Bwengu Projects Malawi is a small family run registered charity (England & Wales 1183709) set up by Sue & Tony Melia in 2005. They have been joined in their work by their daughter Sam, son-in-law Rob and granddaughter Abi.
According to the International Monetary Fund in June 2018, Malawi is the third poorest country in the world.
One in ten adults live with HIV/AIDS and one million children have been orphaned by the disease.
53% of the population is under 18 years of age.
Bwengu is a mountainous district in Northern Malawi, a six-hour drive from the capital Lilongwe in the South. Although the North is more fertile, most development occurs South of the Capital. The Bwengu district is the size of Warwickshire and includes 52 villages with a population of 18,000 people and 32 primary and secondary schools.
In 2020 we moved further north to the Chitipa District, now taking a 10 hour drive. This remote area has 184 Primary Schools & 27 Secondary schools.
Over the years, a wide range of community projects have been undertaken but moving forward we will focus on these key areas:
-
Renovations of School Buildings – 31 schools so far since 2005.
-
Provision of School Toilets – 35 toilet blocks, all female blocks have a washrooms.
-
School Furniture – 3,500 new & repaired desks.
-
Adult Literacy – 19 projects in 19 schools serving 76 villages.
-
Orphan Care & early learning Centre’s – 5 by end 2024.
Out of a population of 19 million, 12 million people are living below the international poverty line on 96 pence per day.
All money raised goes towards the projects, with minimal overheads.
The trustees have built-in systems of governance to maintain the effectiveness of all project work undertaken in Malawi. We use local head teachers to monitor and report on progress using WhatsApp. Recommendations for new projects may come from these head teachers and also from our own vast local knowledge accrued from many years travelling in Malawi.
The trustees and anyone who works with us pay all their own expenses including travel, accommodation and living expenses. We have very generous support form a number of local rotary organisations, small businesses, schools as well as individual donors. We have identified plenty of prospective projects and now we just need to raise the funds.
