Delirah and Teddy Phiri

Vincent & Gilda Munthali

Our partner group is the volunteer-run African Angels Association (AAA) in Mzuzu, a town in northern Malawi. The core volunteers are Delirah and Teddy Phiri, and Gilda and Vincent Munthali. The AAA project supports AIDS-impacted households to grow their own food; provides school fees and uniforms for orphaned children,  and offers nutritional support to AIDS-sufferers. It operates in 5 rural communities around Mzuzu. The AAA volunteers work with local chiefs, teachers, community groups and leaders to identify the neediest beneficiaries for each of the 3 project components.

Salt Spring’s Seeds for Malawi and the Victoria-based African AIDS Angels together fund the activities of the Malawi AAA project.

1. Household Food Gardens

Doroba Beneficiaries

Grandmothers and their orphaned grandchildren, and widows and their children, are provided with seeds, fertilizers and hand implements so that they can grow sufficient food on their allotment to support their family throughout the year. Participating households, which on average include 6 people, receive seeds and 2 bags of fertilizer for 3 years, after which time they are expected to become more self-sufficient. Staple crops are maize (corn), beans and pumpkins. Fruit trees and kitchen vegetables are also planted. An agricultural extension officer visits the gardens to offer agricultural advice.

Ngwata Family

Before this project started in 2003, many households ran out of food in 8 months. In general, project participants have achieved food self-sufficiency, and sometimes have had surplus to sell, enabling them to buy necessities like kerosene and soap.

There are 80 households in the project in 2010-11, benefiting about 480 people.

Secondary School Students

2. Education

School fees, supplies and uniforms are provided to 31 children in 2010-11 so that they can continue beyond primary school. Secondary school is not free in Malawi. In 2009, one of the young women qualified for university entrance.

Please read the touching letter we received from some of our supported students in June 2011.

3. Nutritional Support

There are 21 HIV-positive beneficiaries who are receiving nutritional support to improve the effectiveness of their drug treatment. This intervention helps to prolong life and enable these parents to care for their children. Assistance is in the form of food items and cash.