Today we are officially launching our two crowd-funding campaigns for this year’s walk. After many months working with our charity partners on the details we are very excited about the impact that these two amazing projects will have.
It is our belief that true change in developing countries will only come through initiatives that fully engage all members of the communities involved and that build the capacity of these communities to become self-reliant in the future. So we are very proud to partner with Empower Projects and Caritas Australia on these life changing projects.
Our aim with this year’s walk is to raise enough funds to provide:
- safe drinking water and access to toilets for several villages in Zimbabwe through Caritas Australia;
AND
- provide Permaculture training to schools in rural Malawi to help improve long term food security through Empower Projects.
We hope to raise a total of $40,000 over the next three months so that the projects are fully funded by the time I return to Australia – sounds ambitious but then again so is walking across the Namib Desert!! So if you would like to see stronger, more resilient communities then please consider donating to one of the Chuffed fundraising campaigns below. Every dollar helps and every step is a step in the right direction.
Cheers
Matt
PS: All donations are fully tax-deductible through the relevant charity.
If we can riase $15,000 we will be able to provide access to safe drinking water and installation of toilets as part of Caritas Australia’s Integrated Community Development Program in Zimbabwe.
This project is focused on some of the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of Zimbabwe where at least 90% of the population are living on less than one dollar a day and many households are not able to generate enough income to provide for their basic needs.
With your help we hope to fund:
- a borehole which will reduce the distance villagers have to walk to access clean and safe water from 3km to just 500m
- 13 toilets – seven in vulnerable households, four in the Secondary School and two at the Church – which will directly benefit 190 people.
- Hopefully we will also raise enough to install a solar powered pump at the community nutrition garden which will help increase food security, and also increase their income. The pump will also benefit many elderly farmers with difficulty using borehole and hand pumping methods.
For this project, our aim is to raise at least $15,000 to support a school in rural Malawi for two years and help them to become more self-sufficient through learning about Permaculture. In partnership with development organisation Empower Projects, the funds raised will enable the school to build their capacity for self-reliance across areas such as energy and water access, food production and sanitation. It will also serve as a platform for the practice of permaculture in the wider community.
Malawi was ranked third poorest country in the world in 2015. 80% of Malawi’s economy is based on agriculture however year after year many do not have enough food to feed themselves until the next season. Therefore initiatives such as this one which create long term food security are vital especially in rural areas.
We’ve chosen to partner with Empower due to their emphasis on building local ownership and capacity as opposed to an emphasis on ‘outputs’. As such this project will have a strong focus on training, development and ongoing support to ensure true sustainability. With your help we can empower Malawian communities to produce their own food in an ecologically sustainable way and end the cycle of poverty.
VOLUNTEER REQUEST
If anyone would like to volunteer to help us spread these campaigns through social media and other networks please get in touch and help us reach more people. You would register on Chuffed as one of our team and then just share to your hearts content. So if you are a wiz at social media and would like to see real and lasting change in developing countries then this role would be perfect for you.
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