The purpose of the ongoing fundraising campaign is to continue supporting two main strands of the Berkshire Scouts Project Africa global awareness programme:

1 continue supporting local community projects in the Milo area of Blantyre. Past projects (2024 & 2026) have included funding and building a community care centre; refurbishing an existing community care centre; building toilets; refurbishing school classrooms and desks; adding a rainwater harvesting scheme to the community care centre; and supporting a kitchen garden scheme (a Scouts Association Malawi project).

Discussions are underway with the Joshua in Malawi charity (our 'partners' in Malawi) to open a pre-clinic in the Milo community care centre.

2 supporting the growth of local Scouting in Malawi. In particular, the Scout Group in Milo which Berkshire Scouts helped start in 2024.

For the past 16 years Berkshire Scouts have been supporting and helping with projects in rural Africa ('young people supporting young people'). There have been five visits to help build and refurbish schools and community centres (Uganda 2011, 2015, 2019, Malawi 2024 and 2026).

Click this link to see the Project Africa journey.

The funding for major projects undertaken during visits are separate fundraising events and over £100,000 has been raised during the past 16 years to meet specific project costs. In the past, fundraising for projects has included building and refurbishing school classrooms, building and refurbishing local community care centres, building teacher houses, toilets, teacher salaries, educational materials, IT equipment, solar panels, rainwater harvesting schemes, as well as supporting local Scouting.

The Project Africa programme also includes a Challenge Badge based on global awareness to help Scouts of all sections to understand the lives of their peers in a developing African country.

Further information about Berkshire Scouts and Project Africa is available from: projectafrica@berkshirescouts.org.uk