GIRLS SHINE ACADEMY

Girls Shine Academy

Proposal Document for an All-Girls School in Malawi, Africa
Prepared by: Tiyanjane Dzilankhulani, Gret Glyer
January 17, 2016

GIRLS SHINE ACADEMY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OVERVIEW
The overall objective of the school is to provide educational and leadership opportunities to girls in Malawi by using
a holistic approach. This will be done by building a girls boarding secondary school which will provide quality
education and a safe haven for the beautiful girls of Malawi who are mostly prone to abuse.

50/50 MODEL
Girls Shine Academy will be implementing a revolutionary 50/50 model. This means that half of the girls who
attend will be sponsored, and the others will be non-sponsored. A non-sponsored girl will attend the school
because her parents are in a position to pay for her tuition. A sponsored girl will attend the school with a massive
discount. She will need to pass an aptitude test and show a genuine interest in her own education. An education
for her from GSA will be life changing.

LEADERSHIP
Girls Shine Academy will be operated by Tiya Dzilankhulani. She has a diploma in Business Administration, a
Bachelors of Arts in Education and a Masters in Christian Leadership. She has taught at both government schools
and private international schools. She has developed curriculum, runs her own business, and handles funds for a
village-based educational initiative that she started. Shes the President of Womens Ministries at her church and is
married with kids. When Dr. Paul Chinchen (President of African Bible Colleges) was asked about Tiya, he said,
Tiya will be the best Headmistress you will ever find in your entire life. Tiya has also invested much of her own
money in helping keep girls in school and her passion and drive is abundantly evident the moment you see her
interact with students.

WHY GIRLS EDUCATION?

As you can see below, the statistics speak for themselves. The girls of Malawi live in a voiceless, futureless world.
They have little sense of independence or opportunity. Educating a girl not only changes her life, but its a proven
fact that she is significantly more likely than a boy to pass her knowledge onto her village.

WHY $105,000?
A school could technically be built for around $25,000. However, after thousands of these schools have been built
all over Africa, its become evident that cheap schools lead to bad teachers and a poor education. Theres enough
bad schools being built in Africa. A quality education starts with quality facilities. It should also be noted that quality
facilities also lead to sustainability. When Malawians see a nice school, they will be willing to pay more for tuition
and that will assist in bringing further opportunity to our non-sponsored girls.

GIRLS SHINE ACADEMY

PROJECT BACKGROUND
THE PROBLEM
Despite the introduction of the free primary school education by the Malawi Government in 1994, secondary
education remains a challenge for most of the girls in Malawi. Secondary school enrollment is still dominated by
boys and continues to dwindle for girls despite the many interventions on girls education (Malawi Government,
ESIP II, 2013). Malawi has few public girls boarding secondary schools of which entrance is by selection and is
highly restrictive. In addition to poverty, girls in Malawi face innumerable challenges prohibiting them to complete
secondary education than boys (Scharff, 2007). Some of the challenges include:
Girls are expected to help their mothers with household chores both before and after school
Girls face enormous pressure to marry once they reach puberty
Girls are viewed as lazy, passive and inferior hence not proactive in the classroom
Girls are viewed as lower performers in class than boys and often they accede to view
Girls have to travel long distances in order to attend secondary school
Girls are vulnerable to abuse on the way to school
Girls resort to self-boarding schools that are not supervised and are prone to abuse
Girls are faced with serious challenges on sanitary issue due lack of proper infrastructure in schools
It is under this background that the vision for building a girls boarding secondary school was born. Building an all girls boarding school is essential for the education of girls in Malawi which is instrumental to development. This
vision will therefore contribute to the Malawi Development Goals (MDGs) of promoting empowered women.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS
The school shall also run the following programs in order to develop well rounded students:

Mentorship

Sponsorship

Leadership

Career Development

Community Service

Health Awareness Programs

Extra Curricula activities

TANGIBLE BENEFITS OF GIRLS EDUCATION

Each extra year of a mothers schooling reduces the probability of infant mortality by 5% to 10%.
Children of mothers with secondary education or higher are twice as likely to survive beyond age 5 compared to
those whose mothers have no education.
Improvements in womens education explained half of the reduction in child deaths between 1990 and 2009.
A child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past age 5.
In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 1.8 million childrens lives could have been saved in 2008 if their mothers
had at least a secondary education.
Wages, agricultural income and productivity all critical for reducing poverty are higher where women involved
in agriculture receive a better education.
In Malawi, 60% of mothers with secondary education or higher were aware that treatment could reduce HIV
transmission risks, compared with 27% of women with no education.
An extra year of female schooling reduces fertility rates by 10%, according to the World Bank.
Each additional year of secondary school education increases a girl's potential income by between 15 and 25%.
When womens education is combined with an improvement in their status, they account for over 50% of the
reduction of child malnutrition.
Secondary education yields higher returns for women than for men, including increased use of maternal health
and family planning services and altered attitudes towards harmful practices.
Women with secondary education are also more likely than illiterate women to understand the dangers posed
by HIV and how to prevent its spread.
Investing in the education of girls is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty. By one estimate, countries
that do not meet the MDG target of gender parity in education are at risk of foregoing 0.1 to 0.3 percentage
points annually in per capita economic growth. Economic growth rates in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
could have been nearly 1 per cent a year higher.
In rural economies, the education of women and girls may translate into higher agricultural production. In Kenya,
for example, one study estimated that crop yields could rise up to 22 per cent if women farmers enjoyed the
same education and decision-making authority as men.
Poor girls living in rural areas are sixteen times less likely to be in school than boys from the wealthiest
households living in urban areas.
Sources:
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/globalpartners-key-messages.pdf
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/globalpartners-key-messages.pdf
http://ageafrica.org/about/why-girls-education/
http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jh1748e/6.html
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/business-girls-education-partner-zone-unicef

LOGISTICS
FUNDRAISING
Construction will take place over 12 weeks, assuming the necessary funds come in. A minimum of $75,000 is
needed to build 2 classrooms, an administration building and a toilet. Extra funds will go toward teacher salaries,
classroom improvements, road development and additional facilities.

CONSTRUCTION COSTS
These are the rough estimates of how much will need to be raised per week to build the bare minimum facilities.
Bare in mind that construction in Africa is not as precise as a project in America might be. Things like inflation, oil
and transportation into remote village areas can fluctuate pricing. Fundraising starts on January 24th, 2016.
Week 1: Excavation - $3500
Week 2: Brick Work - $5500
Week 3: Concrete Slab - $7500
Week 4: External Walls - $10500
Week 5: Internal Walls - $10500
Week 6: Roofing Timber - $7500
Week 7: Roofing Iron Sheets - $7500
Week 8: Plastering - $5500
Week 9: Floor Furnishing - $5500
Week 10: Doors, Windows, Fittings and Furnishings - $7500
Week 11: Toilet and Purchasing Books - $7500
Week 12: Toilet Superstructure, Hiring Teachers - $17000

GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
Government regulations can be some very tricky waters to navigate. Thankfully, Tiya went to school with Mrs.
Chawinga who is an official with the Ministry of Education. Mrs. Chawinga is passionate about this project and the
two of them have been working diligently to make sure the school will be ready to open in September.

LOCATION
The land for GSA was generously donated by the people of Mkanda Village. Its 10+ acres of beautifully flat and
remote landscape. Its the perfect space to begin a boarding school because parents prefer to send their girls
away from the city because it reduces the likelihood of teenage pregnancy and early marriage. Its enough land
that GSA can continue to expand after a few years of operation.

CONSTRUCTION PLANS

CLASSROOMS - ADMIN BUILDING - TOILET