March News Letter 2016

Welcome to the first newsletter of Mphatikizo for 2016. I hope this finds you all well rested after the holidays and new year period.

This year will see some big changes and challenges for the charity which is organisationally still very much growing and has much to learn .Peoples patience and support is both, much needed and appreciated, and we would like to thank people for their ongoing assistance and support. This year Malawi has seen both an increase in numbers suffering from hunger and poverty and has the added burden of refugees running from increasing violence in Mozambique . The need is still very much growing and the impact we are able to make on the ground in Malawi is very significant.

Mphatikizo Orphanage /Community Centre

The wonderful news here is that we will be opening this year with a date that will be announced latter in the year. Strong winds have twice damaged the roof which is an issue that we will have to deal with once we are there. All that said though the orphanage is ready , the library /resource centre has books on its shelves and whist the medical clinic has a bed and some furniture we are still looking for some medical expertise to help set it up.

Child sponsorship is currently sitting at about 12 permanent sponsors and growing by the week. We would like as many beds as possible to have a sponsor before children occupy them so this is still a work in progress ! The wonderful news here is that the facilities and money are now there to help at least 12 children ,thank you to everyone for their hard work and involvement.

The corn being grown in Mphatikizos garden is now being harvested and will be bagged and stored for use in the community for people requiring assistance. This project has been a wonderful example of community empowerment and determination together with hard work. The years end will see children in the beds but we still need to find sponsorship for some 38 children.

Volunteer Groups

Great to be able to say we have a group of 10 Lincoln University students coming to Malawi for about 3 weeks early next year. Organised by a fellow student Jess they will fund raise for their own projects which will be targeting agriculture / dairy and are inline with their university studies. For Regina and I this is a wonderful step forward and is very much in line with Mphatikizo ethos. We hope this will be the start of an on going relationship and are very excited to be involved with this groups project. We welcome them all to Mphatikizo and look forward to some blogs regarding their project and where we can help.

School Sponsorship Programme

Not much news to report here which is always good news with all the kids doing well and passing their exams! Of note is that Nico is currently completing his last year of high School and sitting exams. Once he has completed these we will sit down with him to discuss where he wants to go and how best we can be of assistance. Academically Nico has always worked hard and done well.

Micro Finance Scheme.

As with other projects this has been very much on hold with all our energy being absorbed by the Orphanage/Community centre. The great news here is that with the opening of the Orphanage comes the re commencement in earnest of this wonderful project. Once in Malawi Regina and I will be looking at the long term sustainability of these businesses and investing much energy into this project. We have been promised funding for a community run bakery and would like to see the establishment of several community run businesses including eventually a dairy. Malawi continues to suffer from high unemployment which we hope this project can help address.

Van Fundraising

Our last big fundraising target before leaving New Zealand is for the Orphanage mini van which will also be used by the community as an ambulance. A huge thanks to Rosalee who both designed the brochure and banner but also donated the signage used at our last market. Still a lot of work to do here but eventually we will see a Givealittle page and there will be a fundraising dinner. More news to follow.

Zikomo

A big thankyou to everyone from Regina ,myself , the trustees ,and the people in Malawi. This year has seen an increase in the need for assistance in Malawi with the Liwonde area being badly affected. The help that Mphatikizo is providing in Malawi is making a difference to many people but is only able to be done with your incredible help and support. Many thanks and much love. Together we will make a difference.

Regina and Bob

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