Help to give Malawian orphans a good start in life - make a donation to Umodzi now

Your funds will assist us in bringing a high standard of education to Malawian orphans in need of the best start in life.

Get in touch with the Umodzi team

We're always happy to get in touch with people from all backgrounds wishing to learn more about our cause or join our fundraising efforts for Malawian orphans.

OUR STORY

From Malawi Hunger Relief to UMODZI

Malawi Hunger Relief (MHR) was founded in February 2002 as an immediate response to the famine, which hit most of Southern Africa at the time. As a short-term goal, young Malawians living in London got together to help families affected by the famine in Malawi. They felt that as young Malawians living abroad they should not simply rely on the aid that the country gets from Europe, the US and other countries outside Malawi, but, as young men and women who loved their country, they could do something to alleviate the suffering of the people at home. They formed a committee and started fund-raising. The committee raised over £5000.00, which was sent to Malawi. The money helped buy food and pay towards building a new school for orphans in Chembe Village, Mangochi district. This was done with the assistance of MHR's trusted friends Open Arms Orphanage run by Neville Bevis.

MHR's last fundraising event was in October 2004 and it's account remained dormant. We were responding mainly to the disastrous famine which had hit particularly Malawian rural areas then. Now MHR has been renamed UMODZI (togetherness/United). Having reconstituted UMODZI's committee in 2008, which is made up of volunteers, UMODZI's main objective is to educate Malawian children. It specifically pledges to pay for the education of orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Malawi, intending to see them through from their secondary school until they complete their Higher Education or University degree. By September 2009 UMODZI selected their first children to start the sponsorship program, and continue to do so, to date.

Nearly one million OVC have lost one or both parents to AIDS. According to UNICEF, 20 percent of Malawian households are looking after OVC, and many of these households are headed by girls, women, and elderly women. Malawi has many orphans; some of its future leaders can therefore be expected to be orphans; offering such children appropriate education would be a natural desire for young Malawians.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Our mission is social and economic development through literacy.

We believe education is the most effective long-term solution to poverty.

Education is vital for the economic prosperity of a nation!

Education improves maternal, child and family health. It slows the spread of HIV/AIDS, decreases violent crime and improves the overall economic health of communities. We know of no other approach to alleviating poverty that has an impact this broad and long lasting.

If we want to see Malawi as a just and fair country where everyone is given equal opportunities, education is what is required. It opens a whole world of opportunities for the poor so that they may have an equal shot at well paying jobs. Education also plays a major role in women empowerment.


WHERE WE WORK

Full name: The Republic of Malawi
Population: 16 million (2016) World Bank
Capital: Lilongwe
Area: 118,484 sq km (45,747 sq miles)
Major languages: Chichewa, English (both official)
Major religions: Christianity, Islam
Life expectancy: 60 years (men), 65 years (women)
Monetary unit: 1 Malawi kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala
Main exports: Tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton


Malawi Facts:

Lake Malawi is Africa's third largest lake and occupies one-fifth of the country.

Malawi is among the 10 poorest countries in the world.

About 1 million people are living with HIV.

There are less than 300 doctors in the country, which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

There are 1 million orphans in a total population of 16 million.

Most Malawians rely on subsistence farming, but the food supply is precarious and the country is prone to natural disasters of both extremes - from drought to heavy rainfalls - putting it in constant need of thousands of tonnes of food aid every year.

Our vision is of a Malawi where orphans are given the opportunity to continue their secondary school education, to develop academically and make informed choices.

To achieve that vision, we aim to:

• Fundraise and raise awareness of the position Malawi has with its orphans.
• Generate fresh approaches to educating orphans in Malawi.
• Encourage any volunteers in the UK, Europe & America who wish to give up some of their skills and time to teach in Malawian schools for the benefit of the orphans.