Category: Donations

Community, Donations

Wedding bells raise funds for Malawi

Phunzira

Saturday 29th July 2023 marked the joyous occasion of the wedding of John (the father of Philippa, one of our Trustees) to his partner Annett. In lieu of wedding presents, they asked for donations towards two charities close to their hearts and Phunzira was lucky to be one of these charities. The donations made to Phunzira came in at just over £700, which is hugely generous!

On behalf of the entire Phunzira team and the communities we serve, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to John and Annett for thinking of Phunzira and to each one of the guests who generously contributed to our cause. Their support makes a real contribution to our current and future projects and means we can continue to make a positive impact in Ruarwe.

Once again, Tawonga Chomene for being a part of our journey and for sharing the love and joy of John and Annett’s special day with the community in Ruarwe!

Community, Donations, Healthcare

Medicines for clinics

Phunzira

During the years of NYM’s closure we have been fortunate enough to source funds via trustees for medical emergencies, such as the provision of sanitation units during the three years of covid. Since receiving a recent grant, NYM has assisted two clinics in the catchment area with life-saving medicines during a recent nationwide outbreak of cholera (which has fortunately subsided), as well as recent purchase of antibiotics due to a government shortage affecting clinics nationwide. There have been no antibiotics in either Ruarwe or Khondowe clinics for many months, resulting in unnecessary deaths due to simple illnesses that were otherwise treatable. Both clinics are now stocked for many months to come, by which time the usual government provision of medicines will have hopefully resumed.

Community, Donations, Fundraising

Grant awarded to re-open community centre

Phunzira

Phunzira was lucky enough to receive a grant this month from The E and N Watson Charitable Trust, originally applied for over the summer by our Heath Coordinator Philippa Mander. The trust was originally established in 2014 and makes a number of grants to charitable organisations each year. Since covid hit in 2020, our charity has suffered financially and has struggled to recover without the assistance and goodwill donations of the volunteers usually passing through. We are extremely grateful to the trust for enabling our small charity to keep running and provide essential community services to some of the poorest people in the world. The extremely kind and sizeable donation will facilitate the re-opening of Phunzira’s community projects and volunteer programme in Malawi at the start of next year so WATCH THIS SPACE!

Donations, Healthcare, Malawi

Emergency cholera medicines

Phunzira

For over a month there has been a nationwide outbreak of cholera across Malawi. At the request of Ruarwe and Khondowe health centres, Phunzira has sourced funds in order to purchase necessary and life-saving medicines to stock the two clinics. The funds were collected by our Heath Coordinator Philippa during an on-site visit and purchased from a private seller in nearby city Mzuzu, due to poor availability of government stockpiles in all other local pharmacies. The outbreak is hitting worst in southern cities such as Blantyre, where population density is high and sanitation services are poor, however most parts of the country have now sadly felt the devastating and life-threatening consequences of the outbreak, which continues to grow for now.

Community, Donations, Fundraising, Malawi

Donation appeal during coronavirus crisis

Phunzira

While we’ve had to pause Phunzira and Nyumba ya Masambiro’s usual activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, hardships within the community continue. We have made it our mission to support the wider community in Ruarwe, that said, we have had to shift our focus. We have been informed by a healthcare professional that all the soap available in the village has been bought up. We all know that washing your hands with soap is absolutely key in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, we want to source funds to purchase soap in Nkhata Bay and transport it to Ruarwe for distribution within the larger community. We will arrange distribution with elderly and vulnerable citizens in mind and manage it as fairly as possible.

Any additional funds raised will be used for ongoing COVID-19 response activities and ongoing wider needs within the community.

Please head to our Donate Page to help us support the community.

Thank you for your generosity at this difficult time, when everyone is having to tighten their belts globally. Yewo Chomene!

Community, Donations, Education, Fundraising, Malawi

Donation of exercise books, pens and pencils to primary schools

Phunzira

At the end of the year, previous Nyumba ya Masambiro volunteer Mecki very generously donated funds that allowed the purchase of 300 exercise books, 300 pens and 300 pencils. These were distributed to the primary schools in Ruarwe, Mazomera and Nkhoso.

The NYM Project Coordinator, Ishmael, had a wonderful time distributing the materials and sends his deep gratitude on behalf of NYM and the 3 primary schools for this generous donation. The kids were elated!

While state primary education is free in Malawi, parents must provide the exercise books, writing materials and school uniforms for their children, and those without these items are turned away from school. Sadly, for some, even these small costs are prohibitively expensive so this donation allows many children to remain in school, which is fantastic.
A huge thank you to Mecki for fundraising and providing this fantastic donation! Yewo Chomene!

