Fantastic achievements by Fisherman’s Rest in 2022

Fisherman’s Rest, an organisation in Malawi that do excellent work in local communities, whilst also running a lodge and a range of cultural activities for guests, have released a report looking back on 2022.

The Covid-19 global pandemic has continued to impact projects and programmes in Malawi throughout 2022. Despite this, core project development and implementation has remained effective and productive. The trustees are very pleased with the progress and achievements.

In 2023, Fisherman’s Rest plan to focus more on building their global community, and raising awareness and funds for the unique and innovative work they are doing. This work is made possible by the dedicated staff and participating communities. Their tenacity and enthusiasm for the programmes and projects drives the team forward, along with their international community.

Here are some other statistics showcasing what an excellent year 2022 was for Fisherman’s Rest:

Madzi Alipo

Madzi Alipo is a unique dedicated borehole mapping, monitoring, teaching, water quality testing, capacity building, repair and maintenance programme in Malawi.

• On the MAMS databas, FIsherman’s Rest can show 90% of Water points in Blantyre Rural are working at any given time.
• Mapping of Nsanje district water point functionality onto MAMS completed with the exception of one Traditional Authority.
• MAMS App continues to be more broadly applied and is undergoing translation into local languages, further enabling people to report problems and performance, directly into the database for all connected agencies to see and respond.
• 374 Pumps fixed by the MA team in 2022.
• 1056 field surveys
• Thousands of phone calls made and taken, to assist MA-trained committees in maintaining and repairing their hand pumps.
• 2,500 afridev pumps in Blantyre Rural monitored and status reported to the Blantyre District Offices.
• 211 water points tested for water quality in TA Somba.
• Regular Repair and Maintenance Training Workshops at the FR Training Centre continue. Overall in the school and communities 834 people have been taught the skills to maintain their handpumps, keeping the water flowing.

Brave

• 11 schools have participated in the programme
• 540 boys and girls received comprehensive pre-adolescent health and well-being education and workshops. Essential education, because more often than not these subjects are skipped over by teachers in school, labeled as “taboo”.
• 268 girls have cloth sanitary packs enabling them to attend school every day of the month without fear of embarrassment or lack of dignity.
• 257 boys have underwear, soap and a campaign band marking their decision for social change.
• Malawi Police run the Safe House. Family counseling is accessible weekly and utilized heavily by the community. Police report reduced incidences of domestic violence with the continued work of the Safe House.

The Good Food Project

• School breakfasts are provided by donations and cooked every school day by community volunteers.
• The programme serves 7 schools, feeding 3,500 children every day. Right now, school breakfasts are needed. With Malawi struggling financially and extreme weather blighting crops, people are hungry. For many children, this is their only meal or a welcome addition to the evening family meal. Traditionally families will eat twice a day, however for many, they will only eat once a day.

Trees & Conservation

• 40 communities partnered with Fisherman’s Rest in 2022.
• 48,350 trees planted out in 2022, and 35,200 seeds distributed.
• 52,000+ trees to be planted out this 2023 season, and more than 50,000 seeds to be distributed.
• 6 years of tree planting and amazing transformations are taking place across Nankhumba, Madziabango and beyond!
• 1,800 MORE households in 2022 now have Changu Changu Moto stoves – that is, 1,800 fires daily using ⅔ less firewood.
• With a smaller capacity in 2023, the Fisherman’s Rest team will reach as many households as they can. Households that will change forever with the simple introduction of a fuel-efficient Changu stove.

School Infrastructure & Libraries

• The 7 libraries Fisherman’s Rest have built over the past ten years are under school management. Fisherman’s Rest continues to monitor these libraries and engage with the schools.
• One library is still under construction at Madziabango School – halted by Covid-19. Subject to funds, they will complete this library. They hope to be able to expand a reading room to a library at Mbame School in 2023/2024.
• Horton CDSS School expansion plans: Agreements in principle are in place for more land.
• The bridge connecting Nasundu Primary school was washed away January 2021, during Cyclone Anna. With a very generous gift, plans are underway to start the groundwork for a considerably stronger structure.

School Sponsorship

• Three Nankhumba MSCE graduates passed! The team await news to see if one student will be accepted to University.
• Moving into 2023, There are 34 sponsored children at Horton in Forms 1-4.
• Twelve sponsored students sat JCE exams last year, and eight passed.
• For the JCE exams, Horton was positioned 12th out of 40 secondary schools in Blantyre Rural. It is an excellent achievement, and huge thanks are due to Henry, the Headteacher and Val and Kevin, who have faithfully supported the school since its opening three years ago.
• 2023 will see the first cohort of fifty students graduate from Horton CDSS.
• Ongoing teacher transport provision.
• Ongoing teacher housing support.

Updates Beyond Their Regular Projects

• Chick Chick project has drawn to a close at present.
• Tilitonse is open, the children receive afternoon phala, and the resources are available for the community to access. Fisherman’s Rest have yet to restart the preschool and structured activities in the afternoons. When groups and teams visit, they run holiday clubs and film nights which everyone adores!
• Fisherman’s Rest have a container full of school equipment donated from the old Tasker Milward school in Pembrokeshire now in Malawi, with a second container planned.
• The training centre at Fisherman’s Rest will benefit from some of the cupboards and desks arriving on the container, while the majority of the items will be for schools in the Nankumba and Madziabango education zones. The Training Center continues to host borehole repair workshops and conservation and conservation Workshops.

The Fisherman’s Rest team would like to thank you everyone involved in making 2022 such a fantastic year.

To learn more about Fisherman’s Rest and their projects, click here. To learn more about the Fisherman’s Rest Lodge near Blantyre, click here.