Background

In the late 1990s, Malawi was gripped with an HIV/AIDS epidemic. A lot of people, including my own family, were badly affected with family members dying of AIDS. Most of those who died were the main breadwinners who were supporting their own and extended families. This made a lot of children orphans, being looked after within the extended family units mostly by elderly relatives, putting more pressure on an already struggling unit.

This situation made me think of how I could help my local community. When one of my sisters and her husband died of AIDS, it was fortunate that I was able to help take care of their four children, paying for their school fees so they were able to complete their education. It was a difficult time, but the situation made me realise how I could help my community. I decided then that I would start a charity to raise funds to help those affected in this way. 

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. It was also one of those countries most affected by HIV/AIDS at that time. A lot of orphanages cropped up in many urban areas, they could not cope with demand. There was no such help in the rural areas which is where many orphans ended up.  These areas are usually inaccessible, due to a lack of good roads and transportation.  

On one of my visits to Malawi in 2007, some British friends, who were interested in helping me with this project, went with me. After much research and consultation with local people, I came to the conclusion that an orphanage in this area would not be the right way to help. At this point, it was being perceived that orphans were privileged because they could be taken care of by various organisations. So my idea was to help not just the orphans, but also those who were looking after them in the village. This way, the whole community would be helped, and the orphans would benefit more from community based care than if they went into orphanages, or ended up in exploitative situations. 

We sat down with the villagers to listen to their ideas about how this situation could be handled. It was agreed that a number of projects would be identified and we could then raise funds to pay for them. Thus, Umoyo Orphan Project was founded in 2008 which, subsequently, became Umoyo Community Project to better reflect what we do.  

Sarah Mtonga