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10/17/2024 0 Comments

Empowering Women Living with HIV and AIDS through Tailoring Skills: our new project

Over the years, we have implemented various projects aimed at economic empowerment, health education, and social inclusion. Since our founding, we have also continually supported Nsangeni Support Group; a group made up of women living with HIV and AIDS in our community.

Women living with HIV and AIDS in Malawi face multiple challenges, including economic hardship, social stigma, and discrimination. Many of these women struggle to support themselves and their families due to limited access to employment opportunities. This situation is further exacerbated by the societal stigma associated with HIV, which often leads to social isolation and diminished self-esteem.

You may remember back in 2022, we launched a beekeeping project to support this group. Since then, the Support Group has attracted many more members, resulting in the need for us to expand and grow our support to ensure that all members have opportunities to be involved in our projects.

With that in mind, we have developed a brand new tailoring project, to support and empower our 30+ Nsangeni Support Group members.

Why tailoring?

Tailoring has been identified by our team in Domasi as a viable economic activity that can provide a sustainable source of income for women in the Support Group. Tailoring is a skill that is in demand both locally and regionally, and it offers the potential for self employment, thereby enabling these women to become financially independent. By equipping the Support Group members with tailoring skills and providing them with the necessary tools, this project aims to empower them economically and socially.

What are the project objectives and activities?

The overall project objective is to empower women living with HIV and AIDS through the acquisition of tailoring skills.

Activities will include:

Comprehensive Tailoring Training: The training program will cover basic to advanced tailoring techniques, including cutting, stitching, and finishing. The programme will be tailored to accommodate different skill levels, ensuring that all participants gain proficiency in tailoring.

Business Management Training: In addition to tailoring skills, the women will receive training in business management, including financial literacy, customer service, and inventory management. This will equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to run a successful business.

Assessment and Certification: Upon completion of the training, each participant will undergo an assessment to evaluate their skills. Those who meet the required standards will receive a certificate of completion, recognising their achievement and boosting their confidence

So, when will it start and what's next?

Thanks to an extremely generous donor, we were able to start the training programme on October 2nd 2024. The programme has proved immensely popular, with 32 support group members currently signed up. Over the coming weeks we look forward to introducing you to some of these members, along with our training team.

This is a project we have been planning for a really long time. We are so proud and thankful to get it off the ground this year. We hope that it will not only meet the needs of the support group members, but it will also help to break down stigma in the community and further prove that living with HIV and AIDS does not limit a person's ability to follow their ambitions and live a full and successful life.

For the latest updates on this project and others please consider signing up to our newsletter by clicking here

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10/17/2024 0 Comments

Tuesday was a day of full of celebration, reflection and joy in Domasi as we honoured Anderson's legacy and the vital role of mothers in our community.

We spent the day delivering activities that Anderson would've been proud of, including the distribution of 150kg of maize to elderly mothers and their families:

"The joy on the faces of the women as they received their maize and support truly reflected the spirit of the day. For many, this gesture was not just about receiving aid, but about feeling valued and appreciated on a day that celebrated motherhood." - Thoko, Communications Manager

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The event was attended by a huge number of community members, including Anderson's family and local leadership such as GVH Tchiche.

"Anderson's family were in attendance. They were visibly moved and expressed their gratitude for Community Highlight’s initiative to celebrate Anderson’s achievements. Their participation underscored the emotional significance of the day, both as a remembrance of Anderson and as a celebration of the community's unity." - Thoko, Communications Manager

GVH Tchiche suggested that we make the ceremony an annual event to further cement Anderson's legacy.

He praised the organisation for recognizing Anderson’s work with the elderly and highlighted how the distribution of maize reflected the compassionate spirit that Anderson himself had demonstrated.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made this event happen and who gave us the opportunity to finally honour our leader and friend Anderson, while ensuring that our community members know that we are still here, and that we are still working hard to keep them safe and healthy.

Until next year...

