16-year-old Grecian defy all odds by enrolling in school from child labour
Discover how, with the support of the ILO's ADDRESS project in Malawi, 16-year-old Grecian Banda overcame challenges to pursue his education and dreams, returning to school after being forced to drop out to support his family on a tobacco farm.
30 August 2024
MALAWI (ILO News) - 16-year-old Grecian Banda, who is a Standard 8 at Misozi Primary School hails from Changaluwa village Traditional Area Kawamba in Malawi, sat for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) among 260,000 registered learners.
Grecian is bright, determined, and full of dreams, with aspirations to be successful in life because of education. However, in 2022, his life took an unexpected turn when he was forced to drop out of school to help parents, who worked in a tobacco farm for survival of the family.
Grecian’s dream of education was shattered as he found himself caught up in responsibilities as he helped his family.
He faced numerous challenges, but deep down his passion for learning never faded. He knew that education was the key to a better future not only for him but also for his family.
The Kawamba Community Child Labour Committee approached him during a community awareness campaigns on Child Labour and he never hesitated to take the chance of going back to school. The Committee is supported by Good Health Organization in collaboration with the Kasungu District Labour Office with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the Addressing decent work deficits and improving access to rights in Malawi’s tobacco sector (ADDRESS) project funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy.
The ADDRESS project ensured Grecian went back to school by providing him with learning materials to aid him in his academic pursuit such as: exercise books, pencils, and pens.
He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to resume his studies, noting the positive impact it has had on his life.
Grecian now enjoys associating with friends and exploring his creativity, thanks to the support provided by ADDRESS project.
“I am able to differentiate what I was doing with what the situation is now. Right now, I am able to associate with friends and share good stories. I wholeheartedly thank the address project for reaching out to me and helped me to go back to school and continue with my studies, now I have written end of primary school examinations, my only worry is what will happen if I pass these examinations,” says Grecian.
The primary school examinations are written by learners who are completing their final Grade at Primary school at National level. Six papers are administered and these are; English, Chichewa, Mathematics, Social and Religious Studies, Primary Sciences, Arts and Life Skills.