy Namuwonge, a 21-year old Ugandese woman at a teachers training college. Prossy has been admitted to follow this education at the Kabukunge Primary Teachers’ College in the Masaka District in Central Uganda. The capital city of Kampala is also situated in Central Unganda, however Masaka can be considered more rural. Whenever Prossy is not at school she spends most of her time with her parents and 12 siblings in her home village Kasensero in Rakai District, south of Kampala.

Approximately half of the population of Uganda is under 18 years of age (ca. 17 million children), of which the majority is either an orphan or heavily depending on third parties due to AIDS-infection, civil unrest or extreme poverty. Since government subsidies on education are lacking, larger families are facing financial barriers to give the children of Uganda proper education. Subsequently 75% of the Ugandese pupils do not finish their education or studies, yet even leave primary school due to lack of funding, marriage at young age or pregnancy.

We are happy that we have been able to offer Prossy this chance through which she may help the next generations with the knowledge she gained. Prossy passed her exams succesfully in the Summer of 2014 and is now looking for a suitable job.

By clicking on this link you may find a letter from Prossy in which she thanks her sponsor.

Education Runway joined this project via Children of Uganda. For more information, please visit www.childrenofuganda.org.