A Message from the Perchard Family

We are raising funds for iMind to help young people in Malawi in memory of my father, Colin Perchard, who passed away recently. This cause is one I know would have meant a great deal to him.

iMind is a youth-led organisation determined to turn despair into hope. Their mission is to increase access to youth-friendly mental health and well-being services in Malawi and across Southern Africa through evidence-based research, awareness, and integrated peer, community, and professional support. They do not wait for youth to find help; they put the help where young people already are.

My father's story with Malawi began even before the country's independence. He arrived as a young man on his first full length posting with the British Council, and from the very start, he fell in love with the people, the landscape, and the spirit of Malawi. He travelled widely through the countryside, made lasting friendships, and built a life there that shaped everything that followed.

It was in Malawi that he met Lis, the daughter of Sir Glyn and Lady Nancy Jones, who served as Malawi's last Governor-General. Malawi was not just a place Colin worked; it was where our family began. We visited together in 1982, and returned twice in the 1990s to lay Sir Glyn and Lady Jones' ashes to rest alongside their son in Zomba. These are memories I carry with me still.

My father's work with the British Council was dedicated to supporting education and the arts, and throughout his life, championing opportunities for young people was at the heart of everything he did. iMind's mission to bring mental well-being support directly to young Malawians, in their schools and communities, is exactly the kind of work he would have believed in and wanted to support.

The Perchard family has come together to raise funds in his honour. We hope that through your generosity, Colin’s love for Malawi and its people will live on in a very real and lasting way.

Imagine a 16-year-old girl named Chisomo. She is bright, has dreams for her future, but today, she is battling anxiety that makes simply going to school feel impossible. In Malawi, Chisomo and thousands of young people like her are suffering in silence, isolated, overwhelmed by depression, trauma, and hopelessness, and feeling that support is completely out of reach.

This is not just a mental health crisis; it is a crisis of potential.

The Silent Suffering is Urgent

While the country is filled with young energy (72% of the population is under 30), the support system is tragically thin:

Only 4 psychiatrists serve the entire nation.

A mere 1.1% of the national health budget is allocated to mental health.

Mental health services are concentrated in cities, leaving vast rural youth populations forgotten.

For most families, the cost of a single private therapy session or the bus fare to a city hospital exceeds their weekly income. When the choice is between a meal and a mental health check-up, the mind always loses.

In 2024, Malawi recorded 597 suicide cases; most of these lives lost were young people.

Behind every tragic number is a daughter, a son, or a friend who desperately needed a hand to hold.

About iMind: Bringing Hope to Communities

iMind is a youth-led organisation determined to turn despair into hope. Their mission is to increase access to youth-friendly mental health and well-being services in Malawi and across Southern Africa through evidence-based research, awareness, and integrated peer, community, and professional support. They do not wait for youth to find help; they put the help where young people already are.

Their solution is the Generation Wellness (GenWell) Clubs.

iMind establishes these safe, youth-friendly spaces in universities, schools, and local communities:

A club is no longer just a group; it becomes a safe harbour.

A trained peer supporter is not just a friend; they become the vital first link to help.

GenWell Clubs create communities where young people can talk openly, find peer support, build crucial resilience, and learn life skills through engaging activities like art, music, and drama. iMind trains peer supporters to provide immediate relief and essential referral services.