$110,000 is not a whole lot to run a high school of 400+ students, an after school program for students not yet in high school, female empowerment programs and AIDS prevention eduction.
As Mercy High School continues to grow, additional funds are needed from those that care about continuing this great work. Expenses need to met. Teachers need to be paid. Facilities need to be maintained and improved. The list goes on…and on…and on…
The 2017/2018 General Budget Shortfall is $22,000.
At MERCY there are on average 15 girls absent every day due to monthly menstruation restricting the girls to their homes and preventing them from attending school. It was hard for me to learn that after all the success that Peter has had with growing MERCY, this remained a major obstacle for female students staying in school and reaching graduation.
After researching several solutions we’ve made a great connection with AFRIPAD based in Uganda, which produces reasonably priced high quality reusable sanitary PADS & educational kits.
Each kit is ±$5.00. By ordering 250 kits each female student would be given her own kit and MERCY would have 50 extra on hand for emergency or replenishment. This would solve the problem for the entire 2017/2018 school year, dramatically reducing the high daily absentee rate and greatly increase the success of the entire female portion of the student body.
Government power has not yet been run to the community where MERCY HS is located. This has limited the ability to offer a high-quality high school education in the most effective manner. Government power is VERY expensive, and the service is inconsistent. Solar power offers an inexpensive and reliable source of energy for powering lights, pumps for fresh water, power for computers and teaching aids, etc.
A firm in Mt. Laurel, NJ, with experience in African countries and specializing in the design of solar power systems, has designed a complete solar power system to meet the needs of Mercy High School and on campus staff housing.
Total system cost with installation is $40,000. This would supply 100% of the power for Mercy High School and staff housing residents current and future needs.
Can you imagine not eating breakfast and trying to excel in high school (English, math, Science……) without breakfast, lunch, or even a small snack. The odds of getting a HS education as a youth living in Malawi are already very slim…..not having food makes it almost impossible. For both the male and female student body there are no funds available to offer students a simple sustainable nutritious mid-day snack during their school day. Most of the students eat one meal a day, others even less, and few ever have breakfast.
We are working with several sources for supplying PEANUT BUTTER to the school on a long term basis such as Afi-Nut, Ltd & others but have not solidified those arrangements yet. For now we’ve decided to buy it at retail outlets and not wait any longer. The cost for a PEANUT BUTTER and bread snack for all 400+ students is $34/day or $5,120.00 for the entire 2017/2018 school year ($32/day x 8 months).
