Manyowe kitty club meets for the first time.

Manyowe community held its first Kitty club on the Friday 22 May 2015. It was an extremely successful day. All in all sixty-seven over sixty-year-olds registered to take part in the club.

As this was the first kitty club held in Manyowe, firstly the participants had a ‘break the ice’ session to meet one another and then began to discuss in detail what they wanted to gain from the club and also what activities they would be doing in each meeting.

By the end of the day, with plenty of activities planned, Joe gave them the chance to feedback and make any suggestions. This is a really important aspect of the work we do at Joshua. We work with communities to impact on areas that they feel they need the most help in. It was decided that the kitty club would fit around those who attend Mosque for prayers so that more people would be able to make it to both. On the whole though, stakeholders commended what Joshua has started, caring for the old and providing them with a meal.

Joshua was also able to pass over two new relish pots to the Manyowe kitty club that should last them over two years. We hope this club grows, enabling the elderly within this community somewhere for a bit of relaxation and respite and also teaching us what the community needs in the bigger picture. 

Written by Joseph Chiundiza

Edited by Olivia Tilton

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.

My Experience at the Solomoni Pop-up Clinic

Twice a week Jean, a qualified nurse who volunteers her service’s at Joshua, and one of our Field Officers go out into the communities Joshua support to run a pop-up medical clinic for mother’s to bring their young children and babies to. Here, the children are weighed, checked for illnesses or symptoms of, and provided with medical care and advice. This week, I had the privilege to join Jean and Joseph and what a touching experience it was.

Having travelled Africa widely on family holidays, I have seen the widespread effects of poverty. Or I thought I had. What I learnt yesterday was that I had only begun to skim the surface of what it means to live in poverty in Africa. Arriving Solomoni, there were queues of women with their children waiting for us; prepared to walk for miles and to wait for as long as it took to be seen by Jean. 

One by one, mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends would bring in children and babies to be examined. I had the very important job of weighing the infants. This, I was told, was crucial in order to monitor the weight of the child over time, enabling Jean to assess whether the child was developing normally or was malnourished. The women then described to Jean, through Joseph, any symptoms the children had. Armed with a thermometer, a stethoscope and a box of medical supplies, Jean was able to give advice, treat any illnesses, or praise mother’s for their decision to take the child to hospital at the right time. Illnesses ranged from upset tummies and ear infections to Malaria.

 In particular, one family will stick with me; a lady brought in her young sister who had downs syndrome. The little girl played with her young cousins beside us whilst Jean was able to stress the importance of education, playtime, and communication in order for the little girl to develop. Having previously read that many disabled children in poverty-stricken countries are often abandoned due to the families’ inability to care for the child it was truly humbling to see how loved this little girl was.

By the end of the day over 100 children had been seen, all leaving with the help they needed whether it be medical advice or just peace of mind. Two of the cases required us to transport the mother and child to the local clinic and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre. One child was suspected of having malaria whilst the other had complications post malaria treatment.

The day on the whole showed how important events such as these pop up medical clinics and healthcare education is for these communities. I felt extremely privileged to be a part of the work done by Jean, Joseph and the rest of the Joshua team in communities such as Solomoni. 

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.