January 2020

Welcome to another update for Mphatikizo and apologies as usual for the lateness of our Update. Currently this finds me and the kids back in New Zealand having returned late last year, with Regina remaining in Malawi to keep things on track. The decision for myself and the kids to return was driven by both financial needs and for the kids’ schooling which was suffering in Malawi. I will return once Diana is settled with school and some much-needed funds are back in the bank!! These times apart are always difficult for our family but are part of our commitment both to Malawi and Mphatikizo. This year we spent New Year with the Fitzgerald family in Methven and whilst talking Mphatikizo with Richard, understood how much we have achieved in Mtubwi over the last year.

New Year is often a time of reflection and so this update will simply highlight all the wonderful work the Mphatikizo family has achieved in 2019. Here is a snapshot of what has been achieved during 2019 with your help:

  • We fed any where from 45 to 100 children two meals daily at the feeding centre

  • Introduced a Phonics programme of teaching for both the children attending our centre and some 7 outlying communities running their own feeding centres

  • Provided support in the form of Lukuni Palor – a kind of porridge (donated by the Joyce Banda Foundation) to remote communities managing their own orphans

  • Built a two roomed cottage for one family and replaced the roof on two more homes

  • Built a new kitchen at the community centre and included a more environmentally sustainable cooking system so there is less burning of firewood

  • Supported the elderly and the vulnerable in Mtubwi with food packages and medical assistance

  • Supported the community both financially and logistically with funerals and medical emergencies

  • Planted some 600 trees, both for food production and firewood

  • Ran courses on bee keeping, tree planting and seed saving

  • Repaired and maintained water boreholes in the Machinga district

  • Ran 3 medical missions, both as outreach programs to outlying villages and as clinics at Mphatikizo. These clinics treated in total some 2018 patients.

  • Assisted local children with school fees, uniforms and books

  • Provided emergency housing and repairs following the cyclone earlier in the year

  • Formed Mphatikizo football and netball teams for local kids. The happiness these two projects gave the community was unbelievable!!!

  • Provided jobs and ganu for numerous local people and therefore much needed incomes

  • Established the market garden to provide both food and income for Mphatikizo • Hosted 20 volunteers from New Zealand

  • Established a mobile library and book exchange programme which goes out into surrounding villages

I am sure I have not included everything but below are some pictures of our year gone.

Last but not least the photo on the left shows the kids from Mphatikizo heading into our local town, Liwonde, for their Christmas breakup party. Normally at this time of year we would put on a Christmas lunch for the community but this year we decided to send all the kids on a road trip to Liwonde for lunch followed by a trip to the Shire river to see the hippos. The kids are dressed in their Mphatikizo school uniforms.

Well that’s about it from me. The last photograph was taken of my family at our house shortly before the kids and I left for New Zealand. I hope this update shows all the wonderful achievements Mphatikizo has managed in 2019. Sometimes we focus on all the negatives forgetting all that we have achieved. Mphatikizo lives in a very poor region of Malawi and for the people there we offer the only hope they have. Thank you to everyone for your continued love and support. Mphatikizo’s work is only achieved by the efforts of many and I am constantly uplifted by people’s caring and love for those of us with nothing.

I hope Christmas finds you with friends and family, and from the Smedley’s, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Love and hugs

The team at Mphatikizo