‘Together we are powerful’: Rihanna and Julia Gillard partner to improve education in Malawi

Popstar and founder of the Clara Lionel Foundation, Rihanna, partnered with former prime minister and chair of Global Partnership for Education, Julia Gillard, in a heart-warming display of girl-power.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 50 per cent of people living below the poverty line.

With only 8 per cent of students continuing to high school, the and aim to secure $3.1 billion dollars to improve Malawi's education system.

Primary education is compulsory under the Revised Education Act 2012 in Malawi.

However, poor infrastructure, long distances, poverty, and child marriages often prevent children, particularly girls, from accessing education. There is also a lack of basic classroom resources such as textbooks and chalk.
It is common to find 100 children crammed into one classroom, an unmanageable number for the country's teachers. Some classes are even forced to be held outside.

The Regional Executive Director of the Camfed Association, Angeline Murmirawa, said she was surprised by the "magnitude" of need in the area.

Rihanna and Ms Gillard spent a week in the region, teaching students math, biology and soccer, with Rihanna using her musical talent as a learning tool throughout the trip.
"It's amazing, the way they learn though, I love that they learn in melody, that's like my favourite thing, because kids, they adopt melody really, really quickly," Rihanna said.

The duo also met with key government officials and organisations to establish ways the charities can support Malawi to improve its education system and end extreme poverty by 2030.

Dateline: India's Beautiful Minds


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Published 8 June 2017 4:54pm
By Marissa Alexiou


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