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9/24/2024 0 Comments

Anderson Liwonde was our our founder, our director, our great friend and our hero. Since his passing just over three years go we have continued to run this organisation in his honour; trying to do him proud each and every day as we continue to support his and our beloved community 💙

Thank you to everyone who has continued to believe in and donate to our cause. It is together that we have been able to carry on the work that Anderson started nearly a decade ago, and we are certain that he is grinning down at all of us.

October 15th marks Anderson's birthday and this year to celebrate the occasion we would like to hold a special event in memory of our friend and founder.

We are hoping to raise £150 by October 11th 2024 to support this special memorial event. Any funds we raise over our target will be used for further distribution of maize to support community members through the current food crisis.

For those of you who knew Anderson, you will know he didn't love a fuss, but he did love supporting his community, so please, this year on his birthday, let's do just that, for him.

Thank you so much for helping to keep Anderson's legacy alive. Anything you can give to support this event will be so appreciated.

Zikomo kwambiri, and we hope you are resting easy up there abwana. We miss you ✨

Donate to Anderson's Memorial Day

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5/13/2024 0 Comments

How are we getting on with our grand plans?

Back in March we snipped the big red ribbon on our priorities for 2024. Here we are, two months on, to report on how we are getting on with that stack of plans...

Rising cases of HIV/Cholera ✔️✔️

In April we held our first ever cholera awareness event and an incredible 402 people were in attendance.

Following this hugely successful day, the village Chiefs of Chilambe and Malika asked us to hold similar functions in their catchment areas and local health practitioners invited us to collaborate with them on their polio vaccination campaign - joining forces to spread awareness of cholera protection and prevention at the same time as offering free polio vaccinations in the community.
Through this second activity, we were able to share life-saving information with another 367 people, meaning in the month of April we spoke to 769 community members; spreading awareness of cholera, hygiene and stressing the importance of drinking safe water through chlorination, cholera prevention, treatment and first aid mechanism. Incredible work from our team, and big thanks to our generous donors.

Welcome to our new office! ✔️

This is something we have wanted as an organisation for such a long time, and thanks to a group of generous donors, we've finally secured a space! This will not only give our dedicated staff team a safe and peaceful place to work and store learning materials, but it will also help to further show the community that we are a professional organisation, with an official HQ, and we are here to stay.

What's next?

We are really proud of what we have achieved together already, but there is still much work to be done! Our new targets, to be achieved by the end of June are:

Poor crop yields
Make a plan for the first stage of our community training programme on irrigation farming, we need £250 to do this 🌾

Office space
Kit out our new office space, we need £100 to do this 🪑

That means, by the end of June we are hoping to raise £350 in additional funds. If you would like to support this next stage of our work and help us tick off the next grand plan please hit the big button below. We will be forever grateful...

Donate now

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3/3/2024 1 Comment

Our plans for 2024: revealed!

We've spoken to our community members, we've met as a management team, and we've mapped out our priorities. So here it is, the grand plan for 2024 revealed...

These are the key challenges being faced by our community members at the moment:

1. Food insecurity - the cost of fertiliser is at an all-time high and government subsidy fertiliser is largely inaccessible

2. Poor crop yields - the country is experiencing a prolonged dry spell that has affected the growth of crops including maize

3. Rising cases of HIV and cholera - worsening levels of poverty has led to an increase in prostitution, resulting in rising cases of HIV, and the country is also experiencing a widespread cholera outbreak which is linked to a lack of access to food, clean water and basic sanitation.

And this is what we plan to do to support our community members through these challenges:

Food insecurity

Run a community training programme on how to make home based fertilisers, to help our community members to stop relying on fertiliser from the factory and start making their own using the locally available resources.
Food pack distribution programme

Poor crop yields

Run a community training programme on irrigation farming, to mitigate the effects of climate change

Rising cases of HIV/Cholera

Run one HIV awareness event
Introduce new support for our Nsageni HIV Support Group
Run one Cholera awareness event

Alongside these focus areas, we will continue to run our village schools, our feeding programme and our other community projects, while always looking for ways to improve the sustainability of our organisation.

Inspired? Donate here

Thank you so much for your interest, your belief and your passion. Let's make 2024 the best year yet.

