Tenteleni ‣ Mchinji (Malawi)

Mchinji (Malawi)

Malawi is a small but densely populated country in land-locked Central Africa. Its scenery is beautiful, with the massive Lake Malawi forming its Eastern border and Mount Mulanje, the highest peak in Central Africa, dominating the South of the country. Malawians are renowned the world over for their warmth and friendliness, which is part of what makes Malawi such a great place to be - it’s almost impossible to walk anywhere without someone striking up a conversation with you. But this belies the terrible poverty that millions of Malawians face every day. Malawi is a peaceful country but remains one of the poorest in the world.

Mchinji

The Malawi Project was researched in 2003 and successfully piloted in 2004. The project is now known as the Mchinji project to better reflex the location of where we work. The project is based in an orphanage called the Home of Hope, which houses around 600 children and youths aged between one day and 25 years old. Volunteers are accommodated within the orphanage, with one pair of volunteers working in the orphanage primary, one pair in the orphanage secondary and the other two pairs working in the two local government schools.

The Project

The project dates are thirteen weeks from the 10th August to the 7th November

The project also aims to try and reach the many young people who are not in school and thus miss out on education altogether. To do this, volunteers also contribute to a variety of non-formal educational structures.

To this end since 2006 volunteers have been working in conjunction with local NGO’s (non - government organisations) whose work covers a broad range of areas, with volunteers primarily supporting their HIV and education programmes.

Due to the length and dates of the project, Mchinji offers an excellent opportunity for graduates to get first hand experience of working with local grass roots NGO’s in a development context. In 2007 one of the volunteers even extended their stay to continue working with one of our partner organisations.

This project is suited to those happy to work in a very rural community, where you will be expected to live and breathe rural Malawian culture. Without access to internet and other Western commodities on a regular basis, this project offers volunteers a truly unique experience of rural Malawi.

Volunteers are all accommodated within the orphanage placement, making it an intense project, as well as the longest, running for three months from mid-August to November.

Placements

· Mchinji Mission Primary School and Womens Voice (2 Volunteers)

This placement will divide its’ time between a local government school, which has a severe lack of resources and the nationally recognised organisation Women’s Voice. The school has classes which often exceed a hundred pupils and due to the age of children their English may be very limited. However the school is a very friendly and warm place to be, filled with pupils that are ready and willing to learn and approachable staff who are always on hand to support volunteers in their work. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to help with a range of exciting developments within Women’s Voice, such as non-formal education with out of school youths, assisting vulnerable people in will-writing skills and campaigns to promote basic human rights to women and children in particular. Womens Voice will also be very useful in assisting volunteers if they wished to set up a gender club in schools to help promote HIV/Aids awareness and behavioural change.

· Jane Glaves Primary School and Target National Relief and Development (TANARD) (2 Volunteers)

Volunteers will split their time between formal education in the on-site orphanage primary school and national NGO, TANARD. The work with TANARD was piloted in 2007 where volunteers were given the task of assisting with a pilot research project investigating violence against girls in schools, which had been commissioned by Action Aid international. TANARD runs a variety of projects throughout the year, including adult learning centres, an outreach programme which runs non-formal education programmes for children who have been traficked and children and youths who have been taken out of school and forced to work in agriculture. The NGO is also involved in community development programmes to try and relieve poverty and support the personal development of individuals. This placement would be ideal for volunteers seeking experience with an NGO which works in a development context, and would offer a great opportunity for graduates with a degree in sociology, development, politics etc to put their knowledge into practice!

· Mchinji Mission Community Day Secondary School and Youth Alive (2 Volunteers)

Volunteers will work in the local government secondary school, suffering from frequent staff shortages and overcrowded classrooms with few to no resources so a lot of energy, enthusiasm and initiative is a must for this placement! Many staff and children live on site, giving it a very welcoming and homely atmosphere. Volunteers with experience in teaching or willingness to take classes on their own may be more suited to this placement. The school has also requested that volunteers help the school to make full use of their library facilities and this would form an integral aspect of this placement. The work with Youth Alive will be primarily based in the local town, Mchinji Boma, but may also involve travelling round other towns and schools, giving workshops with the organisation and assisting in non-formal education programmes with out of school youths. Volunteers may also have the opportunity to support Youth Alive’s Home Based Care Programmes for local people who are affected by HIV/Aids.

· Home of Hope Secondary School and NAPHAM (2 volunteers)

On this placement, volunteers will work within the privately funded on-site orphanage secondary school and the nationally recognised NGO, NAPHAM which has its regional offices in the nearby town, Mchinji Boma. The Home of Hope Secondary School is still very young and understaffed, thus volunteer input is extremely useful. NAPHAM is a national organisation which aims to help and support people affected by HIV and Aids. It offers group, couple and individual counselling services; small business and development loans, and runs small money making schemes for clients to help support themselves. They also continue to promote HIV and Aids awareness and promote safe behaviours in the community. They wish for volunteers to help them in their efforts to source resources and expand their work, which may include advocacy work. .

Books

Unwinding Threads - a collection of short stories from female authors across Africa
North of South: An African Journey - Shiva Naipaul
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town - Paul Theroux
The Scramble for Africa - Thomas Pakenham

Websites

Useful Links and Resources

Books

Websites

www.dfid.gov.uk
www.royalafricansociety.org
Africa (PBS)
Africa Recovery
UK Foreign Office - If you are planning on travelling, check the foreign office travel warnings first for the most up to date information
The Malawi Project packs are available to current volunteers by registering an website account. To register, click on the link at the top of the page and create a new account. All packs are then available through the Volunteer Information page.