Month: June 2013

Malawi

June 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

Hello Friends and Family,
My dear friend Moses is a pastor in Malawi, Africa.  As many of you are aware, our family has been connected with him since hosting him in our home on his visit to Texas in 2009 and 2010.

We recently learned that his church in Mzuzu, Malawi is attempting to build a primary school.  When my daughter Aliya found out, she was determined to help.  We came up with the idea to try GoFundMe.  I have asked that he send pictures if possible.  We would be thrived to earn even a small amount to help educate children in Mzuzu. We plan to have updates of the project.

http://www.gofundme.com/school4malawi

@schools4malawi

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About Malawi

Malawi is a tiny country known as the warm heart of Africa. It is also one of the poorest and most AIDS-stricken countries in the world.  In 2007, my family hosted Pastor Moses from Lilongwe, Malawi in our home.  He was given a second chance to travel to the US the following year and stayed with our family once again.  Our families have remained friends throughout the years.

Moses and the girls taking a swimming break
Moses and the Girls
Joel: Has to be one of the cutest kids on the planet
Beautiful Chimango
Relaxing Moses

Last year, I was looking at the blog on American Occupational Therapy Association and noticed a post from Sue Coppola, the US delegate for the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT).  She visited Lilongwe, Malawi in 2012.  We have since been in contact and in 2013 formed the WFOT Malawi Workgroup along with other occupational therapists and stakeholders.  The purpose of the group is to begin the first university-level occupational therapy program in Malawi.  It will be located at the College of Medicine in Blantyre.  Please join our OT Malawi group on Facebook for continued progress.

Organizations for Malawi

MAPMalawi Against Physical Disabilities (MAP) sends teams to the outreach areas to meet and assess the needs of the people with disabilities in their communities. There, the therapists impart or train guardians and mothers of the disabled person on how to continue with treatment in their homes. In order to provide a cost effective service, MAP decided to employ rehabilitation technicians who are equipped with knowledge of physiotherapy and occupational therapy to be seeing the clients in the district hospitals and also carry out early detection and may be prevention of the disability where possible.  I have corresponded with the general manager of MAP on several occasions.  Our family adopted this organization for Christmas last year to provide funding for some equipment for children.  Here are some pictures from one of MAPs clinics:

MAP Clinic

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Impatient Optimists – Malawi

HOPE is a locally based non-profit in Malawi whose ultimate goal is to build a sustainable community center for single mothers, widows, orphans, elderly, and the visual/audio impaired.  HOPE will provide a sanctuary where education and opportunity will be accessible to those most vulnerable in society.

Raising Malawi is committed to supporting organizations and individuals who fight tirelessly to help the estimated 1 million orphans, vulnerable children, and their families and communities in Malawi.

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman truly have a heart for giving and they’re pretty funny too.  I have followed both since I watched Long Way Round (LWR) and Long Way Down (LWD) in which the pair travel around the world on motor bikes.  In LWD, they visited Malawi.  It is clear they are dedicated to making a difference for children internationally. LWD includes the UNICEF documentary The Missing Face, which is about the AIDS epidemic in Malawi.