PROJECT MALAWI
Current Project
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ACADES
The Associated Center for Agro-based Development, commonly referred to as ACADES, is the largest community of agribusiness in Malawi, serving over 3,000 youth farmers. ACADES aims to redefine the agricultural sector, transforming it into a viable and desirable career for youth, focus on employment creation and economic empowerment.
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ACADES mission focuses on changing the mindset of Malawi's youth. Their program aspires to redefine agriculture, promoting it as an attractive and lucrative business for young individuals. Ultimately, this organization aims to promote youth growth and spur economic development for individuals as well as the entire nation.
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Goals of ACADES​
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Provide farm input loans to youth farmers to cover the cost of seed, fertilizers, equipment, and irrigation.
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Develop skills and knowledge that promotes individual independent in agribusiness related to animal and crop care, business management, and leadership.
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Expose farmed to profitable markets through collaborations with local, regional, and international business
In their efforts to achieve such goals, ACADES offers bountiful support to all individuals who enroll in their program. This support includes loans for farming equipment, education regarding efficient farming techniques, and constant advising throughout the entire process. Furthermore, ACADES confers with big business to combine individual harvests and negotiate the most profitable deals for members of their program.
However, unlike many agricultural initiatives in Malawi, ACADES retains their members each year with the intention of engaging much of Malawi's youth in the program and eventually being adopted and supported by the Malawi government.
As ACADES aims to support so many Malawians, it is our mission to support ACADES. Therefore Project Malawi is dedicated to educating individuals about the culture and the current state of Malawi, supporting ACADES through service and fundraising, and further engaging the greater community in these efforts.
Project C.u.r.e
Project C.U.R.E. (Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment) is a non-profit that identifies, solicits, collects, sorts and distributes medical supplies and services to impoverished countries according to the imperative needs of the world. Their work helps to bridge staggering health resource gaps in the developing world by empowering doctors and nurses with the tools they need to treat disease, deliver vaccines, perform life-changing surgeries and ensure safe childbirth. Thanks to the dedication of thousands of volunteers nationwide, two to three cargo containers of life-saving aid leave Project C.U.R.E.’s warehouses every week.
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Because of massive funding shortages, the people of the Northern Region are subject to rely on inadequately equipped and over crowded health facilities to receive medical care. In 2017, we completed a project that focused on both increasing the availability and upgrading the capabilities of medical facilities in the Northern Region. This includes opening the first two medical high dependency units in the Northern Region at both Mzuzu Central Hospital and Chitipa District Hospital (right), as well as opening a minor operating theater at Nthalire Health Centre in the Chitipa District.
In order to achieve these upgrades, we partnered with Project C.U.R.E. to acquire the necessary medical supplies. Project C.U.R.E. agreed to support this project by donating a 40-foot crate full of basic medical supplies and technology-appropriate equipment valued at around $500,000.
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Medical Supplies Cargo Crate
Project C.U.R.E.’s Cargo program delivers semi-trailer-sized cargo containers carrying medical donations to under-resourced hospitals, clinics and community health centers in developing countries. Each 40' container delivers $400-500,000 worth of medical supplies and equipment on average, increasing access to healthcare for the most vulnerable populations in the world. We are responsible for covering the costs of transportation and a needs assessment which is approximately $8,400.
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PASTPRojects
Malawi Children's village
Malawi Children's Village is a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the lives of orphans by providing health, social and educational resources in 38 villages along the southwest shore of Lake Malawi. Malawi Children's Village support orphans from birth to adulthood providing, shelter, food, safety, health care and education until they can live independent healthy lives. With assistance from their extended families, villages, and communities they currently serve over 2,000 orphans.
Sanitary Pad Program
The sanitary pad program will be our focus project from Malawi Children's Village. We were drawn to this project because of its impact on women's health, the economy, and education. Our work will help open an additional CBO (Community Business Organization) in a village in Northern Malawi. Women in the community will receive funds to create their own sanitary pads to sell to families with young girls. The girls will then be able to attend school during menstruation and re-use the pads. In this way, the project will help young girls stay in school and help make the women involved in this CBO have a sustainable business model.
On December 7th, we received a grant from the UW Madison's Philanthropy Lab for $15,000 fulfilling more than 3 times what was needed for this project to be executed. Because of this, we are able to expand the sanitary pad project's range and affect a larger group of people.
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