Wow, I have enjoyed putting this together — so many wonderful things happened in 2022.
Sit back and appreciate how your support has changed lives.
Enjoy :)
Approx 10 minute read .
Contents
1. A message from Tom Herring.
2. Water
3. Livelihoods & Food Security
4. Primary Education
5. Hope Store
6. Fundraising
7. Special Thanks
Glistening Hope
A message from Tom Herring, CEO.
I once heard somebody say, ‘He with the greatest hope has the greatest influence.’
I believe that.
These days we often mistake hope for something fragile and transitory. On the contrary, I have found hope to be the transformational agent of change that can turn any situation around. It is not smothered by its circumstances.
Hope believes that even in the most difficult darkest times, good can prevail if we let it. It is the most courageous hearts that dare to hope in the face of great opposition, to lift their heads, look the enemy in the face and not back down.
The main goal of Hope for a Child is to propagate hope.
We love to partner with people in Malawi to share our resources and experience, but the biggest thing we have to give is hope; it is the only power that can break crippling cycles that have persisted for generations.
Without partnering with people with a vision of how bright the future could be, our investments in Malawi would amount to nothing. But when placed into the hands of fiery hope agents, anything is possible. We watch financial resources get converted into changes that benefit people for generations to come as sparks of hope set fires in the hearts of men, women and children.
Could this weight of poverty truly get lighter? Could we really have clean running water one day? Might I never have to send my children to bed hungry again?
I imagine that these are the kinds of questions that begin to surface in the hearts of those who start participating in our projects. Over time these whispers grow into forest fires as communities become determined that theirs is the last generation where children lack the basic things they need to grow up healthy and strong.
Recent years have been challenging for everyone, but especially where economies are very fragile. The world is interconnected and a war in Europe can quickly, severely impact families in rural Africa. Among other challenges, more families are unable to provide adequate food and other essentials for themselves.
Yet among it all, we see people improving their situation in these times against the odds. These men and women have been able to get hopeful, believing that the future does not have to be like the past and the best is yet to come.
Community members where our partner Rhema is working have adopted a daring slogan over the years.‘Poverty is one’s choice,’ they sing in unison. I struggle to imagine the courage required to adopt such a mindset.
There is so much wonderful news to share with you. Below we have zoomed in on a few highlights and examples to give a taste of how your support has changed lives over 2022.
Thank you so much for all you do.
Tom Herring
Project Overview
In 2022 we worked with our three partners in Malawi to support 11,842 men, women and children who have managed to strengthen their economic situation, gain access to a source of safe water or experience significant improvements at their school.
Water
Meet Mrs Kodolani. Until recently, this highly contaminated stream was where the women in her community would fetch water for daily drinking, cooking and washing.
Before the borehole was installed in Chitimbe Village, with your help in 2022, she had no other option but to walk 2 kilometres to collect a pail of contaminated water.
Sickness was commonplace, particularly among children who are at a high risk of contracting infections that can prove fatal.
Now she and her four children are not only protected from waterborne infections, but they don’t have to face abuse and harassment on the long twilight journey, which is a sad reality for women without water close to home.
They also save lots of time and energy each day not carrying a heavy load all that way.
In 2022 we drilled four boreholes in rural villages, providing a source of clean water to 2,400 people, along with the training to maintain and manage the water source.
Hope Water LtdHope Water is a social enterprise we own jointly with our partner Rhema.
We provide a piped water service, which is proving to be life-changing for thousands of families. Those living in the area now benefit from one of the most reliable and safe sources of water in the country.
Over the year, we increased our customer base for public water points, and are now supplying around 6,000 people.
It is very exciting to see the impact on local businesses as well. A range of business opportunities have become viable, like restaurants, bakeries and tree nurseries, causing a significant boost in the local economy.
In 2022 we invested a grant of £49,341 from Guernsey OADC to begin extending the supply to private homes. The infrastructure is nearly complete, and in early 2023 we will be completing connections to an initial 175 homes.
Livelihoods & Food Security
Tiyanjane is a group of community members who formed their own Village Bank to pool their savings and issue loans to one another. With support from trainers, these community-based financial institutions profoundly impact the members' ability to maintain and grow their wealth.
Tiyajane has been enabled to go further than saving money and issuing loans; the members are running a cooperative tomato business.
They made an initial investment of £90 for their inputs and land rental. Together they planted and tended 3,240 vines, and after harvesting and selling the produce, they generated a profit of £110.
After distributing some to each member, they have decided to reinvest the rest to raise another 5,000 vines.
Trying something new as a group is a great way to learn. Now the members have the confidence to go and run tomato or other businesses with their families.
The chairperson of the group said, ‘We have passion to continue farming to improve our families' living standards. We are now able to buy food for our families through the money raised from selling tomatoes.’
Tomatoes are like gold.
Village Bank members learn and explore many topics and skills together, like financial literacy, gender roles, various agricultural practices and business management.
In 2022 we supported over 200 Village Banks — setting up new ones and supporting existing ones.
A Village Bank holding a weekly meeting.
Learning to make organic fertiliser.
This theatre group regularly performs in villages to raise issues, particularly in the area of gender equality.
Village Banks in one project area where we are working with our partner FOCCAD experienced particularly significant growth over 2022.
