Atsikana Pa Ulendo (APU) is dedicated to helping young Malawian women achieve self-sufficiency through education.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide high quality education to girls from the rural areas of Malawi who would be otherwise unable to continue with their education beyond primary school, due to a lack of financial support.

Vision

We aim to achieve lasting improvements in the quality of life of young girls and women living in poverty and in so doing, spark a ripple effect of reduced poverty, illness, malnutrition, early marriage, overpopulation and gender bias that will be felt and magnified throughout the country of Malawi and throughout the world.  Our vision is of a world where young girls have equal opportunities to realize their full potential as human beings.

Values

We Believe:

• * That real and lasting change comes from a grassroots approach in which the vision for change and its implementation must originate with the people who seek to improve their own lives.
• * In the central importance financial and operational sustainability.  APU has a working plan in place to move towards financial independence from its Canadian partner, the APU Malawi Educational Foundation.
• * In supporting local economy and investing in the human potential of our Malawian partners through purchasing all materials locally and using local skilled and unskilled labour in the operations and construction of our school.
• * In a participatory approach to education with our students, their parents and/or guardians, our teachers and administrators working together towards a common goal. Our students are not recipients of donations, rather they are partners in investment in human potential.
• * In the importance of Malawian, female mentors and role models in positions of authority such as our school Director, our teaching staff and the Malawi Trust Board Executive.
• * In the pursuance of environmental stewardship as a central construct of the development of our school facilities, as well as our agricultural methods.
• * That our overseas partner, APU Malawi Trust, is our equal partner in development.
• * A human rights framework should be central to development.
• * In every person’s equal right to food, clean water, shelter, healthcare, sustainable livelihood, and education.
• * All people have the power to give of themselves to others.  Service learning is central to our curriculum, allowing our students to realize that they are already able to make positive change in their families, villages and communities.