Community, Donations, Education, Malawi, Volunteers, Youth

A wonderful donation from volunteer Mecki Ballantyne

Phunzira

This summer Nyumba ya Masambiro was joined by volunteer Mecki Ballantyne. Mecki is an experienced teacher who worked with the Ishmael, the Youth Co-ordinator and Frank, the Project Manager to share her skills and expertise for the benefit of the youth in Ruarwe and its catchment area.

Following her return to Germany, Mecki collected together a wonderful donation of almost 40 early-years reading books for the children’s section of the Nyumba ya Masambiro library. The community children love the injection of new reading materials. Most afternoons the children’s corner of the library is filled with children of all ages enjoying the pictures and sounding out the words alone or in small groups. These books are already making a huge difference to the confidence and desire to read, which is such a vital part of educational development.

Thank you so much Mecki for your time spent in Ruarwe and for continuing to think of Ruarwe with this wonderful and generous donation. Yewo Chomene!

Community, Donations, Healthcare, Malawi

Donation of a portable nebuliser to Ruarwe Clinic

Phunzira

In January, Ruarwe Clinic was delighted to receive the wonderful donation of a portable nebulisation unit. Nebulisers can administer saline, adrenaline, salbutamol and more to alleviate symptoms of respiratory conditions including asthma, chest infections and more. Respiratory conditions represent a large portion of conditions seen in Ruarwe and the surrounding areas due to a number of factors, a key one being the need to cook over open fires year round resulting in regular exposure to smoke inhalation.

Out-going Zulunkhuni River Lodge managers Anneke and Hartmut, who have contributed so much to this community in their time here, donated the nebuliser unit via Phunzira. We would like to extend a huge thank you to Anneke and Hartmut for this extremely generous donation, which is being used on a regular basis and is making a huge difference to the community in how staff at the centre can now treat respiratory emergencies. Yewo Chomene!

Community, Donations, Fundraising, Healthcare, Malawi

Donation of Maternity Items to Ruarwe Clinic

Phunzira

At the start of this year, Ruarwe Clinic received a wonderful donation of maternity medical items. Donated by Anneke and Hartmut Jagau and Phunzira, the clinic received Maternity Pads, Sterile Cord Clamps, plastic Fetoscopes and Vaginal Speculums as well as Urinalysis Sticks.

Given the remote location of Ruarwe, pregnant mothers are encouraged to go to either the larger clinic in Usisya, Nkhata Bay District Hospital or Mzuzu Central Hospital to deliver. This journey and the stay away from the village, and their families as they are waiting to deliver, can be prohibitively expensive for many expectant mothers. As a result of which, many mothers remain in Ruarwe to deliver. The District Health Team is building a new and improved clinic building in Ruarwe, which will have the space, drugs and equipment to facilitate safer deliveries in the village. The wonderful Community Midwife Technician Helen Msisya from the Ruarwe Zone has been trained and assigned to Ruarwe Health Centre for this purpose. While community members await the completion and opening of this new facility, the staff at the clinic requested these items to facilitate safer deliveries already happening in the village. A huge thank you to the Jagau family and Phunzira donors for making this delivery of essential equipment possible!

Community, Donations, Malawi, Sports, Youth

Donation of Netball Dresses to Nyumba ya Masambiro

Phunzira

We are so grateful to the team at RUMS, the medical school attached to University College London, for their donation of netball dresses to Nyumba ya Masambiro. The dresses were brought out to Malawi and the staff at NYM was delighted to show them off immediately.

The dresses are being stored at Nyumba ya Masambiro but word has been passed around that any local team is welcome to come and borrow them when they have a competitive match in the area. The dresses were used for this purpose by Khomola Village team in a match against Banda Village. Khomola were so thrilled with the use of the dresses that they were spurred on to a 3:2 win against Banda!

We are always keen to promote and encourage female participation in sport and netball is very popular in Malawi, and a sport that women are happy to play. This donation of dresses and their availability for use is already encouraging more matches being scheduled. We are also delighted to see that women’s netball matches in recent months are also starting to draw bigger crowds, more like those often seen at the men’s football matches so we are starting to see a move towards more equality in sport, which is such a fantastic achievement by these community netball teams. RUMS – Thank you so much for your donation of these dresses and their contribution to gender equality in sport in this area in Malawi – Tawonga Chomene!