Ready for some good news?

You are about to discover the extent of the powerful impact you have had through Hope for a Child projects in 2021.

You better hold onto your hat!

Approx 5 minute read .

Compassionate Business

A message from Tom Herring, CEO.

What a year! 2020 showed us like never before how interconnected our world is. It was a surreal feeling to see families in rural villages of Malawi grappling with challenges brought on by the same health crisis that continues to impact us at home.

Even though we have been unable to travel, we felt in some ways linked to our friends in Africa like never before. We are brothers and sisters on a journey together; this world is our shared home, and our success is theirs, and theirs ours.

An impression has been building in my mind over the last few months of the extraordinary role that Guernsey has to play in our world. It is easy to feel small, perhaps insignificant and even victim to events over the waters.

But the truth is, we are uniquely positioned to bring comfort and strength to a hurting world, through genuine and honest partnership. I believe we exist for such a time as this; when waters rise and torrents fall, we get the privilege of making a powerful decision to look out, to extend friendship, to build bridges.

Each year I consider the most important success or lesson learned over the previous 12 months. And every time, it comes back to one thing—friendship.

We only have a positive influence in Malawi to the extent that we are willing to have real, open and equal friendships with our staff and partners. In any relationship the use of such tools as fear, manipulation and control crush creativity and transparency. For this reason we work hard to empower, and bring out the best in one another through every interaction.

This hard work has paid off, and over 2020 we had the privilege of working with our partners to come alongside 24,700 people in rural Malawi, helping them to meet their own needs and build safe, secure lives.

This is having a further life-changing impact on 10,500 children, who are, among other things, experiencing the benefits of better meals, cleaner water and safer housing.

We worked with our partners in the following ways:

Project Overview

Hope for a Child impact in numbers

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

In 2021 8,242 people have been enabled to access a source of safe water within 1km of their home, through 19 waterpoints — 6 newly constructed and 4 rehabilitated village boreholes, and 9 water points provided through Hope Water.

The 21 households of Kanyama Village have recently gained access to safe drinking water for the first time.

In rural areas we currently help communities to manage their own water resource through Water User Associations. These are elected groups of men and women who are trained to manage the water supply in their village, collecting water fees and performing maintenance tasks.

Where access to safe water has been gained, community members are reporting drastically improved health, requiring fewer visits to clinics — which are often a long walk away and costly to access.

We have also enabled 781 people to access improved sanitation facilities, in their homes and in primary schools.

Livelihoods

Jesse and her husband received 10 chickens. Through their good stewardship they have multiplied to 100 healthy birds. Struggling to pay bills is a problem of the past.

In 2021 we helped 3,628 men and women to start new and develop existing small businesses.

The majority of these micro enterprises are in the agricultural sector. Running a farming business requires families to shift from subsistence — where the focus is on growing enough food to feed the family for the year — to a level of commercial farming.

The life of a family dependent on subsistence agriculture in rural Malawi is normally characterized by very low levels of income, resulting in a lack of the basic things, like enough nutritious food and safe shelter.

Shifting to farming as business is a big jump. Commercial agriculture involves a different skill set, and through our partners we support families with planning, planting and pest control through to harvesting, processing, storage and marketing.

Power in numbers

Another key component is getting organized. Our partners help farmers form Village Banks and Farmer Cooperatives. Village Banks give farmers access to informal financial services like a safe place to save, insurance and credit for seeds and tools and other start-up costs. The members of the Village Banks we worked with in 2021 accumulated a total of just over £100,000 in their own savings. Most members earnt great returns on their savings, with many more than doubling their funds over the year.

Farming cooperatives enable farmers to access training and support more easily as a group, lower costs of inputs and increase their bargaining power to obtain better prices for their produce.

We also provide some families with livestock, through a pass on scheme.

Recipients receive a pair of goats or 10 chickens, and as the animals begin to reproduce the owners pass on some of the young to another family, multiplying the impact.

Livestock were distributed to 76 families over the year, along with training in how to care for them and protect them from disease. Owning livestock provides a family with a significant layer of security. When a serious need arises, like school fees or a medical bill, the sale of an animal can meet that need.

