Mrs Phiri and her husband, together and without any organizational backing, have started a foundation for orphans called the "John C. Thomas Children's Foundation." Right now they have three centers in different regions, which do not house the orphans but provide meals, tutoring, and vocational training. When I asked Mrs Phiri about why she decided to do this she said that she was raised without a father, that her childhood was difficult and she related in a personal way to the lives of orphans here. She said, "I want to make being an orphan something to be proud of, I want to give them opportunities and resources that will make the other children in some way wish that they were also orphans."
Two of the centers are doing well but the newest one in Tengani does not yet have a stable funding source. I gave Mrs Phiri several hundred dollars from the money I received from you (and she sends many thanks and blessings) but I anyone who is interested can also send money directly to her, email me at: joanne_jorissen@yahoo.com or see Mrs Phiri's contact info below.
Here is some information about their organization and their current needs in her words:
The purpose of the organization is to reduce stigma among orphans and other vulnerable children with the goal of improving their quality of life by raising their social, economic, education status.
The Area. Nsanje (pop: >200,000; 60% women) is one of the boarder districts of Malawi bordering the Southern part of Mozambique. The HIV infection rate is higher in women in this area and the overall rate (now at 19%) is steadily increasing resulting in higher mortality rates. In the targeted area of Tengani, 2001 statistics indicated that the area had 11,300 orphans in dire need of care and support. This need is compounded by the facts that (1) most of those dying are young girls who die without leaving behind any substantial property to support their orphaned children (parents of these girls in most cases are severly improvershed themselves and do not have resources to care for grandchildren); and (2) the education level in Nsanje is the lowest in the country.
Discussions with the people of Nsanje, including key leaders, revealed that the people deny the presence of HIV/AIDS in Malawi. They believe that witchcraft not HIV/AIDS is the cause of many deaths. Unfortunately, many cultural practices are very risky as far as HIV/AIDS transmission is concerned. The following provide some examples: (1) Polygamy is common especially among chiefs. (2) At puberty, a young girl is forced to have sexual intercourse with an older man, who is specifically appointed by village elders to perform this duty. (3) When a husband dies, elders in the deceased's family along with village chiefs choose one person (usually a brother or an uncle) to have sexual intercourse with the wife of the deceased. It is strongly believed that if she refuses, the whole village will be under a curse and everyone will die. As such the woman has no choice but to submit to this practice. (4) Girls usually marry at an early age 14-15 years, preventing them from pursuing an education. These belief systems in addition to the general disempowerment of women account for the high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Nsanje district.
Project activities under the John C. Thomas foundation have been designed specifically to address these problems. Present activities include:
- Sensitization meetings with local leaders at Tengani
- Identification of 1000 orphans and vulnerable children in the area
- Formation of committees in Tengani
- Procurement of a garden for the community to cultivate for income generation
- Distributions of items to assist the orphans and vulnerable children
- Training 60 volunteers in orphan care
- Sensitizing the community of HIV/AIDS transmission and voluntary testing and counseling (VCT)
- Establishing youth clubs
- Establishing widow/granny clubs
Desired future activities include:
- Paying tuition for 10 needy and vulnerable children
- Connecting 10 orphans with local artisans for aprenticeships
- Conducting sessions on the journey to life to community leaders
- Establishing and running co-operative shops
- Parental training workshops
- Providing sholastic materials to needy children
- Procuring and distributing 10 fish nets to 10 orphan headed households
- Organizing fundraising activities
- Building a resource center
With regard to sustainability, the communities will be encouraged to support orphans and other vulnerable children through the extended family. It is hoped that this will improve the acceptace of orphans and decrease their stigmatization within the communities. This will be done through sensitization meetings with the leaders. As the communities develop an understanding of the plight of orphans and understand the need for and activities of the project they will support its sustainability. Funds raised from the gardens and co-operative shops will be used to run the center. Skills acquired by orphans will empower them and enable them to become self-sufficient. It is believed this will reduce promiscuity and stigmatization among orphans and vulnerable children in the area. Higher levels of education provided to the children are also central to the empowerment process.
Constraints. Currently the foundation has no donor. The activities carried out so far, have been accomplished through small individual contributions. The lack of funding is the main constraint at present.
Requested items (shown in Malawi Kwacha, MK/US$ = 120/1). Mrs Phiri says she will give an account of how donated funds are spent.
- School uniforms for 100 children 50,000MK
- Bags of maize 200,000MK
- Bails of sugar 120,000MK
- Sewing machines 105,000MK
- Bags of beans 130,000MK
- Maize seeds 70,000MK
- Blankets 720,000MK
- 3 bails of second hand clothes 54,000MK
- Soap 31,000MK
- Water pump engine 120,000MK
- Weilding equipment 80,000MK
- Carpentry equipment 30,000MK
- Fertilizer 200,000MK
Contact jctchildrenfoundation@yahoo.com tel: 011-265-8-375-326 or 011-265-8-509-775
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