Teambuilding

We rarely have the complete team together, but Mary decided that everyone, all our staff, should know what everyone else is doing. It was a real revelation to most, each group were in awe of each other's successes.
I suppose we were celebrating a year of huge achievements.
It is remarkable that the factory will produce almost 1000 pumps this Year and export to maybe five or six countries. I find it hard to believe from such a modest spend. Think of it, when all these pumps are installed, between a quarter and half a million new people will have clean, safe drinking water.
In the preschool division, this week we have begun to support our 31st preschool. Casca is the main mah here. He cycles to rural communities, cajoles, chiefs, and various leaders to support amazing rural, uneducated women to be trained by us and to begin the most amazing transformation I could never have dreamed up in my most technicolour dream. At the moment this happens in broken down sheds, in churches, in stables or under trees. BUT most are moulding bricks for their own little place, which then becomes a place for community meeting places, Health Clinics and most of all Adult Education, again run by local people with a little support. Di I mention money, No because all this costs so little. It's a miracle, the miracle of the resilience of rural Malawian women.
The farm has recently been selected by ICRAF, in a new initiative to produce fruit trees and in the long term become self sufficient in fruit. It's amazing, but Malawi imports oranges and alpples fron South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is a scandal.
With one other group we have passed the first hurdle, and will now begin work with Ministry advisors and inspectors to reach all the standards required. This year we will achieve a production of 10,000 improved variety seedlings, another unbelievable achievement. We have a long way to go to reach perfection, but at the moment we are in the top two, hardly a true reflection, but we are in the top league. How about that then?
We also have an urban gardening project, an adult education programme piloting teaching of English and of course a teacher training project impacting 25,000 primary school students and set to expand.
This is nowhere near an exhaustive list.

Guess how much all this costs our donors.

Oh yesterday was my birthday as well, and they surprised me!!