DIN Malawi Community Wellness Initiatives

FINAL UPDATE:  Wow!  Thank you so much, everyone!  We have drastically surpassed our goal in support of DIN Malawi, and we are thoroughly impressed by all of the love that you all have shown.  Your contributions are in support of an incredible and impactful cause, and for that, we all owe each and every one of you a debt of gratitude.  Thank you!


Dear Friends and Family,

We are GlobeMed at the University of Chicago, a student-run organization that, among other things, works very closely with our global partner organization, DIN Malawi.  It's our mission as students to support DIN in every way that we can--academically, through volunteering, financially, and through friendship.  In fact, four of us traveled to Malawi to live with the director of DIN for almost a month this past summer.

In summary, DIN works with thousands of people in Chikwawa, Malawi to combat the dangers of child marriages HIV/AIDS stigma, educate youth on topics like business, hygiene, and political involvement, and even has a microfinance initiative to improve the economic status of the whole area.  DIN provides bicycles to children, farming patches to teenagers, and is in the process of creating a radio station that aims to take down corrupt politicians.

However, due to a variety of natural disasters, a decline in international funding, and 100+ degree temperatures, DIN's operations have been faltering.  Without funding, they are unable to maintain their operations.  We at GlobeMed are firmly committed to doing absolutely everything in our power to prevent this, and it is our mission to ensure that DIN Malawi continues to provide lifesaving and lifechanging support to the thousands of people of Chikwawa.

For that reason, we are humbly asking for donations from close friends and family members to help benefit DIN.  Every drop in the bucket counts, going directly to supporting DIN's daily operations, including supporting all of the programs listed above, and much more.  100% of proceeds go straight to DIN Malawi.

We hope that you can help us with our mission.  Regardless, we appreciate you taking the time to read this, and would love it if you could pass the message on.  If you're interested, there is more information below, along with links to the DIN Malawi and GlobeMed UChicago websites.  Thank you so much!


Best regards,

Julianna Bianco
Rachel Wang
Wesley Suen
Arvind Krishnan
Nicole Yao
Katya Drovetsky
Laura Chen
Kethan Kommanpali
Dillan Prasad
& GlobeMed at the University of Chicago



DIN Malawi:

Development Initiative Network (DIN Malawi) is a local non-profit organization currently working in the Lower Shire southern region of Malawi. DIN Malawi was established in February 2012 to respond to the needs and challenges affecting vulnerable communities in Chikwawa and Nsanje. We believe for change to be effective and sustainable development to materialize, communities need to be the drivers of the process. Our aim is to empower a network of community groups and organizations and ensure they have access to adequate resources and training in order to tackle poverty. Partnering with local, international and government organizations, our programs focus on improving water, sanitation and healthcare, providing access to good quality education and community awareness and addressing food insecurities through rural agricultural development, while tackling climate change.
DIN is registered under NGO Act number: TR/INC-6305.
https://dinmlw.wordpress.com/ 


GlobeMed @ UChicago:

Working to make health equity a global reality...
GlobeMed is an equity-focused RSO that engages with community health in three ways: supporting a grassroots partner overseas, supporting a grassroots partner in Chicago, and educating the University of Chicago campus. 
GlobeMed was founded with the intent to challenge traditional models of global health work. GlobeMed@UChicago is 1 of 60 college chapters around the world that work toward this goal. Rather than engage in short-term aid, GlobeMed promotes a model of long-term, sustained partnership working alongside grassroots health leaders with expert knowledge of their own communities.
https://www.globemedatuchicago.org/


Thanks again.