Following last year’s improvements to the spring above Nyumba ya Masambiro, and the installation of a standpipe for the staff and community to be able to collect water, a cement slab has been created at the site of the standpipe. The slab makes it easier for collection of water as well as channelling any run-off into the stream to stop it from flowing through NYMs campus.
The standpipe allows many community members to collect water from a clean source nearer their homes, and saves them the journey down the valley to the lake and back to collect water.
We are delighted that it draws more community members to the centre, who stop by and chat with the staff and access our facilities as they go about their daily lives.
On 23rd March, our Nyumba y a Masambiro Youth team played an exciting football match against Khomola Youth at the Beach Ground. Although the final score was 1–2 in favour of Khomola Youth, our team played with determination and showed good teamwork and sportsmanship throughout the game.
The match was attended by over 100 people from the community, who came to watch and support the players. Before heading down to the ground, there was music and dancing in the NYM Youth Hall, creating an enjoyable and lively atmosphere for everyone.
After the match, everyone shared a delicious meal of goat, nsima, rice, and tea, which gave the youth and supporters time to sit together and chat.
The day also included discussions encouraging the young people to work hard, play well, and maintain good behaviour. There were question-and-answer sessions between the two youth groups on school subjects, helping to build confidence and support learning.
Although the result did not go NYM’s way, the day was a positive time of sport, learning and community involvement. We are proud of our youth team and look forward to the next match!
Nyumba ya Masambiro has always been lucky to have good access to water, despite being up the valley from the lake. A natural spring, which flows year-round, even in the dry season, is situated at the top of NYM’s land.
During Covid, this spring water was channelled into a small settling pond and then piped to the Health Centre, just next door to NYM to allow for easy access to clean water that the facility. The remainder continued to flow towards NYM for the needs there.
This December, a team from the NYM staff, the health centre staff and some experts from the community centre worked together to rechannel the water. A fresh concrete reinforced settling tank was built, as well as a water tank able to hold approximately 1,000litres at a time. Pipework was installed to pipe the water from the storage tank direct to both the health centre and a newly installed stand pipe at Nyumba ya Masambiro.
The new system better preserves and channels the water to both institutions, allowing for cleaning, flushing toilets and showers at the health centre and a constant supply of water at NYM, which many community members who live up the valley away from the lake come to use on a daily basis.
The trees planted by the EARTH Workshops team from Nkhata bay will continue to preserve the spring as a water source for years to come, and a bamboo fence protects the water source from roaming and grazing animals, keeping the water source clean and safe.
Following an extensive reorganising and clear out of the Nyumba ya Masambiro library, by volunteers Jeremy and Norma alongside the staff at NYM, we were delighted to be able to donate some text books in English, maths, the sciences, some novels and more to Khondowe CDSS (Community Day Secondary School) and Bunga CDSS within our catchment area, as well as Stepping Stones Primary School in Nkhata Bay, which recently opened their library and skills centre to the wider community. We are delighted that these books, which we had in multiple duplicates, could be shared to other institutions, which otherwise would not have access to such a range of books.Â
Nyumba ya Masambiro was delighted to welcome back Thom and Maxwell from the EARTH Workshops programme at Butterfly Space in Nkhata Bay. While they had primarily been invited by local farmers and gardeners to visit Kwenthu, in the mountains behind Ruarwe and within the NYM catchment area, they came via Nyumba ya Masambiro to maximise the impact of their visit to this remote community.
The EARTH Workshops team first ran a refresher training session at NYM for staff and interested community stakeholders. The session focused on water preservation and sustainable land management. As part of the training, they brought 50 seedlings of indigenous trees and fruit vines to be planted on and around NYM’s land.
Several of the indigenous tree species were specifically selected for their deep tunnelling root systems, which play a vital role in water management. Together, the group planted some of these trees around the natural spring just above NYM’s land. This spring provides year-round water to both Nyumba ya Masambiro and the health centre next door. The trees’ deep roots help create channels down to the water table, drawing water upwards and helping to ensure the spring continues to flow even during the dry season. In addition, their roots stabilise the soil on the hillside, while their branches and broad leaves provide shade to reduce water loss through evaporation.
Following the session at NYM, Thom and Maxwell travelled uphill to Kwenthu to lead a two-day follow-up workshop with local farmers. The farmers had attended training last year and specifically requested this return visit to reinforce lessons learned and to discuss challenges they had encountered while implementing new techniques. It was encouraging to see such commitment to sustainable farming practices within the community.
The remaining seedlings will be planted around the spring and across NYM’s land once protective fencing has been secured to guard against goats and pigs. We look forward to many more years of clean, clear water flowing from the spring as a result of this important work.
A huge thank you to the team from EARTH Workshops for making the journey to Ruarwe and for so generously sharing your knowledge and expertise with our community.
It is with enormous gratitude that we have said farewell to the Chair Trustee of Nyumba ya Masambiro. John Chizalero Msuku, known to friends, family and community members as Dada Jolote, tendered his resignation from the Board of Trustees at Nyumba ya Masambiro after almost 10 years of service to enter his well-deserved retirement.
Dada Jolote has guided the board as Chair Trustee with a steady hand and strong heart. We are so grateful to him for his calm demeanour and strong voice. Protecting NYM and leading it with the benefit of the whole community at the forefront of all his decisions.
He has supported and championed the work of Nyumba ya Masambiro through the lean times and the successful ones. We are so grateful for his sound council and his patience, and under his guidance NYM has progressed from strength to strength.
