On The Ground in Malawi: Friendship of Schools

Bridging the distance with ties of understanding

The Finnish-Malawian friendship of schools is a correspondence scheme between four Finnish and two Malawian schools. The aim is to give children of both countries an opportunity to learn about the nature and culture of each other and to promote a mutual understanding.

The participating schools

WWF Finland has initiated a cooperation between four Finnish schools and two Malawian schools.

Strömberg School from Helsinki, Finland, and Etelä-Sipoo School from Sipoo, Finland are in partnership with Nanthomba Primary School, which is in Liwonde, outside Liwonde National Park.

Vuosaari School from Helsinki, Finland, and Leinola School from Tampere, Finland, are in partnership with Namazizi School, which is in Chirombo Bay, near the town of Monkey Bay at the southern end of Lake Malawi.

Correspondence and drawings

The partnership includes correspondence between the schools and learning from each other’s countries.

The correspondence takes place three or four times a year. Finnish schoolchildren have also taken photos and made drawings for their Malawian friends, to illustrate what life is like in Finland. Malawian schoolchildren have, in turn, made drawings depicting their country for the Finnish children.

The Finnish schoolchildren have also collected some pencils, exercises books, and erasers, and donated them to their Malawian partners.

Learning and pride

The aim of the partnerships is to promote a better understanding between children from these countries, and to give them an opportunity to learn about each other’s culture and nature.

In Malawi, the idea is also to add to the benefits that local communities get from WWF Finland’s project – by making this contribution to education in schools and also by increasing children’s motivation to go to school.

It is also hoped that seeing how children in remote Finland take interest in the nature of Malawi, Malawian children will feel proud of their wildlife, contributing to their understanding of its uniqueness and to their motivation to protect it.