Team 1 Activities
Waving children at the Chikondi and Mphatso Orphanage. © Jonathan Nicholson/Students for Kids International Project
Team 1; have been working at the Chikondi & Mphatso Orphanage since June 5th.
In tandem with Nature’s Gift, Team 1 have started an intervention. The intervention was initiated by Elizabeth and Ross who said ‘The project is about knowledge transfer and in the spirit of giving a fisher a net, rather than fishes.’ Some of the Nature’s Gift partnership with SKIP will be advocating crop rotation, which will enable crops to be grown all year round.
A number of questions were raised by SKIP National and SKIP Glasgow about the nature of the intervention and about permaculture. The plans for permaculture were embryonic before the arrival of SKIP this year so we needed to wait until the volunteers had developed them further and put them into action. However, on June 27th, the project was given clearance and will commence in the near future.
Team 1 have also been helping with jobs around the orphanage. Tony, who has carpentry skills, has started some roof repairs for the kitchen to allow better ventilation. Christina has been taking the lead on sex education whilst Tony and Elizabeth have been supporting the tooth brushing sessions.
Soon into this year’s SKIP Glasgow trip, Team 1 decided that an improvement to the children’s play area was needed. For this reason, Team 1 initiated a project to renovate the unsafe see-saw and do a couple of other improvements. Perseverance and patience was needed from the team was needed as both SKIP National and SKIP Glasgow had to give their approval and release the funds for the metal tubing, timber, paint and other materials. Local materials and builders will be used creating employment for local people as well as giving the day centre the added bonus of being not only a place of learning, but a safe place of fun too.
The basketball hoop has no net and three swings are missing, leaving only one to swing on. © Jonathan Nicholson/SKIP
The time for Team 1 at the orphanage is now coming to an end. They will be off to do as they wish, whether that is heading back to the United Kingdom straight away or, travelling around Africa some more to take in the sights. However, this is not the end of the SKIP participation as Bernice, Duncan, Jonathan, Lauren and Sarah (Team 2) will be taking over to consolidate the work of Team 1 and put in place their own program(s) as needed.
Farewell Team 1, have a safe journey home and thank you for your free time, wishing you all the best in the future.
More information
An IFAD report from 2008 about food prices in Malawi: http://www.ifad.org/events/gc/31/roundtable/food.pdf
An IMF report: http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2011/africanfisc/pdf/masanjala.pdf
Malawi’s Agricultural Development Agenda: http://www.caadp.net/pdf/Investment%20plan%20-%20Malawi.pdf
Malawi’s 2011 Annual Economic Report: http://psip.malawi.gov.mw/reports/docs/Economic_Report_2011.pdf
Nature’s Gift: http://www.naturesgift.org/
A news report about irrigation farming in Lilongwe: http://www.demotix.com/news/760697/irrigation-farming-malawi
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