Lilongwe is Malawi’s capital city, and home to over one million people. As the administration hub for the country, it has several educational institutions, including the constituent colleges of the Malawi University, Malawi College of Health Science, and a number of others. It is also home to the central government, the home of the President, the Malawi Parliament, and the Malawi high courts.
Mabvuto Matebule is a student at Malawi College of Health Sciences in Lilongwe, and is studying Pharmacy. For him and other college students, having a laptop computer is a must. But, unfortunately, for him to study and prepare his reports, he depends on computers at a nearby computer café where he has his work typed and printed. Like many students who do not have a computer he sometimes turns in his assignments late because he has no cash to access the net, or has to wait to borrow his friend’s computer for his studies. He notes, “without a computer, it has been a tough start for my college life. My father cannot afford to buy me a laptop, he cannot support me with funds to pay for printing or photocopying”.
With support from the Malawi Project, and the computer program carried out by Nolan Read, Mabvuto is one of the proud owners of a laptop. When it was given to him he was all smiles, and could not believe this was happening. “Thanks so much to who ever gave this computer to me,” he said. “I could not have managed to buy it and it was very difficult to study and search for information on line without a computer”. Today Mabvuto is all smiles as he walks around with his very own laptop computer.
– Wilson Tembo and Richard Stephens
