We take so much of our every day lives for granted. Most of us are fortunate enough to have had an education at some stage. Some of us never made the most of it. There are others who are desperate to learn, to be educated, to better themselves, but do not have the opportunity to do so. A friend of mine is involved with a charity - Project for Africa, who recently built a school and maternity block in Malawi. Please take a minute to read the text below:

NAMANYANGA SCHOOL

In the nursery, supported by the feeding station, Namanyanga currently has 143 children registered (75 girls and 68 boys). The children continue to be fed a nutritional porridge every morning. There is a lot of starvation in Malawi at the moment, so it is extremely important that this vulnerable group are getting much needed food.

In the main school, Namanyanga currently has 408 children attending. 166 boys and 239 girls. Out of which 35 are orphans (22 girls and 13 boys)

One of the chiefs, spoke on behalf of all the other chiefs, and said…..

“What has happened at Namanyanga is like a dream. People in the area did not think or expect that Landirani (now AVM) and Project4Africa could think of building school blocks at Namanyanga, which is one of the schools in the remotest areas in Lilongwe, Malawi.

The new school blocks have attracted more and more pupils in the area to register and attend school. No longer do they have their lessons under trees to protect them from the sun and rain. On our part we encourage the pupils to attend classes and parents to send their children to school.

Lastly, what is more important than all the things we have mentioned above, is the kind spirit behind what is happening. The heart and spirit of giving and providing by our brothers and sisters in the United Kingdom is paramount to us as chiefs and the community and we respect and highly value this kind gesture."

MATERNITY UNIT

The number of births were 84 in October and 70 in November which is a significant difference to the 20 in the old unit. This will be increased further, when the Safe Motherhood Unit is set up which will encourage mothers to come to the unit much earlier. They will also have nutritional training along with family planning and disease prevention.

Msankhulana is from the local community and was sponsored by P4A through her training as a mid-wife. She is now delivering babies at the unit. She said:

“I worked at the old maternity unit. I am now trained and have skills I never had before. This means I can give better treatment and care to the women who come here. I am continuously on call and it is rare that I do not have to work overnight and during the day. The unit is also facing a huge surge in malaria cases. Thank you P4A for all your kindness.”

P4A change lives. With your support you will be helping them change more in their next project. Please give generously.

Now you may have seen that i am already doing the London to Brighton bike ride but that is just a warm up. What am i doing for you to sponsor this time ?? Only a 100 mile bike ride through London and Surrey (the prudential 100) 😬😬 For those who know me, this will be a huge challenge. I have a habit of committing to things without thinking them through - this may well be one of them 😜🚲🤪

Wish me luck!

Thank you in advance for all your support. It means the world, not so much to me personally, but to the children of Africa knowing you will be changing their lives forever

James