Bermuda Overseas Missions Virtual Tag Month
The Bermuda Overseas Missions [BOM] will be holding the virtual tag month in February “to help support the school children of Malawi achieve their dreams of a decent education.”
A spokesperson said, “Bermuda Overseas Missions [BOM] is now in its third year to continue supporting High School Children to attend school. This charity focuses on mentoring youth by taking students from Bermuda to different countries to help construct family homes for needy families. Additionally the charity supports development of education as well as helping communities to be supplied with clean drinking water.
“As part of its mission to improve the lives of impoverished families around the world, BOM visited the Mulanje district of Malawi in 2015, 2017 and 2019. During the visit in 2017 while working in the village of Magreta, the group discovered that girls as young 12 and 13 were being married off because families could not afford to educate them. Boys, meanwhile, had stopped going to school to work as subsistence farmers, or on the tea plantations in the district.
“The African nation is one of the poorest on the continent and the cost of going to high school, often as little as $15 per term, means the most disadvantaged children get only a basic education. As a result, in some areas of the country, the literacy rate has dropped to just 24 per cent.
“The plight of these children struck a chord with the BOM group, which included many students from CedarBridge Academy and Berkeley Institue. The volunteers resolved to try and do something for the children in Magreta, and surrounding villages visited by the charity.
“With funds raised by the charity they have been able to support 78 children to attend high school of which 31 are girls. Recently 5 students have graduated and one has been chosen to attend university on a government grant.
“The cost to send one student to High school for a full year [three terms] is $180. This includes tuition fees, school uniform, backpack, books and other supplies.
“In February 2021 BOM will invite the public to participate in a virtual tag month to help support the school children of Malawi achieve their dreams of a decent education.”
Mr. Thompson added “If we can help educate the children of Malawi we teach them to enrich their own lives and in turn they can make a long term difference to the future of their village, their district, and even their country. Some of the students who have gone through our programme have enlisted for further education and are pursuing careers in medicine and engineering”. This would never have been possible without giving them an opportunity to finish their primary education”.
“We realise this is a four-year commitment to finance each child, and are seeking additional support in our efforts to help the children of these villages make a difference to their lives.”
“With the Covid-19 Pandemic it was not possible to continue our student trips in 2020 and we are discussing our plans for 2021. However in the meantime we can still help the people of Malawi by supporting the education of their children. Anyone interested in taking part should contact David Thompson on david@bom.bm.”
The Bermuda Overseas Missions Information Sheet follows below [PDF here]
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