For those who did not meet Dada Jolote, know that his first question when we discussed his retirement meeting and farewell was: “Will there be music? I want to dance!” And so there was! We wish him a peaceful and restful, well-deserved retirement with his family, and all the music he wishes for so that he can dance whenever he fancies!
Dada Jolote, tawonga chomene for all your years of service!! Yewo yewo!!
Medical assistant Paul Kabuzi from Ruarwe health centre has approached Nyumba ya Masambiro with an interesting proposal. Behind the NYM buildings, lies some fresh, fertile land, which has been gardened in the past, but not for the last 5 years or so. Paul proposes to use that land to grow onions, tomatoes, coco yams and more to supplement the available vegetables for the community of Ruarwe. The profits of the sales of these vegetables will then be split between Paul for the labour of farming the land, and a small portion to NYM as rental for the piece of land.Â
We are delighted with the proposal and wish Paul all the best of luck this coming growing season.Â
Phunzira is delighted to share the successful completion of Phase Two of our menstrual health and hygiene program in partnership with Supreme Sanitary Pads, a social enterprise based in Nkhata Bay that produces reusable menstrual pads locally.
Following the impactful rollout of Phase One in six primary schools within the Nyumba Ya Masambiro (NYM) catchment area, Phase Two has now been delivered to the remaining four primary schools—meaning that all 10 primary schools in the area have now received the education and distribution program.
Following the training received in phase one, phase two was taught and rolled out by Stanley and Shidah from Nyumba Ya Masambiro. As in Phase One, the program was delivered to both boys and girls, with a mixture of joint and separate sessions to ensure sensitivity to local customs while actively working to break down stigma and misinformation surrounding menstruation.
In addition to student sessions, local ambassadors from the school mothers’ groups were trained to ensure the sustainability of the program. These ambassadors are now equipped to continue delivering menstrual health education within their schools and communities, strengthening long-term impact.
Each student who participated received a reusable sanitary pad pack containing:
1 lined tote bag (which can also be used as a school bag)
5 reusable sanitary pads
2 pens
2 pencils
1 exercise book
1 eraser
1 pencil sharpener
As before, boys participating in the program were encouraged to pass the sanitary pads to sisters, mothers, or friends who could benefit from them—fostering understanding, support, and shared responsibility.
Each pack provides enough reusable pads to manage a monthly period, with pads lasting up to two years when properly cared for. The packs also include educational guidance on menstrual hygiene and safe usage. By providing a reliable, washable, and long-lasting alternative to disposable products or chitenge rags—which are commonly used and highly prone to leaks—the program helps ensure dignity, comfort, and significantly reduces the risk of school absenteeism during menstruation.
With the completion of Phase Two, this initiative has now reached every primary school within NYM’s catchment area—marking a major milestone in our mission to make education more inclusive and equitable.
Supreme continues to operate as a true social enterprise: every purchase supports local employment and reinvests profits into the business and further educational outreach. We are proud to continue working alongside them to address menstrual health challenges, break stigma, and help girls stay in school.
This achievement represents a significant step forward for the Ruarwe community. We now look ahead to finding the funding with the view to expanding the program to the two secondary schools in the area and to continuing menstrual health education for future cohorts of students.
Nyumba ya Masambiro and Ruarwe Health Centre were delighted to host volunteers Jeremy Dobbs and Norma Coward for three months. Jeremy and Norma joined us from the UK for July, August, and September 2025. A retired GP and midwife respectively, their main aim was to spend time supporting Paul Kabuzi and the medical team at the health centre, but once they got to Ruarwe, they got stuck in with so much more.
Initially supporting Paul in seeing patients, and supporting midwife Dan with antenatal appointments, care, and teaching, as well as the distribution of reusable maternity pads, they then took on reorganising the clinic, which needed all hands on deck following both Covid-19 and a subsequent cholera outbreak. They provided funds for much-needed medications and organised and funded the repair of all inpatient beds, as well as the toilet and shower plumbing systems at the clinic.
Meanwhile, in the afternoons, they both got stuck in at Nyumba ya Masambiro. They helped to reorganise the library, creating new labels so that all the books could be easily found and facilitating the distribution of excess books to Bunga CDSS, Khondowe CDSS, and Stepping Stones Primary School. They painted two beautiful murals on the library walls and refreshed the existing ones, which had faded over time. They worked with Stanley, the NYM nursery school teacher, to teach phonics, nursery rhymes, and early reading skills to the children, and then headed into Ruarwe Primary School to paint two murals there as well at the request of the teaching staff.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to both Jeremy and Norma for the incredibly generous gift of your time, your financial contributions, and your energy during your stay in Ruarwe! Yewo chomene! We all look forward to welcoming you again in the future!
We are delighted to announce that in this academic year, 2025–2026, Nyumba ya Masambiro’s nursery school has 35 children enrolled – the maximum capacity.
Over the years that NYM has been in place, a number of other nurseries have opened within Ruarwe and the NYM catchment area. However, due to the prohibitive cost of covering both the staff members’ salaries and the porridge meal, these have all closed within a short period of opening. Nyumba ya Masambiro has been able to maintain the nursery as a result of ongoing financial support from Phunzira.
Within the community, there are calls for NYM to open a second nursery class, as there is growing demand for children to attend the nursery at NYM. At present, this would be an unsustainable cost for NYM and Phunzira, but we would be very happy to accept donations towards the nursery and all our other ongoing activities at NYM.
Do get in touch for more information about donating to Phunzira.
Phunzira 