The start of the project is building a day care centre for orphans and children at risk. We decided that a day care centre was needed on advice from local authorities as this would be a better option than an orphanage.
As you can see on the picture in the right, the day care centre building is already finished.

There are a growing number of orphans in Malawi with around 1,500,000 at the moment. Due to HIV/AIDS this amount will only increase. Young children get left behind as their parents die. Some of the children are taken in by relatives but because they usually have their own children another mouth to feed can be too much for them.
The orphaned child is last in line for food and care which can result in insufficient food, no healthcare or education, and little care and attention. We are setting up the day care centre to try to change this for the children.
An important factor about the day centre is that the children can stay with their family and relatives, thus living within their own culture, as opposed to living in an orphanage, but also able to receive food, care and education.

Families often face great difficulties when they are left to bring up these orphans and for this reason we decided to open a day centre for them.

The intention is to start off with 20 orphans from the age of 3 years old. These children will have 5 half days of care and a healthy meal. The children’s health will be monitored and when necessary medical assistance will be sought.
There will be a preschool programme for children up to 6 years old, and after that they will go to primary school. The children will receive the time and attention they need at the day centre, bearing in mind that they have all lost one or both parents.
Our first priority is the day centre. The centre will comprise of a kitchen, toilets, and 2 rooms for the children to use. We will employ local help for the building work as well as for help with childcare and cooking etc.
As soon as possible the group will expand from the group of 20 orphans, to working with and providing care, education and healthy food to the local children infected with HIV/AIDS, and/or suffering from malnutrition. This greatly depends on how well working with the community goes and the financial situation.
The more people who sponsor, the more children we can care for.
Your support is greatly needed. There are hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in the north of Malawi waiting for their chance of a future.