Jona's Success!

This week in the office we had an unexpected visitor. A sponsored student, Jona, had completed his tertiary education with good grades and had come to show his appreciation to Joshua for the years of help they had given him.

This is hugely exciting news to receive and a massive achievement for Jona. In Malawi, education is like gold dust with only 18% of the population reaching even secondary school, let alone tertiary. After writing a written exam and having an interview, Jona was accepted into the Combino Technical College to study in the Electrical and Installation Department. Within this he studied subjects such as Principles, Science, Technical Drawing, Technology and Calculations, as well as English Communications and Entrepreneurship. Alongside this, they are expected to complete three months in an industry placement. In his workshop practice he was awarded an A+ and is described as a "trustworthy, responsible, and reliable person" by his principle. Reading these reports, we were glowing with pride.

Joshua had been sponsoring Jona since secondary school, through which he gained his Malawi School Certificate of Education, all the way through to his college education.  It was his dream to become an electrical engineer throughout his education. He not only enjoyed it but has gained many skills meaning that he can stand on his own two feet and now sees a bright future for himself.

This is a huge achievement for Jona and brings so much joy to his life and to our office. In his own words, "I would like to thank the whole Joshua organisation for working hand in hand with me to reach this stage. I promise that I will make good use of this chance". We wish him all the luck in the world.

Cool Chickens Raise Egg-Spectations

On Sunday two brave Joshua supporters tackled the Brighton Chicken Run despite the rather threatening weather.

Jenny and Saulo Phiri both took their roles to heart, "plucking" up the courage to look silly in public in order to raise an incredible £320 for Joshua.

They both put in a fantastic performance, and Saulo showed his no slacker by coming 5th out of everyone!

A massive thank you to Jenny and Saulo for their awesome fundraising effort for Joshua - enjoy those choccie eggs now guys, you deserve it.

Key2Africa unlock the door to adventure

On Saturday evening Joshua Trustee's Marjorie, David and UK coordinator Jess attended Key2Africa’s Mike and James’ leaving celebrations. On Sunday morning the two guys left Bristol to embark on their incredible adventure; driving all the way from Bristol to Malawi in their land rover (tried and tested by David) to raise money for Joshua.

The evening was packed full of games, speeches, raffles and fond farewells as the two made their final preparations for departure.

We wish Mike and James the very best of luck for their journey, we will be following their blog the whole way and cannot wait to hear all about their adventures on return. We would also like to thank them for their exceptional support of Joshua. What an amazing and inspirational pair.

Playing with the kids - Putting training into action

Teaching children to play may seem like an odd concept to us in the western world, but often the most vulnerable children in Malawi have never had anything to play with and as a result can tragically lose that instinct.

Play is an essential part of a child’s development and on Friday the Caregivers at Tiamike Community Based Childcare Centre got to put what they had learned about "Play" into action by running a day of play with over 50 the children at the centre.

This two part training saw them supported by the Joshua team and Early Childhood Development specialists trying out the techniques of play they themselves had enjoyed earlier in the week.

It was another huge success as you can see from the videos and photos. As in the UK cardboard boxes, loo rolls and plastic bottles came into their own - as did hopscotch and catch - classic games all over the world.

A huge thank you to the Jessica Mathers Trust for making this training day possible.

Caregiver Play Day

On Wednesday we took Early Childhood Development Specialist Kim Ferguson and her team of students to Tiamike Community Based Childcare Centre for a fantastic training session on Play.  

The session focussed on taking caregivers back to when they were younger to relive their best play moments. We then set them free amongst materials such as plastic bottles, string, bottle caps and other things found locally or recycled. It was awesome to see this group of adults who are often a bit reserved let loose and get stuck in, remembering their favourite games from childhood...   

We had skipping and jumping games, football, Subbuteo and a fierce game of throw and catch/piggy in the middle, with a Malawian twist. A big favourite with the team in Malawi was the role play in which the women went all out making a fire (from rocks and twigs), mixing Nsima (sand and water), relish (grass and water) - they even served it up for us all to enjoy - it was a joy to behold.  

On Friday we are going back to do it again but this time it will be the caregivers working with the children.