Five years in, and the passion of Dawson Creek’s young Rotarians towards helping girls in the African nation of Malawi get an education and change their lives is as strong as it ever has been.

The Interact Club – a Rotary Club for youth between the ages of 12 and 18 – once again hosted its annual Malawi Dinner fundraiser, this year at the George Dawson Inn last Friday evening. The group has literally helped to build the Astikana Pa Ulendo (APU) all-girls secondary school in Malawi brick by brick, and in doing so has helped to provide a brighter future for a generation of girls who might not otherwise have a chance at that education. Through live and silent auctions, raffles, and just by soliciting donations at the dinner, the Interact Club has raised over $130,000 towards the school since 2007, which has helped to build an entire classroom block, a hostel and a cafeteria.

“This year, all of the money we raise tonight is going to a teacher’s college so that the girls can continue with post-secondary down there. There’s a really high demand for teachers down there, as well,” said Bailey Coutts, 18, who was chairperson of the fundraiser this year.

“By doing this, we’re ensuring that they are getting teachers, who are going to go into their hometowns in Malawi and teach from there, and that will teach young girls in those communities that they can get an education and they can be leaders,” added Rebecca Lees, 17, who is president of the club.

Coutts said the school currently serves about 300 girls, mostly from rural areas. She said those girls are often not afforded a secondary school education, and end up getting married and having children at a young age without the skills to support their families. She said it is gratifying to hear about how the school is changing that life path for many girls there.

“We can tell that none of these efforts have gone to waste,” said Coutts. “The very first exam they had, they had a 100 per cent pass rate. We are changing these girls’ lives – without this school, they wouldn’t be where they are today.”

“We do think it’s such an important cause, because educating these girls is also going to help break the cycle of poverty,” she added.

The dinner featured a testimony to that success as the Interact Club welcomed a very special delegation, including two girls from the school’s very first graduating class last June.

“Their graduation was actually the exact same day as the Dawson Creek graduation, so it really hits home for us, because we experience the same thing on the same day,” said Coutts.

Angella Benjamin and Blandina Diva, both 17 years old, are actually in Dawson Creek on two-year scholarships offered by Northern Lights College to study early childhood education. They then plan to return to Malawi to pursue careers there.

The girls said they are grateful for the support of Dawson Creek towards their education, adding it changed the trajectory of their lives and gave them opportunities they did not otherwise have.

The Interact Club also welcomed Christie Johnson, co-founder of the school and executive director of the APU-Malawi Education Foundation in Canada, and Henry Mdyetseni, an engineer from Malawi who has helped design the school. Mdyetseni said the teacher’s college will be built in four phases and is estimated to cost about $250,000 to complete. He said the value of offering graduates of the secondary school a way to further pursue their education and go on to instruct the next generation cannot be understated.

“In our school, we don’t only teach the academics, we also teach the life skills and the values that people need to have,” said Mdyetseni. “When these students become teachers, we know for sure they take with them the values when they teach these young people, and we know that’s one of the ways we can have an impact on a bigger group, and for generations to come.”

Johnson said the continued support from Dawson Creek has been phenomenal.

“We owe a huge thank you to the community of Dawson Creek, because the community – not just the Interact Club, but many individuals and families – is currently supporting our girls,” she said. “Without this community, we would probably only be as half as far as we are.”

“We may not have even started, because the very first building was funded by people from Dawson Creek,” added Mdyetseni.

The Malawi Girls School has been a big focus for the Interact Club, but not the only one. The club has also helped to organize community dinners, have contributed to Samaritan’s Purse, and have a number of community-based projects planned for this year. Lees said the gratification of helping people in need is really what keeps her involved in the club.

“I love the satisfaction of knowing that I’m helping people,” she said. That’s the best thing about it, is finding out how they’ve benefited and how much all of the work we’ve done has helped. That has been the biggest thing for me, is to see other people’s joy from this.”