SHS sophomores Piper Crotty, Alice George, Sophie Murray, and Jennifer Scanlon are working with the Malawi Children’s Mission (MCM) to provide resources for orphans and other children in Malawi.

A landlocked country located in southeastern Africa, Malawi has a population of 19.13 million with a poverty rate above half. Over 9.5 million people live in poverty, and 25% live in extreme poverty. Many of the children lack food, water, shelter, clothes, and other basic needs.

The Malawi Children’s Mission was founded in 2007 by Steven Koffman and Sean Robinson to support orphaned children. MCM was built in the Lirangwe area of Malawi, located near the poorest neighborhoods. Koffman and Robinson wanted to establish a life for orphans that was more than surviving: MCM works to provide an optimistic future for these children, where they can grow and thrive. Koffman and Robinson look to spread MCM’s influence by showing the possibilities of helping those in vulnerable circumstances.

MCM functions to support six main areas: nutrition, education, healthcare, life skills, well-being, and spiritual guidance. They provide children with two healthy meals daily that include freshly grown fruits and vegetables. MCM volunteers have also constructed three wells to provide safe drinking water. In addition, MCM provides education from preschool through secondary school as well as tutoring from volunteers. Supplying these educational opportunities, the mission is hoping to unhinge the cycle of poverty by opening doors to further opportunities. 

Focusing on healthcare, MCM installed new medical organizations with qualified health professionals. These professionals treat minor wounds to various diseases, including malaria–a rampant disease affecting nearly 4 million people in Malawi annually. Additionally, children are educated on proper health and hygiene basics, such as hand washing and teeth brushing, which helps decrease future illnesses.

Over the past several months, Crotty, George, Murray, and Scanlon have worked as a team to provide for children in Malawi. This team created a website to help fundraise for the mission. With the plan of supporting 160 children, they have raised $500; with a goal of $1,000, each participant must raise $200. They have been fundraising for about four weeks, and the mission ends on October 22nd. SHS students are encouraged to support their team, Minions, for the final fundraising days!

Crotty, George, Murray, and Scanlon are also engaging in other tasks to experience what it’s like to live in Malawi. They have participated in over ten different experiences to simulate the average daily life of children living in Malawi: they filled up a pail of water and had to successfully balance it on their heads while walking to a destination, stacked various objects on a bicycle and weaved through a series of cones, cooked meals over an outdoor fire, made bracelets, and cared for animals. The team stated these activities were “challenges,” emphasizing the differences between our lives and Malawian lives.

The team recommends this eye-opening opportunity to other students. When offered the chance to support children in need, these compassionate students did not hesitate to help.