K.I.N.D. Fund Desks Make A Big Difference for Students in Malawi

A simple desk can have a powerful impact on a child's learning

Singing and dancing, excited students crowded around a truck as it pulled off the main road into a schoolyard on a sunny morning in October, filled with precious cargo: desks for the classrooms of Bwengu Primary School in Mzimba District, northern Malawi. 

In the majority of Malawi's schools, students sit on the floor, jostling for space in a crowded classroom, struggling to concentrate and write legibly. The arrangement is particularly difficult for girls, who worry about keeping their skirts down when they stand to answer a teacher's question, then try to reclaim their spot on the ground. 

The answer? Desks for all. In 2010, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell and UNICEF USA partnered to launch the K.I.N.D. (Kids in Need of Desks) Fund. K.I.N.D. outfits classroom in Malawi with sturdy desks designed to fit two or three students each, with benches attached. Schools with desks report increased attendance, higher retention among girls and greater participation across the board. 

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To date, K.I.N.D. has delivered more than 385,000 desks to primary schools across the country, reaching more than 1.5 million learners. The program also provides high school scholarships for girls, who are far less likely than boys to complete their secondary education. 

Annie Maston, Girls' Education Officer at UNICEF Malawi, sees firsthand how K.I.N.D. desks and scholarships impact children's learning. "Most of my work is to support children and adolescent girls to access both primary and secondary school through provision of the desks and scholarships to the most marginalized students, including those with disabilities, so that we all have equal opportunities to complete primary and secondary school," she says. 

Walking around the classroom, high-fiving students sitting proudly at their new desks, Maston adds, "I'm very happy because this is one of my greatest achievements, that we were sitting on the floor and today we are sitting on the desks."

Founded in 1910, Bwengu Primary School was the only primary school in Bwengu Zone for many years; today there are 17. Three years ago, the K.I.N.D. Fund delivered 50 desks to Bwengu Primary School, enough for the oldest students, in Standard 8, and less than a quarter of Standard 7 students.

Last year, graduating students at the school received a 96 percent pass rate. Bwengu is the only school in the zone that sends children to boarding secondary schools. 

Your donation can change a child's future

Every child has the right to an education, and every child wants to learn. A donation to the K.I.N.D. Fund is a cost-effective way to give children in Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, a chance at a better future.

"I've never seen more joy in a school than the spontaneous outbursts of song and enthusiasm at a school in Malawi when the desks arrive," O'Donnell says. 

Investing in chidren's education transforms lives and brightens futures. Families, communities and economies are strengthened. The K.I.N.D. Fund continues to provide students with the support they need to keep learning and thriving. Help children in Malawi reach their full potential. Please donate today.