The 17 Village Banks doubled total savings compared to the previous year, with the 376 members accumulating an equivalent of £30,000 in 2022. Every person took a loan to invest in a small business — £8 being the smallest and £140 the largest.
Pass the Pigs
One way we help households to become more resilient, generate income and improve nutrition is by distributing livestock along with training. 581 households received livestock in 2022 — either a flock of chickens, a pair of goats or a sow.
Livestock are excellent assets, since they can quickly be converted into cash in times of difficulty, provide a source of nutrition and are relatively easy to multiply with training.
As the animals are multiplied, some are passed on to new recipients.
Nutrition
Orange sweet potatoes contain many goodies, including vitamin A, an essential nutrient for child health and development.
Helping children to eat enough of the right foods is a powerful weapon against poverty. The right nutrients enable a child's body and brain to develop properly for the physical and mental capacity to thrive.
How do we enable children to eat well?
We prefer to empower people to meet their own needs. So rather than give out food, we work with parents and carers, teaching the different food groups that are required to build a healthy human, as well as the tools and knowledge to grow their own and generate income to buy it.
We have constructed community grain banks in 3 villages, where in 2022, community members stored 34 tonnes of maize — the staple food. This is a 13% increase from 2021.
In 2022 we worked alongside 3,359 people to help them strengthen their livelihoods and become financially self-sufficient. They have made powerful changes in their lives to improve their family welfare.
SPRODETA Agribusiness
This social enterprise was set up to provide a market to smallholder farmers who otherwise struggle to make a profit due to limited access to a good market, training and inputs.
In 2022 the business was able to purchase grain from 322 farmers. In 2023 we are completing work on our new agribusiness centre so that we can buy more produce and provide more income to more families in remote areas.
Primary Education
Providing a meal at school encourages parents to send children, who are more able to focus on learning.
We supported three primary schools in 2022, improving school infrastructure, providing learning materials, and facilitating feeding programs, benefiting 1,283 children.
These activities are designed to increase school attendance and provide a better learning environment, particularly for girls who are more likely to drop out of school for several reasons.
Since we began helping these schools in 2020, average enrollment has increased by 22%, and dropout rates have more than halved.
In the surrounding communities it has been common practice for children to work on the land rather than attend school. Our partner SPRODETA has been engaging parents and carers, helping them understand the long-term importance of not keeping children from learning.
Children at Kasangani Primary with new learning materials.
Hope Store
We are thrilled by the successful launch of Hope Store on Guernsey's High Street in 2022, which benefits the livelihoods of artisans in Malawi, Ethiopia, Tunisia and many other countries.
By buying directly from the makers, we significantly boost their incomes. We have had a great positive response from islanders, who are enjoying filling their homes with beautiful, ethically sourced homeware made with natural materials.
Hope Store on the High Street in St Peter Port.
Fundraising
In 2022 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 £74,000 to supply more customers with drinking water through Hope Water and provide emergency assistance to families displaced by severe flooding caused by cyclone Ana.
The £5 Lottery Club
We were delighted to add many new members to the club in 2023, with over 4,000 monthly tickets, raising over £200,000.
We sent out a total of £50,600 in prizes to happy islanders, including a special Christmas bonus prize of £4,000.
As well as Hope for a Child, the club supports 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
We are astounded by the way The Big Summer Lottery is more and more successful every year. 2022 was no exception.
Every one of 13,000 tickets were sold, with 50 prizes being distributed to very happy winners, including a top prize of £100,000.
The event raised a huge £410,000, which is being used by Hope for a Child to continue creating change in Malawi, as well as support organisations benefiting children in Guernsey
We were able to donate £28,000 from the proceeds to other local charities: Autism Guernsey, Trauma Recovery Centre, Guernsey Arts Commission & Action for Children.
Special Thanks
We could not have achieved any of the above without the hard work and dedication of our partners in Malawi — SPRODETA, Rhema Institute for Development & FOCCAD. We strongly beleive in empowering local people and grass roots organisations to lead change in their own communities, and as a result everthing we achieve is delivered by our local partners.
We are also indebted to our wonderful Hope Team in Guernsey, who work passionately and tirelessly to raise funds and ensure we are achieving our aims in Malawi.
Last but far from least, without the generosity of our supporters we could achieve very little — if you took part in The Big Summer Lottery, The £5 Lottery Club or purchased something from Hope Store in 2022, we can’t thank you enough.
Looking Forward
2022 marked ten years of working in Malawi. It is incredible how far we have come over that time with your help. It is very satisfying meeting individuals who's lives have been transformed and wondering through villages where the general welfare of the community has risen over time.
We used our celebration party at the Hope Centre as an opportunity to cast our vision for the next 10 years.
We talked about our commitment to continuing our push toward business solutions to poverty, which are financially, socially and environmentally sustainable.
The three social enterprises that we will be focusing on in 2023 are Hope Water, SPRODETA Agribusiness and Start Smart Academy — an early child development centre, providing care and education for vulnerable children.
We are also very keen to enable our partners to become more financially self-sufficient and able meet needs in their communities even without support from organisations like us.
We will also continue to work alongside thousands of men, women and children in rural Malawi to help them transform their own lives through livelihoods, water and primary education initiatives.
As always, we see a bright future for Malawi.
Don't miss out on upcoming events and success stories:
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