UNITED VILLAGE TRANSFORMATION: MALAWI

It’s a truth about the human condition: our lives revolve around food. It is the consumption of food that gives structure to our days. Food drives how we gather, how we share, and how we mark the significant events in our lives. Food is a form of commerce when we buy and sell food products. The foundation of any healthy economy is its food supply. But without the right knowledge, many of the world’s poor are living with inadequate food supply. Hunger goes hand-in-hand with poverty, and a lack of formalized education.

Without proper nutrition, it is difficult for children to benefit from educational opportunities. Being able to clothe children and send them to school every day, even when education is publicly available, is a challenge for those living in abject poverty. These issues are inextricably linked, and at UVT, we believe that solving them holistically is the key to improving the lives of those living in the rural, under-resourced reaches of the world.

During a visit to Malawi in October of 2014, we met the wonderful people of Dothi village, located 20 minutes south-east of Lilongwe International airport, adjacent to Daeyang Luke Hospital. Their warmth and generosity of spirit and their hospitality, despite their desperate circumstances, moved us deeply and touched our souls. We vowed to work with them to help them build a “model” village, based on proven strategies, where we will pilot a holistic approach to international development in Malawi.

As a first step, we launched Dothi’s first preschool--a 24-foot by 30-foot brick building with minimal infrastructure along with an irrigated, fertilized garden to secure agricultural sustainability and way to generate revenue. We have dubbed this new area the “Feast it Forward Village” after our original sponsoring organization.

Our team has over 20 years of collective experience in conducting humanitarian missions in the developing world. We have watched the progressive impact of many different, diffusely organized groups coming in to a region in an attempt to give the residents a better quality of life. Many good-hearted people have invested a great deal of time and resources into Malawi, but despite these efforts, there are still so many villages in extremely rural, impoverished regions of Malawi that are struggling to adopt sustainable approaches and systems with no idea of how to begin.

We have set the stage for our June 2015 trip, where we will continue on this first village transformation. We will have a team of approximately 20 people, including dentists, doctors, teachers, farmers, solar cooking teachers, a small film crew, and other willing volunteers. We hope that the outcome of this trip can be used to establish a blueprint for development to be leveraged in other villages.

Our hope is that, through the content that we are able to create and share during our visit, we will introduce new audiences to this beautiful land and its wonderful people, a country that has been called “The Warm Heart of Africa.”

We need your support to help us transform the lives of the people of Malawi. We are seeking the following types of assistance with our efforts:

• Corporate sponsorship

• Individual giving & advocacy

• Technical support

• Volunteer support

• Material support

• Capital Construction contributions

Please consider donating through one of the options listed here. If you have any questions about the cause or other ways to get involved, please contact us at claudia@feastitforward.com.