Fundraising Target
$77,970
(Tax Deductible)
Project Type
Community Development|Education & Training
$77,444
Raised so far this year
Recent Updates
17/12/23 - Thank you for your continued partnership with this project over so many years. We are excited to see the sensitisation workshops continue into the final year for this project. The the apps are able to be completed with sound files to further enrich the dictionary. Thank you for your years of generosity! Please join us supporting the final year of this life-changing project among the Yawo.
Details
Project Code: MLdi413
Yawo school children require English for their education in Malawi. With multidimensional poverty causing social and linguistic barriers, education can be extremely difficult for Yawo children and their families.
To address the barriers, this project saw two dictionaries produced and published:
- The English-Ciyawo Leaner’s Dictionary and
- The Ciyawo-English Learner’s Dictionary, along with accompanying Android and Apple smartphone applications (apps).
These offer a first-of-their-kind resource to the Yawo of Malawi. The dictionaries were created to assist Yawo students grow in their capacity in English for primary and secondary education and address the low language comprehension rates.
Your support made that possible! Now this project is embarking on its final chapter…
With 800 dictionaries now in circulation and the numbers purchased far exceeding expectations, the Mangochi Department of Education has invited our former Intercultural Team Member, Ian, and a team of Yawo people to run workshops for Yawo students and schools in Mangochi, Malawi.
These sensitisation workshops are to equip primary and secondary students, and teachers, to best utilise the written and online dictionary publications, maximising long-term education and employment opportunities. Ian and the Yawo people involved are invited to run sensitisation workshops in 16 education zones and 24 community secondary schools, covering both primary and secondary schools in the broader Mangochi area. We want to see the linguistic benefits of dictionaries accessible for all Yawo!
The project will also see voice recording files added to the smartphone apps so that each person using the dictionary apps are able to hear pronunciations and examples of the words used in a relevant context. The goal is to help students hear, understand and communicate speech in the most natural manner possible in both Ciyawo and English.
Total project costs include:
- Staffing and running the sensitisation workshops
- Equipment and resourcing
- Ian’s travel costs
- Technology and expertise in creating and finalising the smartphone application sound files
- Teacher and student lunch and travel allowances
This project will conclude at the end of 2024.
Partnering with the final chapter of the Ciyawo-English Dictionary Project equips Yawo students to maximise the benefits of written and spoken English and Ciyawo in their oral society, strengthening education and future employment opportunities for the next generation of Yawo.
Gifts to this project are Tax Deductible.
Important Note
Each project item is a small part of a larger program of community transformation. The values listed are an estimate of how much each item costs within the broader program. If your selected project item is already fully funded when your gift arrives, we will allocate your gift to items that fulfill a similar purpose. All care is taken to ensure project and gift information on this website is accurate and up to date. However, project information may change without notice. If you wish to discuss your project choice, call the Project Coordinator 1800 329 165 or email projects@baptistmissionaustralia.org.