Help Our Feeding Center's Women & Children -Malawi

We are raising funds to buy supplies and to create sewing training lessons for vulnerable Malawian women and girls served by Hands of Hope Feeding Center in Mtsiliza (Lilongwe, Malawi.) We also aim to give a portion of funds for a Christmas celebration for the kids on December 25th.

Our original goal was to raise at least $750 USD. We now aim to raise a total of $1000 USD in order to also get school supplies, books, and pencils for the children served by the center. This project is being spearheaded by Lukas (14) & Nico (12) who are members of the international community in Lilongwe.

Here is a recent session of the sewing class

The boys would like to make the holidays a little bit brighter for some of our neighbors who are struggling with the rising costs of basic necessities like cooking oil, maize flour, and other daily staples needed by families just to get by.

Several years ago Lukas helped the center with a fundraising project to buy the sewing machines they are currently using. By training more women and girls how to use the machines, new income generation opportunities will open up and make it easier for them and their families to survive these difficult times.

Both boys have been training to help others via crowdfunding projects for the past few years. See the boys' recent successfully completed fundraiser for YASD Youth Training Center in Lilongwe this past September.

Wilson Mvinya (our friend and neighbor here in Malawi) runs the feeding center and does a number of community projects and initiatives around the country.

Children receiving meals at the Feeding Center

Wilson writes:

"The sewing machine project helps vulnerable young girls and disadvantaged women, widows, and single-headed households, who are in a very delicate financial situation.

For tailoring, the donations will go towards getting materials for training, ie pieces of cloth, sewing threads, needles, oils and payment for the teacher who is disabled but has the skills and qualifications and that's one way of empowering him economically. Currently, we are registered by Tevet.

Also at the Feeding Center, normally our daily portion of food is rice and beans but on Christmas Day we would like to give the children a special meal like rice and meat plus a drink or candy... something special since Christmas celebrations are special and done once per year.

So the money will help us buy meat, cooking oil, candy or simple drinks for all 550 kids."

Women learning at the center with their teacher (pink shirt in center) James

A Quick Word From Lukas's and Nico's Mom:

I'm Kristen Palana, a UN consultant and university professor living in Malawi since 2019. I founded Aura's House, a grassroots website that existed long before Kickstarter, Gofundme, etc. Since 2004, we have raised over $150,000 for health, education, housing, and income-generation projects for needy families in

developing countries.

Lukas and Nico have been helping me fund-raise since they were babies and now are old enough to want to do their own projects. Since having moved to Malawi in 2019, we've raised funds for a Malawian classroom to be built, Wilson's feeding center, as well as other housing, health, and education projects for families around the country.

As always with any project I am helping with, 100% of Donations go directly to the intended recipients. (I donate all the GoFundMe and credit card fees we incur so those will not affect the project.) I also am an artist and a generous portion of proceeds from my art gallery website will go towards this project. Learn more .

How You Can Help:

We aim to raise at least $750 to buy sewing supplies and to pay the teacher, Mr. James Mbewe, who leads the training. A portion of the funds will also go towards food and small gifts (candy) for the holiday celebration at the feeding center.

All funds raised will be used towards this project. We'll post the receipts here once we get them and keep you posted with text and photo updates.

Your contribution will have a tremendous impact not only on these women, girls, and their teacher, but on the entire community!

Other Ways You Can Help:

There's more than one way you can help us.

Please spread the word! Share this story with your friends via email, Facebook, X- anything will do! Tell your classmates, your family, your football team, your glee club - tell everyone!

And thank you. Because of you, we can make a difference in our communities and in our world!

Sincerely,

Lukas, Wilson, Nico, and Kristen

Kristen and Wilson in 2019