In 2017, Daniel P.J. Mwale began with Impact Network as a class teacher at Malowe Community school in Petauke District. When he joined our staff, he was in his final year of coursework for a teaching diploma and was eager for the opportunity to put this coursework into action. When he arrived at the school, there were many challenges to overcome regarding both lack of resources and community engagement:

I found only one teacher here, a community teacher. At first that teacher and the community, they were not so sure about Impact and what was coming, but when they started to see the outcomes, they started to say, “This is very nice; this is a very nice thing for our community.”

Mr. Mwale and a colleague were placed at the school by Impact Network and began teaching grade 1 and grade 2. They worked together with the community teacher to strengthen the PTA and raise expectations for education in the community.

I saw my inputs; I saw the changes in the learners. And others they saw, too. And it helped others to come forward and volunteer as teachers so more pupils could benefit. At one time we had as many as five community teachers plus three Impact teachers.

Flash forward to the present, and Daniel P.J. Mwale is now the Teacher-In-Charge at Malowe Community School. The school now boasts nearly 350 pupils, a preschool program, five teachers (three from Impact Network, two community teachers), and there is ongoing construction of three new classroom spaces (two sponsored by government, one sponsored by the community). The school runs daily classes for grades 1 – 6 and is continuously growing and thriving! Because of how the project is structured in Petauke, Daniel has been teaching the same group of pupils since 2017. Those little grade one and two learners are the same group he now teaches in grades five and six. Seeing the long-term growth of this cohort of pupils has been very satisfying. Six years ago he began teaching them how to count to ten and to write simple syllables in Cinyanja. Today they are reading English passages and dividing decimals using long division!

I have been teaching them from Grade 1 up until now. When I came here, they were just very, very young. Now they are grown-up learners. I feel very proud of them. I have that relationship with them, and I see how my works have benefitted them.

In reflecting on his tenure at the school, Mr. Mwale identified as strong relationships as a key to many of the successes at the school. He has made strong relationships with pupils after teaching them for so many years, but also has made many strong relationships with community members as well.

I have that relationship with the community. Because of that we face very few challenges; there is good cooperation because of the good relationship. When we call for a meeting at the school no one is surprised, no one is fearing. They come here and ask, “What is the good news?” because we have a positive way of working together.

At Impact Network, we expect that our programing will improve outcomes for pupils in our classrooms, but there are other unintended benefits that we have come to understand about our programming. One of those unintended benefits is exemplified at Malowe Community School: Even when Impact Network operates in just a few classes or grade levels, the program brings a heightened engagement in education across the school and community. A huge thanks to Daniel and all his colleagues who are amplifying the impact of our program across whole schools and communities, not just the classrooms they are assigned to!

"What is the good news?"