Nutrition

Trying a new porridge made from nutritious ingredients, like peanut flour.

Over the year 1,572 people were directly empowered to improve the nutritional intake of their families.

These men and women were shown how to grow nutritious vegetables at their homes, with minimal space and cost.

They also received training on the foundations of a balanced diet and how to prepare good meals using readily available, affordable ingredients.

Those trained learned about the importance of diet for childrens' development, and are now feeling more empowered to meet the nutritional needs of their little ones.

Families have also been receiving fruit and nut trees like macadamia, orange and mango, with training on how to nurture them to maintain a source of vitamin-rich food close to home.

Another important activity implemented last year was the construction of 3 community grain banks, which provide a place for families to store their crops in a secure place, helping to ensure food security in the lean months while waiting for the next harvest.

Parents and carers at Kasangani Village have been learning about cooking nutritious meals with local ingredients.

Primary Education

We have been working in 4 primary schools and 1 pre-school to help create an improved learning environment for children, by developing infrastructure, supplying desks and learning materials and engaging children in fun competitions, like sports events and quizzes.

A new teacher's house, for example, means that a school struggling with staff shortages can receive an additional teacher. Reducing the ratio of children per teacher makes a big difference to a child’s learning outcomes. It is not easy to learn anything if you are one of a hundred children in a class.

New improved toilets constructed in 2 primary schools are improving the health and wellbeing of children, and enable girls particularly to attend school.

In 2021, over 1,400 children benefited from these improvements.

Members of Nthizi Primary enjoying learning at desks rather than on the floor.

SPRODETA Agribusiness

Retail outlet for SPRODETA Agribusiness products.

Imagine that you are a farmer in rural Malawi. You have produced a crop to sell, but there is a problem — you live a few hours walk from the nearest market, and there are no vehicles in your village.

How do you convert your hard work into income for your family?

Many of the families we are working with in northern Malawi are in this position. To help solve this problem, in 2021 we officially entered a business partnership as 40% shareholders in SPRODETA Agribusiness — an enterprise run by one of our long-term partners.

Through this business we are buying produce directly from farmers, storing and processing it in some way e.g. milling maize into flour, then selling it on, mostly to retail customers through small outlets.

Providing a good price for grain, beans and meat means that families can earn better incomes to develop their businesses and improve their welfare.

We anticipate that this business will also generate good profit to invest in our other charitable activities.

Hope Water

1 of 9 water points in the first Hope Water piped supply network.

We have set up a company owned jointly by Hope for a Child and our long-term local partner Rhema, called Hope Water. The aim is to provide a sustainable solution to the water crisis by constructing mini water supply networks in semi-urban areas where water access is limited.

Our first service is now up and running, supplying over 2,800 people with safe, easily accessible water through 9 public water points.

The prepaid technology we are using enables us to easily collect a small fee from users for water dispensed, so we can keep the supply maintained and, in time, expand to serve more users.

The vast majority of households are willing to pay a small amount for water, if it means there is a reliable and safe supply near their home.

In 2022 we are planning to extend the supply, adding private connections to serve individual households. This will result in significant improvements in household welfare, as well as improved revenue, which will help us supply more users.

Business is Booming

- Katengeza Cooperative

Over the last couple of years we have had the privilege of working through our partner FOCCAD with Katengeza Cooperative.

The cooperative is an innovative group of men and women, who, as well as jointly marketing their rice and other crops, are producing a range of health supplements, like lemongrass and moringa. They are currently selling 800kg of their products each month, distributing them through shops in 2 cities.

In 2021 Katengeza Cooperative made a profit of £5,000, which was distributed among the members who are reporting enhanced living standards, each having improved housing and owning livestock.

In addition to their own, the group supports 38 children in the community with nutritious food.

Never too late to learn; never too late to build a legacy.

- A proud grandfather's story

Mr Kamanga has doubled his crop yields.

Mr Kamanga is a grandfather of 6 children and a proud member of the cooperative.

