Malawi is one of the least-developed countries in the world. Out of a population of 15.9 million people, 1.3 million children are orphans, half due to the AIDS pandemic. For these orphans, education is the only way out of poverty, but education remains a huge challenge in Malawi. Primary school is free in Malawi but due to hidden fees such as the cost of school fund, uniforms and school supplies, many children drop out of school. UNICEF estimates that only 26% of boys and 16% of girls complete primary school. And there is no free secondary school education in Malawi. For orphan children, graduating from primary school is thus extremely difficult and attending secondary school hardly possible.

AIDS in Malawi
There is a high adult prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS, with an estimated 1,129,800 people (or 10.8% of the population) living with the disease in 2012. In 2012, 45,600 people died of AIDS. According to UNAIDS, 180,000 children are living with the virus

.Orphans
There are 1,300,000 orphans in Malawi, approximately half due to AIDS. Orphan-hood is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Orphans face problems such as lack of parental care; lack of adequate shelter and nutritious foods; limited access to education (with a higher drop out rate than children who are not orphans); increased risk of exploitation through abuse and child labor. And orphans are less likely to access health care.