Struggling Malawi school gets 1.4M books from Melania Trump

LILONGWE, Malawi (AP) — Melania Trump got a different view of educating children as she visited an African primary school today that has benefited from U.S. assistance but struggles with an enrollment of more than 8,500 students. Some children learn lessons outdoors, seated shoulder-to-shoulder on loose, red dirt.

Mrs. Trump toured several outdoor classrooms at Chipala Primary School in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, the second stop on her four-nation tour of the continent. The school is among those in the landlocked country that receive education assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development, including textbooks.

Mrs. Trump was on hand as the U.S. ambassador handed over another 1.4 million books through a U.S.-funded national reading program. Malawi's schools have received some 9.6 million books under the program in the past several years.

"I wanted to be here to see the successful programs that [the] United States is providing the children and thank you for everything you've done," the U.S. first lady said at the book donation ceremony, held inside the school's library.