January 2009, recruited our second long term volunteer, Grace MacLean, a nutritionist, also sponsored by VMM, who will be will be helping to improve the diet and health of the pre-school orphans onsite. We have been fluctuating between 2-4 short term volunteers.
Prepare an application for a grant to help with the cost of distributing the mains electricity.
Extend this to run an irrigation system for the crops and provide the necessary water to grow vegetables, etc.
Health
Facilitate use of a vehicle (independent of the car used by the volunteers) to take people to the hospital in Mchinji. An ambulance would be ideal.
Sanitation and hygiene
A research programme was begun in CCS, Sutton, on methods of introducing sanitation programmes to under developed countries a
nd this became one of our priorities for 2009. Statistics are required from all the villages to ascertain their needs.
The third of three forms/questionnaires was designed early 2009 to gather health statistics relating to gender, age and
orphans in each of the villages. This research has been taken over by Robert, one of the short-term volunteers and they are
now working on a project proposal, based on an MDF working model. This will provide all 22 villages with proper toilet
facilities, plus clean drinking water, already supplied with the boreholes.
New concrete pit latrines have been built at one of the outer villages.
Procure building materials to enable villages to build their own latrines.
Complete the preparations for the first Income Generation Activity Project, a Chicken Khola, which the community will manage, to produce eggs from 120 layer chickens onsite. They would sell the eggs at usual market price and within three months it is hoped they will be making enough money to cover the running costs of the project, e.g. chicken feed.
Create opportunities in the area to develop businesses (e.g. maize mills and growing vegetables) by extending the electrification by solar energy to irrigation.
Our long-term volunteer, Brian, has been repeatedly requesting teachers from the Malawian government during 2008. Currently, four teachers have been committed to Chimteka and start work on April 27th in the four new classrooms. It will bring down the pupil teacher ratio somewhat and justifies our investment in housing, and Scotland's investment in classrooms and furniture.
Small uniforms for the pre-school children are being made by the local tailor. CCS purchased a lot of material, thread, zips etc.
Fr. Julian has some carpenters working on making desks for the primary school classrooms, from money he received from the 11 for 1 schools charity in Scotland.
Contact has been made with the Lilongwe Lions Club, who will give the remaining households nets and blankets
Sutton
Grant applications are being made across a number of fronts.
Finance the installation of the mains electricity, which has been brought by the Malawian government to within 2.5 km of Chimteka over the latter half of 2008, to the 22 villages in Chimteka.
In the meantime the electrification on the project site, using solar electricity, has been installed and is up and running in the Community Hall, Pre-School, Kitchen, Toilets, Church, Chicken Khola and the Head masters office, since early 2009.
Work is ongoing to submit proposals for funding to support our Health and Sanitation programme and also to build a Maternity Clinic at the existing Chiosya Health Centre.
Plan for the development of the Health Centre.
The local Health Centre is situated on the edge of Chimteka and approx 40 kms from Mchinji. It services Chimteka and the surrounding area, catering for the medical needs of over 25,000 people. Plans include extending the existing centre, refurbishing the original and buying much needed medical equipment.
Improve the basic environmental health status of the area, at both a village and household
level, by implementing a Water and Sanitation Programme for 2009.
Planning and developing a project(s) to address the nutritional needs of the orphans, HIV/AIDS sufferers and expectant mothers in Chimteka.
Our volunteer nutritionist is currently doing a lot of ground work, at the hospital nutrition rehab centre in Malawi and
plans involving gathering statistics from all the villages, introducing better feasible diets and training will be among
many projects that she will implement.
Construction of four teacher’s houses is under way and due for completion by end of
February, 2009. The site is near the school built by the Scottish Schools charity and around the centre of the Chimteka area
A house with three bedrooms has been rented in the heart of the Mchinji Boma, ideal for meetings with key officials at the District Assembly and Hospital. It is 40 kms from Chimteka.This houses our present volunteers. We now plan for either, the long-term renting or purchase of a house in Mchinji; or the building of volunteer housing on site in Chimteka. This would facilitate the placement of long-term volunteers.
This is an ongoing project. The number of villages have grown to 22 and the majority have a clean and sufficient source of drinking water.
Malawi
A Lilongwe based hotelier has donated 1000 mosquito nets to Chimteka and plans to have the local TV station record the presentation to the community. Since the meeting we learned that he is also organizing a corporate fund raising event in his hotel on Monday, 23rd February, 2009. Our volunteer, Brian, has long been working on such achievements.
CCS continues in 2009 with its fund-raising events: CCS Spring lunch in Sutton Golf Club on 27th March, 2009 and to date our other fund raisers have been the annual fund raising event in St Fintans parish hall and the Grant Reddy Corporate Lunch
