Jona's Success!

This week in the office we had an unexpected visitor. A sponsored student, Jona, had completed his tertiary education with good grades and had come to show his appreciation to Joshua for the years of help they had given him.

This is hugely exciting news to receive and a massive achievement for Jona. In Malawi, education is like gold dust with only 18% of the population reaching even secondary school, let alone tertiary. After writing a written exam and having an interview, Jona was accepted into the Combino Technical College to study in the Electrical and Installation Department. Within this he studied subjects such as Principles, Science, Technical Drawing, Technology and Calculations, as well as English Communications and Entrepreneurship. Alongside this, they are expected to complete three months in an industry placement. In his workshop practice he was awarded an A+ and is described as a "trustworthy, responsible, and reliable person" by his principle. Reading these reports, we were glowing with pride.

Joshua had been sponsoring Jona since secondary school, through which he gained his Malawi School Certificate of Education, all the way through to his college education.  It was his dream to become an electrical engineer throughout his education. He not only enjoyed it but has gained many skills meaning that he can stand on his own two feet and now sees a bright future for himself.

This is a huge achievement for Jona and brings so much joy to his life and to our office. In his own words, "I would like to thank the whole Joshua organisation for working hand in hand with me to reach this stage. I promise that I will make good use of this chance". We wish him all the luck in the world.

My Experience at the Solomoni Pop-up Clinic

Twice a week Jean, a qualified nurse who volunteers her service’s at Joshua, and one of our Field Officers go out into the communities Joshua support to run a pop-up medical clinic for mother’s to bring their young children and babies to. Here, the children are weighed, checked for illnesses or symptoms of, and provided with medical care and advice. This week, I had the privilege to join Jean and Joseph and what a touching experience it was.

Having travelled Africa widely on family holidays, I have seen the widespread effects of poverty. Or I thought I had. What I learnt yesterday was that I had only begun to skim the surface of what it means to live in poverty in Africa. Arriving Solomoni, there were queues of women with their children waiting for us; prepared to walk for miles and to wait for as long as it took to be seen by Jean. 

One by one, mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends would bring in children and babies to be examined. I had the very important job of weighing the infants. This, I was told, was crucial in order to monitor the weight of the child over time, enabling Jean to assess whether the child was developing normally or was malnourished. The women then described to Jean, through Joseph, any symptoms the children had. Armed with a thermometer, a stethoscope and a box of medical supplies, Jean was able to give advice, treat any illnesses, or praise mother’s for their decision to take the child to hospital at the right time. Illnesses ranged from upset tummies and ear infections to Malaria.

 In particular, one family will stick with me; a lady brought in her young sister who had downs syndrome. The little girl played with her young cousins beside us whilst Jean was able to stress the importance of education, playtime, and communication in order for the little girl to develop. Having previously read that many disabled children in poverty-stricken countries are often abandoned due to the families’ inability to care for the child it was truly humbling to see how loved this little girl was.

By the end of the day over 100 children had been seen, all leaving with the help they needed whether it be medical advice or just peace of mind. Two of the cases required us to transport the mother and child to the local clinic and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre. One child was suspected of having malaria whilst the other had complications post malaria treatment.

The day on the whole showed how important events such as these pop up medical clinics and healthcare education is for these communities. I felt extremely privileged to be a part of the work done by Jean, Joseph and the rest of the Joshua team in communities such as Solomoni. 

Our Brighton marathon runners and Heroes Run team! 

Swimming, running and being a Joshua hero! 






We are thrilled that so many people have been inspired to take part in sporting events over the last two months to help raise money for Joshua!   

Elizabeth Cane swam 100 lengths a week during Lent, raising a fantastic £815 and swimming 600 lengths in total.   Elizabeth was born in Malawi and was inspired to help after news of the flooding in early 2015.  We're very grateful to her for braving the swimming pool in aid of Joshua.  

We had two runners, Seb Ardouin and Lou Quinn taking part in the Brighton marathon in April 2015, raising £500. 

And just last weekend,  a group of Joshua heroes (including George from Rainbow and Batman) took part in the Heroes Run on May 17 in Brighton, raising over £600 between them.  

Our supporters in Malawi were also being energetic last Sunday, putting on their walking boots last weekend to take part in the Walk for Malawi 2015 at Michiru Nature Reserve.  They were raising money for a motorbike to support the work of our field officers, who often have to walk between 4-6 hours a day to support our projects.  Look out for another blog post soon about this event 

If you're inspired to similar sporting achievement, then get in touch!   It's not too early to sign up to one of our events next year!   We will have places again in the Chicken Run, Heroes Run and Brighton Marathon in 2016.  Alternatively, you can find your own event and fundraise for us at the same time.  Sign up now and get training!  

News from Malawi

It has been almost four months since the January rains that spelled national disaster for Malawi - a disaster that claimed many lives, devastated homes, crops and livelihoods for thousands of Malawians.

 Joshua is now in the third phase of its emergency response - stronger home building.  A task force of advisors and experts in rural house construction is coming together to provide local artisans and tradesman with key information and advice on rebuilding stronger homes, which they will then build.  Joshua will use the remainder of its emergency appeal funds to provide essential materials such as cement and timber to some of the most vulnerable families within our impact areas, ensuring they have a safe and secure place to live. 

Pictured above is Mphatso and her family, looking healthier and happier than the last time we met, just after the January disaster.  I am pleased to report that Mphatso is slowly rebuilding her life after the family home was crushed by heavy rainfall, causing her and her six children to move into the nearby Joshua feeding centre.  Mphatso has managed to rent a small home and is saving for materials to rebuild on her own land.  She will be one of the recipients of support from the house rebuild project.    


Saint Andrews International Primary School (SAIPS) have been doing some superb fundraising for Joshua recently, raising a staggering 750,000 (£1,100) - to support our emergency appeal.  The school council decided to put the funds towards a school project, after learning that Chibwana Primary School in the hills beyond Pensulo village had lost a classroom and toilet during the disaster.  The village school, which caters for 350 children now has a new child-friendly toilet block and is looking forward to having a new classroom in time for September.    Thank you SAIPS for your on-going efforts

In March, Blantyre celebrated St Patricks Day in style with a fantastic family fun day with classic sports from three legged races to the spud and spoon race (with an Irish twist).  The St. Patricks Day Committee very generously donated part of the ticket sales to Joshua - a whopping 200,000 K (£300) !!  Thank you Saint Patrick!

And our final bit of news is that Joshua Malawi will be running an epic event in just 6 days time…  That’s right - it is the return of the WALK FOR MALAWI Challenge at Mount Michiru…  We are raising funds for motorbikes for our field officers who are absolute troopers, sometimes walking for 4-6 hours in a day getting from project to project.  These ‘wheels in the field’ will make a world of difference to Joshua’s work, making us more efficient and capable of reaching those remote and difficult to reach communities. 

 Keep an eye on Facebook for photos and stories from Michiru - 16^th May - We can’t wait!