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22 July 2021
The ambitious project came about after Junior School teacher Mrs Julia Marsden visited Malawi to work with street children.
The (S)miles for Malawi campaign was launched in April with support from ‘The Voice of Manchester Races’ Andy O’Sullivan MBE. The girls set themselves the collective target of travelling 12,000 kilometres: the distance between Bolton School and the planned site of the school in Malawi. In a matter of weeks, they achieved their aim through walking, swimming, running, cycling and a host of other activities that got the whole school moving and invested in the cause!
In May, Year 3 pupil Kylá Chenda-Joseph and her mum Mara, who is originally from Malawi, shared the School’s campaign with the First Lady of Malawi, Madam Monica Chakwera, and women from across the Malawian diaspora during a multi-national Zoom call. They received positive messages of support from the other attendees, and the First Lady herself was very impressed.
At the end of the summer term, Year 6 pupils committed to yet another fundraising challenge. Pooling their efforts, they climbed the height of Malawi’s highest mountain, Mulanje Massif, on the Boys’ Division climbing wall. They exceeded their target of 3002m in a single day!
As a result, the girls are now standing at 10% of their overall target with £5,000 raised.
This is a fantastic achievement, but of course there is another £45,000 still to raise. If you would like to add to the Junior Girls’ fundraising total, please donate generously on the JustGiving page.
The (S)miles for Malawi campaign even featured in this year’s ‘Song of the Earth’ summer concert: the girls shared why they are raising money to build a school before bursting into song and dance to ‘Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)’ – watch the whole thing on Bolton School TV.
