Help Us Build a Classroom in Malawi Brick by Brick
Help Us Raise $350 for Supplies and Labor to Build a Safe and Sturdy Classroom this September for 600 Children in Malawi
**We've Reached Our Goal! THANK YOU. All donations raised beyond our original $350 goal will go towards the school in the form of desks, chairs, whiteboards, books, shelves, a carpet, etc. 
(*Malawi is my new home as of July 2019, and these are some of my new friends.)
It's Back to School Time.
But Some Schools Are Better Equipped Than Others...
Wilson Mvinya runs two container schools in Lilongwe, Malawi and does a number of community projects and initiatives around the country.
Wilson writes:
"We are local organization running a feeding center called Hands of Hope in the village of Mtsiliza in Lilongwe district. These children are affected by HIV and AIDS and many are also orphans. We feed them Monday-Friday and we are also running a container school at the same place. The results have been overwhelming, seeing a lot of kids registering with our school and the containers.
Currently we are full with kids and we came up with a simple structure to shelter them all. However, we need to put a permanent structure in place because school starts on the 9th of September. We feed 600 children and the kids that are using the school container classroom are 70. We believe as we keep feeding the vulnerable children, we can also teach them so that they can be responsible citizens when they grow up."
This is the temporary structure we are hoping to replace.
Wilson Mvinyo inside the temporary structure
Hands of Hope has the following goals:
• Providing meals for 1000 orphaned and needy children in the village of Mtsiliza in Lilongwe district.
• Growing the needed food in the village as a way of community responsibility towards the project
• Providing health care opportunities for these children at the center
• Providing quality education to the children.
• Providing counseling sessions for the children in order to help them holistically
What We Already Have:
• Some of the needed bricks, river sand for building, and volunteers
Some of the bricks that will be used in construction
What We Need:
• More bricks, cement, a builder, and chairs
Who the Heck am I?
I'm Kristen Palana (https://kpalana.com), a university professor who recently moved to Malawi and the founder of Aura's House (http://aurashouse.com), a grassroots website that existed long before Kickstarter, Gofundme, etc. Since 2004, we have raised over $125,000 (in our so-called spare time) for health, education, housing, and income generation projects for needy families in developing countries.
Together I am working with Wilson Mvinyo, the founder of Hands of Hope. He was one of the first people I met in Lilongwe and I have been to the feeding center and school where I have seen his initiatives in action. I will purchase the supplies and labor with him directly and together we'll update the donors with receipts and photos before and after the classroom's construction once it begins.
How You Can Help:
We aim to raise a total of $350 to fund this new classroom structure for Hands of Hope
In return for your contribution, you will:
Have the most amazing feeling of having helped not just these kids, but also the entire community participating in running the school and feeding center. (Ahhh, feel that lovely karma!)
All funds raised (minus credit card processing fees) will be used towards the classroom. We'll post the receipts of supplies here once we get them and keep you posted with text and photo updates.
Your contribution will have a tremendous impact!
Other Ways You Can Help:
There's more than one way you can help us with this. Yes, donating even just $5 is amazing, but there are also ways that won't cost a cent:
Spread the word! Share this story with your friends via email, Facebook, Twitter - anything will do! Tell your classmates, your family, your soccer team, your ski club - tell everyone!
And thank you. Because of you, miracles do happen!
Sincerely,
Kristen and Wilson
Lilongwe, Malawi. August 26, 2019.
