The Request to Rehabilitate
Mzuzu Technical College

Update 1st January 2011:
So far Euro 22,500 has been received from St Helena.
Kaning'ina Hostel has been completely renovated.  Students
are now occupying it.  Work has now begun on Lubinga
Hostel.

Background:
Mzuzu Technical College is located in the City of Mzuzu in Northern Malawi,
Central Africa.  The people of Northern Malawi are generally subsistence
farmers and very poor.  There are few opportunities for young people to
break out of the cycle of poverty unless they can gain saleable employment
skills.

The Mzuzu Technical College caters for both residential and day students in
their late teens or early twenties.  The College has a total enrollment of
approximately five hundred students of whom about three hundred and sixty
are boarders.  There is an equal distribution of male and female students with
many female students enrolled in courses not traditionally associated with
females, such as carpentry and motor mechanics.

The courses include carpentry, motor mechanics, building trades, electrical,
secretarial and accountancy training.  Courses in plumbing and refrigeration
will be offered for the first time in 2009.  (See the attached Programme for
details.)  These courses offer students useful life skills which will help to
improve their quality of life as well as give them a life long income.  See
Courses Programme for 2009.  At the end of their course, which is certified by
the Malawi Department of Education, each successful student is given a kit
with which to begin their trade.

The College is administered jointly by the Diocese of Mzuzu and the Malawi
Ministry of Education.  The Ministry supply and pay the staff while the Diocese
owns the College and is responsible for its’ maintenance.
The Technical College has over a period of time been quite badly vandalized,
especially during the struggle for democracy in Malawi.  Strong steps have
been taken by the current College management to ensure no further
vandalism or theft occurs.  The College management has also identified and
prioritized renovation and refurbishment work that is required to revitalize the
College and improve the living conditions of student boarders.

Renovation and Refurbishment Programme:
The Mzuzu Technical College renovation and refurbishment program will
commence with the renovation of
Kaningina Hostel and then proceed to
Lubinga Hostel.  These hostels require extensive repairs to its’ ceilings,
windows, doors and electrical installations to make it a pleasant and safe
environment for students.  


The specific renovation tasks to be undertaken include:
 Replace doors and locks
 Install security doors
 Repair lockers and replace locker doors
 Repair windows and replace louvers where required
 Repair ceilings
 Repair tiling in the shower room
 Repair plumbing where required
 Repair or replace electrical fittings and lights where damaged
 Repair roof and fascia board where required and paint
 Paint throughout the interior of the building
 External paving and drainage to be repaired where required.

As far as possible, renovation and repair work will be undertaken by Second and Third Year College students as part of the work experience component of
their courses.
The College Tutors will supervise all student work to ensure that all building
code requirements are met.
Rehabilitating Mzuzu Technical College
St Helena
Ungweru
St Helena
St Helena
St Helena
Ungweru