Malawi

Malawi – known as Nyasaland until independence in 1964 – is an African landlocked country with a growing population of 18 million. A fifth of its landmass is water, with Lake Malawi spanning 350 miles north-south. Chichewa is the national language and Kwacha the currency. Lilongwe, the capital, was founded as a trading post in 1906 and only recognised as a town in 1947. Malawi’s vibrant beat, open skies, its welcoming people, passion for music and dance all contribute to the country being affectionately known as The Warm Heart of Africa.

Making it happen

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.