2024 – Taking stock and exploring new directions in Malawi

My name is Shanil Samarakoon and I’m the Executive Director of Empower Projects. I’ve just returned from an action-packed trip to Malawi and want to share three key highlights with you.  There’s already so much to talk about – from the incredible impact we’re having through our existing work with rural schools and cooperatives to our efforts to extend this impact into new districts in Malawi.

1: Community-run school breakfast programs

Those who have been following our work across the last decade know that we’ve been proponents of school meal programs that are driven by community – from growing produce for meals to consistently cooking and distributing meals to children. Suffice it to say, this is an extraordinarily complex undertaking and we are so proud to share that three out of our four partner schools in Malawi are operating these programs successfully (the fourth launches theirs this June).

I was so excited to see the program at Kakoma Primary School in action during my time in Malawi a few weeks ago. Over 900 students are receiving a traditional porridge (comprised of soy and corn) three days a week. This is also being supplemented with fruits from fruit orchards that we have established.

The timing of my visit was deeply significant as Jan-March/April are widely known as the months of “hunger” in Malawi (and much of Africa). Households do their best to stretch their meagre supplies of food until harvest time in May/June, meaning that children often suffer from hunger – often resulting in lifelong stunted growth and development.  Thankfully, Kakoma Primary has seen terrific improvements in attendance and in-class engagement as a result, from an average of 60% to an average of 90% attendance during the “hunger” months and beyond. Check this video of just first grade students lining up for breakfast!

 

However, our work in addressing issues of hunger doesn’t end there. Drawing on the school gardens as a demonstration centre, we also influence the practices of local farmers/parents so that they can engage in more sustainable, nutritious and profitable ventures. Slowly but surely, this ripple effect is taking place – influencing soil and water management practices, the displacement of chemical fertilisers with organic ones, and the diversification of crops grown.  Overall, it was immensely gratifying to see our partner communities faring so well with these school projects – the head teachers were full of praise for the impact it has had on the wellbeing of students, and by extension, staff.

None of this work would be possible without the contributions of our generous supporters! Thank you.

2. Collaborating for Impact

Alongside our partner schools, I got to visit and catch up on progress being made across our partner cooperatives (5 in total across 2 districts). I’d like to highlight my time with Mtenjemanga Honey Cooperative in Mchinji that harvests honey from wild bees in the forest! This is primarily a women’s cooperative and we recently helped them invest in 40 new bee hives thanks to a very generous donation from Towards a Better World. Sweetening this deal further (pun intended!) was specialised training on bee keeping and a guaranteed buyer for their honey!

We are very excited to see how this cooperative fares across 2024, particularly as my conversations with members clearly pointed to the transformative impact the cooperative has already had on their lives – from paying for their children’s education through to building more safe and secure houses.

3. Expanding and planning for the year

As much as my trip centred on visiting all our partner schools and cooperatives, it also involved scoping new projects. Particularly as work in our existing partner communities (both in Lilongwe and Mchinji), draw to a close over the next 12-24 months. Our Project Manager Bright Msuku and I spent a whole week visiting local government departments to collectively identify communities in need, and visiting recommended locations as part of an extensive scoping exercise centred on two districts I central region – Ntchisi and Dowa. We spent a lot of time driving up and down dirt tracks to meet with a range of stakeholders connected to schools and cooperatives – thankfully the weather was fine and we were spared any car trouble!

The headline here is that our work was successful and we have decided that we are ready to expand our work to two new districts in Malawi – Ntchisi and Dowa. Our phased expansion will commence in the second half of 2024! We thought it wise to expand conservatively and have identified a school and a cooperative in each district as starting points.

Armed with a lot of inspiration from visiting our current projects, and the potential at these new locations, we took to planning out the year as a team. We reflected on what worked well, what could be improved and then busily filled in all the core activities we need to make happen across each quarter of 2024.  Over a decade on from our humble beginnings, our fires are burning bright and most importantly, our impact in Malawi continues to grow.

Our deep gratitude goes out to those who have and continue to believe in our efforts.

Best,
Shanil