The Winchester School, Jebel Ali, a GEMS Education school in Dubai, has raised has Dh132,000 to support the education programmes for underprivileged children in rural Malawi.

The initiative, in association with Dubai Cares, is part of the ‘Adopt a School’ programme targeting children in developing countries and providing them with primary education and thereby contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education for All.

Consistently ranked among the world’s 20 least developed countries on the UN’s Human Development Index, the Southeast African country of Malawi has long been challenged by economic stagnation and a lack of access to education. The project will improve the infrastructure of school classrooms and provide a safe and sanitary area for children to learn and for teachers to teach.

The Winchester School, Jebel Ali has been a regular contributor to Dubai Cares in previous years but in September 2018, the school decided that this year they would to adopt a school. In the months that followed, the Senior Leadership Team, school staff, students and Parent Representative Group of the school have been collectively working on different projects to collect the requisite funds. Some of the main events organised were the Annual Fun Fair, bake sales, each department enterprising events, like Garba evening, movie nights and many more to support the “Adopt A School” project.

One of the prominent contributors to the cause was, WINshares, a group consisting of 45 students from Year 1 to Year 13 who collected gently used books and sold them at community events within and outside school. Raising AED 16,100 through the book sales, the students also promoted sustainability and love for reading.

The cheque handing over ceremony held on December 5 was attended by Zainab Faraidooni, Deputy Director of the Fundraising Department, Dubai Cares, Ranju Anand, the Vice President of Schools, GEMS Education and Andrew Chefukwa, Vice Consul, Embassy of Malawi. The ceremony was also attended by the student leaders, school leaders and parent representatives.

Faraidooni said, “I’d like to thank The Winchester School, Jebel Ali. It’s because of individuals like you that has enabled us to reach 18 million beneficiaries in 57 countries. Education is the greatest investment and today you’ve invested in the future of the children in Malawi.”

Meenakshi Dahiya, the Principal and CEO of The Winchester School, Jebel Ali applauded the collaborative efforts of the school community and expressed her appreciation for this opportunity afforded by Dubai Cares to make a difference in the lives of young children.

“The Winchester School, Jebel Ali has been engaged in a large number of activities to support Dubai Cares and we are very proud of our students, staff and parent community. I’m very proud that everyone- across year groups and departments- contributed to this cause. I’d like to thank each member of the Winchester family. Winchester believes in dreaming and aspiring. It’s a beautiful day to see a dream come to life and a commitment being fulfilled. We are motivated to set further targets for ourselves. We’ll continue to strive to contribute to Dubai Cares in bigger and bigger ways,” she said.

Chefukwa said in his address to the audience, “ On the behalf of Malawian government I would like to express my sincere thanks for what you’ve done for Malawi- the hope and happiness you’ve brought in the lives of the children of Malawi by investing your time and your resources.”