He has spent most of his life farming, but has always struggled to produce enough to meet his family’s needs. He puts this down to a lack of technical knowledge.

When Katengeza Cooperative began receiving agricultural training and access to basic financial services, he began to realize big benefits.

Mr Kamanga has doubled his productivity, producing twice the amount of maize on the same area of land, due to the techniques in conservation agriculture he has adopted. He is also growing other new crops too, like peanuts and sweet potato.

He is now able to buy livestock, like pigeons and chickens, which are providing an important source of nutrition for him and his family. He is proud to see them eating a varied meal 3 times a day.

Fundraising

In 2021 we generated income primarily through The Big Summer Lottery and The £5 Lottery Club.

We are also thankful to have received funding from the people of Guernsey through the Guernsey Overseas Aid & Development Commission, totaling £49,884.

The £5 Lottery Club

In 2021 our top supporters club - The £5 Lottery Club grew to over 2,300 members.

We sent out a total of £46,600 to our members accross the Bailiwick of Guernsey in cash prizes.

These champions together raised a total of £140,000 for Hope for a Child projects and these great local children's causes: Friends of Frossard children's Ward, Action for Children and Every Child Our Future.

The draw takes place on the 23rd of each month when 100 winning numbers are drawn, including a top prize of £1,000 - except in May and November when the top prize is boosted to £3,000!

(Spaces are opening up to new members soon! Click HERE to join the waiting list and be the first to know when the doors open.)

The Big Summer Lottery

For the 5th Anniversary Edition, The Big Summer Lottery was another big success.

11,000 tickets were sold and prizes worth a total of £187,150 were distributed to 50 very happy winners, including a top prize of £125,000.

The event raised a huge £320,000.

Here is the heartwarming story we received from the top prize winner...

“About a month ago, my son dropped me off some shopping. With it he handed me a ticket for The Big Summer Lottery 2021 that he had bought me that morning.

We joked that it was a lucky ticket but then we also joked that the last few years had felt quite unlucky for us – I had lost my husband suddenly and life had been fairly difficult for me and my family, not only emotionally but financially too.

When we received the call last Friday to say that we had won, words simply don’t describe the feeling of happiness, joy and sheer shock.

We have all been living in a dream world since that phone call – we have laughed, we have cried and still simply cannot believe it – it’s a dream come true for me and my family.

We can’t thank Hope for a Child enough – not only for the charitable work they do, but for changing our lives.

If anyone is thinking “It can’t happen to me”, we are testament to the fact that it can!

We look forward to supporting Hope for a Child and The Big Summer Lottery in the years to come.

Thank you again so much.”

We were able to donate £25,000 from the proceeds to charities supporting children in Guernsey: Autism Guernsey, Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation, Guernsey Arts Commision & Action for Children.

Special Thanks

None of the impact outlined in this report would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our Malawian partners.

Rhema, SPRODETA & FOCCAD implement our projects on the ground. They are comitted to developing healthy relationships with the communities we work in, and are diligent in working to unerstand the root causes of challeneges facing children.

We are also hugely thankful for you, our supporters. Your generocity is enabling great things to happen in the lives of children and their families.

Looking Forward

In 2022 we will continue to work alongside thousands of families in Malawi, helping them to meet their own needs on their own terms.

Our focus on business solutions to the challenges facing children will continue to evolve over the year.

We are particularly excited about one big project, which will see the formation of a direct link between our fundraising and impact overseas — Hope Store.

Hope Store is a physical and online shop based on Guernsey’s High St., selling high end, natural products ethically made in developing countries for your home.

We are thrilled to be linking skilled artisans from around the world with our supporters through beautiful, quality homeware.

Not only will every purchase directly provide income to the makers, but 100% of the profits will be used to fund the work of Hope for a Child.

We will be open soon — come and pay us a visit!

Don't miss out on upcoming events and success stories:

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Questions, comments or suggestions? We would love to hear from you. Email: tom@hope.gg

Hope For a Child is a charity registered in Guernsey No: 291

www.hope.gg