Volunteer
Coach rugby and experience Africa on our unique overland expedition. Volunteer and stay at our Malawi community centre, individually or arrange a group visit
Transforming lives in The Warm Heart of Africa
Just as Bhubesi Pride Foundation made itself known on the world wide web, Malawian, Wordsworth Rashid, sent the charity an email. He invited BPF’s founder, Richard Bennett, to stay with his family in Lilongwe and showed Richard what was possible through sport and education. Fast-forward to today and Wordsworth is employed by the organisation full-time as a development officer, helping to realise a long-term plan to engage the Mtema community in meaningful activities, transforming hundreds of lives.
Malawi is listed as one of the poorest countries in the world economically, with HIV/Aids, Malaria, teenage pregnancies, sub-standard literacy and numeracy rates and school drop-outs presenting persistent social challenges. Through sport, education and promoting healthy life choices in a welcoming and receptive community, BPF is enabling transformational change.
Mtema is a 710 square kilometre rural village community an hour’s drive north-west of Lilongwe with a population of 59,000; 35,000 of which are below 18 years of age. Homes here are traditionally constructed of sticks, mud and burnt or unburnt bricks (made from a mixture of water and sand placed in moulds and dried in the open air). Cooking is done over the fire in a separate building with a smoke hole in the roof. People bathe outside. Water is carried, often over great distances, for cooking and bathing.
Meet development officer, Wordsworth, aspiring coach, Isaac, and see early progress videos from our sports and education community centre build project in Lilongwe
BPF development officer, Wordsworth Rashid, leads a year-round sports (rugby & netball) and life-skills program with six primary schools, five secondary schools and one club; involving 700 players, aged 10 - 18. Wordsworth works with over forty actively engaged teachers and coaches to deliver curricular and extra-curricular sessions and coordinate monthly fixtures.
Bhubesi Pride Foundation is realising a dream. Having purchased a 7-acre site in rural Lilongwe, the masterplan - which is nearly complete - is to lay a full-size sports field, netball court and volleyball court and construct a clubhouse (with two large learning spaces, changing rooms, offices, kitchen, canteen and viewing deck), on-site accommodation for visitors, storage space, manager’s house and parking. Plans to sustainably maximise the centre’s use include developing our core rugby, netball and life-skills schools program, and, by partnering relevant in-country and international organisations, introduce additional activities, such as tutoring, adult learning, healthcare, IT and teacher training.
Read about the impact we’re making with communities in Malawi and hear from local coaches, teachers, our volunteers, donors and charity partners.
You have three incredibly exciting ways to help make an impact with Bhubesi Pride Foundation. Choose how you’d like to join our journey.