October 2019

Welcome to another update from Mphatikizo, as we get to what we hope is the end of another dry season, the weather being extremely hot with all and sundry looking for both water and shade. Soon the landscape will  change with the coming of the rains and a different set of challenges for everyone living here. We have had another busy month here in Mtubwi with some great work happening both at the Orphanage and several of the outlying communities in our catchment area. We were fortunate to have help from American Aid in the form of Christina, a Californian, working with the Peace Corps here in Malawi for 2 years. Christina ran a crash course in bee keeping, to six local people, who we intend to pass on their skills to the surrounding communities, with us supplying bee hives and basic equipment/knowledge. This is just the start of our work with Christina who will also run workshops on Tree planting and conservation, with the Peace Corps donating some 600 fruit trees for the project and of course Christina who will run the workshops. These will happen early next month and I would like to thank Christina in advance for all her help and support.

This month also saw the delivery of 12 bales of   Lukuni Palor, kindly donated to us from the Joyce Banda Foundation located in Domasi a short drive from Mtubwi. The Palor was delivered by Regina and myself to 4 different communities within our catchment. The targeted communities maintain and  run their own feeding centres with

no outside funding, local families donating a bowl of nsima daily to help feed the orphans in their village. At this time of year many families do not have the food to give and many children go hungry. We hope this donation is the beginning of ongoing support from Joyce Banda with Mphatikizo delivering the porridge together with books and teaching materials from our library on a fortnightly basis.

The pictures above show Young, our resident artist, finishing the painting of our kitchen. The Rocket Stove shown on the left has proved a tremendous success with our firewood bill being greatly reduced with the added benefit of course, saving trees! This beautiful kitchen will come into its own during the rains meaning food preparation can happen in a sanitary and of course dry area. The need for this building came about due to the increasing numbers of kids attending the feeding centre, especially at this time of year, with numbers at times topping the 100 mark.

This month also saw the return of children from school holidays with two new teachers joining us, Chippy and Jusinta. As of writing, they have been wonderful additions to the school and we hope will breathe more life into our education and Phonics programme, set up by Phoebe late last year. The term start also saw the formation of a women’s committee that will oversee the day to day running of the pre –school and feeding centre. They will ensure both food preparation, cleaning, cooking and purchasing of ingredients for the Palor is managed effectively by the volunteers/parents. This is a major step in the right direction with the community empowered, running and making decisions concerning their welfare, taking ownership of Mphatikizo.

The pictures above are of the Market garden which continues to flourish and provide much needed vegetables to local families. All work in the gardens is done on a volunteer basis with only one paid Gardner to oversee the entire project. The tomatoes shown are the product of organic seeds donated from New Zealand and will become part of our seed saving project in the future. The picture on the right show’s repairs to the borehole at the Orphanage, with this year being the first year for this well to run dry. It illustrates both the future and the need for water management here in Malawi. Population growth and a changing climate is putting immense pressure on food supply, access to water and its management. The market garden, run on an Organic Model, is an incredibly important direction for Mphatikizo in addressing this problem and can be hugely beneficial for families already struggling with food security.

Thank you to everyone everywhere for their continued love and support. Together we will make change happen.

Much Love

The Smedley Family and Mphatikizo team.