Programs: Pens and Pads for Progress

It is estimated that eighty-five percent of students in Liberia attend school without a pen or a piece of paper, and 28% of school dropouts in Malawi occur because the students can’t afford school supplies. In an effort to ensure that a lack of basic educational materials is not a barrier to education, Goods for Good is providing pens and pads to students and teachers throughout Malawi and Liberia.

To date, Goods for Good’s Pens and Pads for Progress initiative has provided over 565,000 pens and 412,000 notepads to over 420,000 school children. Since the beginning of this program, schools surveyed noted a 30% increase in attendance, greater equality among pupils and improved student and teacher motivation.

Each student enrolled in one of our partner schools receives two to three pens per term, depending on grade level. All school staff receives pens as well as notebooks for lesson planning. Additionally, for schools that qualify, G4G provides a Teacher Supply Closet, containing teaching and learning necessities to last the school year. This program has improved the learning environment for thousands of school- children.

Program Prose

" During the distribution, all the children were dancing. For many of them, these items were crucial for the exams; without the materials they would not have been able to prepare for or write the national exam”

- Hawah Goll-Kotchi, Deputy Minister of Education for Administration, Liberia

“We used to see a lot of children staying at home due to lack of pens but now we have noticed that those children are attending school regularly, and we are proud of this.”

- Village Headman Kavala, Malawi

“Students are excited about the beautiful pens, so they are spending more time writing their assignments. Now every student writes the work we give them and this makes our work as teachers much easier.”

- Lexy Guluwe, teacher at Kachulu Primary School, Malawi