Malawi Orphan Children’s Village

Malawi, a country about the size of Pennsylvania, is bordered by Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania.in southern Africa.  It is home to 15.4 million people, 45% of whom are under 14.   One out of 15 children is an orphan, from AIDS and malaria.  The median age is 16.4 years and the annual income is $200. .Malawi became an independent country in 1963, after separating from the Federation of Rhodesia, formerly a British protectorate.

            Don and Joan Gray joined the Peace Corps after graduation from college in 1964 and were sent to Malawi for two years.  After graduate school, they went back to Africa for 4 years to the country of Lesotho. After they retired, they returned to Malawi where they became involved in the Malawi Children’s Village, established in 1997, a project to give orphans the hope for a decent chance at a good life. 

            Although the longest inland water lake in the world, Lake Lilongwe, is part of their country, the lake is salty, and water is a problem.  Transportation is also a problem.  The Malawi Children’s Village is at the southern tip of the lake and provides services to 37 villages within a 15 mile radius.  A District 8210 Rotary Club coordinates the project. The village has four programs:  Infants and Toddlers up to age 3, a Village Education and Outreach program for education on irrigation and farming and distribution of mosquito nets, a secondary school, and a technical school.

            Our thanks to Don Gray for his presentation and for his work with an important Rotary project.

More info - http://malawichildrensvillage.org/