SOS Children in Malawi

Malawi, in south-east Africa, is bordered by Mozambique to the south and east, Tanzania to the north and Zambia to the west. Malawi's economy is based on agriculture, employing nearly 90 per cent of the workforce.
It is one of the ten poorest countries in the world: more than a third of the population are illiterate and life expectancy is around 47 years, with a high rate of infant mortality. With the increased incidence of HIV/AIDS, it is estimated that over half a million children are orphans as a result.

The charity opened its first community in Malawi in 1994 on the outskirts of the capital Lilongwe. There are 12 family homes which are home to 144 children. Education for these children, together with children from the local community, is provided in three SOS schools. The SOS Nursery School has classes for 180 little children, the SOS Primary School has 670 pupils in 20 classes, and the SOS Secondary School has 420 pupils in 13 classes. There is also an SOS Vocational Training Centre for 140 young people, where they are taught skills needed by the local economy.

At the beginning of 2002, SOS Malawi responded to the growing AIDS epidemic with a community outreach programme, which is co-ordinated by the SOS Social Centre in Lilongwe. Through this, 2,000 children and their families who are directly or indirectly affected by HIV / AIDS are supported within their family environments through the provision or improvement of housing, food and medical aid, the payment of school fees, business training, and general psychosocial support. And to improve the health of the community, an SOS Medical Centre cares for over 22,000 people per year. A therapy centre for 1,000 children offers physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and orthopaedics.

Malawi's second SOS Children’s Village opened in Mzuzu in 2002. Situated in northern Malawi on a high plateau surrounded by mountains, Mzuzu is one of the largest towns in an area where there are no facilities or care provisions for destitute and orphaned children. The Village has 15 family houses which are home to 180 children. There is also an SOS Nursery School for 75 children. In 2005, an SOS Primary School was opened in Mzuzu,giving education to 320 children in the local community as well as from the SOS Children's Village. The SOS Social Centre in the town offers HIV / AIDS affected families similar support to that in Lilongwe.

Malawi’s newest children's village opened in Blantyre in September 2007. The percentage of orphans in Blantyre is high compared to the rest of the country, at almost 10%. Poverty is also increasing - it is estimated that over 300,000 children and families live below the poverty line. The Children’s Village cares for 150 children in 15 family homes; there is an SOS Nursery School for 90 children; an SOS Primary School for 320 pupils; an SOS Social Centre for 1,000 children; and an SOS Medical and Therapy Centre, similar to the one in Lilongwe, for 21,000 people.

At present, we support over 52,000 people in Malawi through three SOS Children’s Villages, one SOS Youth Home, three SOS Nursery Schools, three SOS Schools, one SOS Vocational Training Centre, three SOS Social Centres, and two SOS Medical Centres.

Mavis has already finished her first term at the SOS Nursery School; she is a lively little girl, the sunshine of her family. She loves babies and regularly stops by house No. 4 where recently Mary, a one-month-old girl, has found a new home. Mavis herself was hardly two or three weeks old when she was among the first children who came to SOS Children's Village Lilongwe in Malawi five years ago.

She shares her sad fate with thousands of children, but at the same time it was a stroke of good fortune that gave her a new home at the SOS Children's Village. A wicker basket is the only relic recalling her past. A local woman found Mavis hidden behind a pile of firewood, so she put her into a wicker basket and took her to the local hospital. She then came to live at the SOS Children’s Village. Enquiries made by the social authorities about the child's family led to a village near Lilongwe, where it turned out that both parents had died, probably of AIDS.

In the meantime, Mavis is developing in a marvellous way. The little bundle whose provisional home had once been a basket, has turned into a happy five-year-old girl who loves walking around the Village with her friend Thokozani. She knows already a few words in English, and every Saturday, she helps her mother clean and tidy up. There is only one thing she does not like at all: beans.

Local Contacts

SOS Children in Malawi

SOS Children's Village of Malawi Trust
Plot 159
P.O. Box 2359
Lilongwe
Malawi

Tel. +265 75 66 67
Fax: +265 75 12 98

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