Donate to our 2024 fundraiser

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9/26/2023 0 Comments

Revamping our school sponsorship programme

As you may know, we operate four village schools that offer free education to children who are not yet at 'school age' and additional support to students who want to access further learning. But in Malawi, school is not always free.

Primary education is usually free up to Standard 8 (students aged 13) but the costs associated with learning materials, uniform and examination fees still means many families are unable to support their children through school. And for those students who want to continue into secondary education, families must pay tuition fees and often transport and accommodation. For years, with the support of some incredible donors in the UK, we have been running a school sponsorship programme, to ensure that those students who want to continue learning have the opportunity to do so. It was through this programme that our very own Thocco, now Communications Manager at Community Highlight, was able to complete his University degree.

This programme has always been something we are really passionate about as we truly believe that education is the key to unlocking opportunities, potential and aspiration. Over the last few years we have faced some challenges in keeping this running and making sure it is effective and sustainable. However, we are very excited to announce that we are now in a position to re-design our school sponsorship programme, with support from our friends at Matandani School.

Previously we were supporting young people at all stages of their educational journey, but we will now just support primary school learners - with Matandani taking on the sponsorship of our secondary learners. This will allow us to expand our programme to support up to ten children per year. We also plan to slightly change the way we support our students. We will now only pay a percentage of the school fee; meaning it is the family's responsibility to contribute at least a small amount towards their child's education - this will reduce community over-reliance on us as an organisation and improve mentalities towards the importance and power of learning. If families and carers are unable to contribute financially we will offer them opportunities to take part in our education programmes by helping to clean, collect water and provide building support for our schools. We are also looking to introduce a Parents Teachers Association (PTA) to ensure that the carers of our sponsored children are engaged in the programme.

The rest of the money we raise for the programme will go towards school materials like uniform, books and stationery. We hope that this will help to improve grades and motivation as it will mean our students have the practical items they need to produce good quality work; this is something that has historically held our students back.

Any donations we now receive towards this programme will be put into a central 'sponsorship pot'; this will give us more flexibility to support our ten children per year in a more individualised way. The new format also allows us to more closely monitor students' progress and grades, to ensure they are getting the support they need; we will be working closely with staff at Matandani School to do this.

We are really excited to see what impact this revamp has, and we look forward to some big successes and great work this academic year ⭐

Thank you to everyone who has supported our school sponsorship programme over the last nine years. If you would like to get involved and contribute to the education of children in Domasi please email [email protected] for guidance on how to set up a regular donation. Zikomo kwambiri.

Donate towards our school sponsorship programme

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8/22/2023 0 Comments

Our 2023-24 Fundraiser

Hello team,

First things first, as always, thank you so much to everyone who donated to our Cyclone Freddy appeals, to those who give to us regularly, or to those who simply read our posts and talk about our work. Together, we are making a huge difference to our community in Domasi.

We are now launching our 2023-24 fundraiser, where will we continuously update you on the latest priorities, successes and challenges coming straight from our team on the ground. This is not to say that the affects of the Cyclone are over, but our focus has now changed in the sense that we need to really push on with improving the sustainability and the quality of the programmes we are offering.

First up, we need to get our schools ready for next year. Our four village schools are set to re-open on September 11th. That means, before then we need to raise enough funds to ensure that the buildings are safe, the teachers are prepared and the maize for the feeding programme has been purchased.

To achieve all of the above, by September the 11th 2023, we are aiming to raise £800. These funds will go towards:

School repairs and renovation for Chimwaza and Chinyangala, fixing the damage caused by Cyclone Freddy
A training refresher course for all our teaching staff across all four schools
Learning materials for all four schools
Maize to sustain the feeding programme
Soya and groundnuts to improve the nutritional value of the feeding programme

We know this won't be easy, and we know times are still hard but we hope that if you can spare some money, you will think of us - your favourite little cause.

DONATE NOW

Over the last few years it's become more and more difficult for us to raise funds in the current climate, and we are at the stage where we are looking to partner with bigger organisations on specific projects so they can help to ensure that our community members receive that reliable, sustainable support they deserve.

But don't worry - we are still here, we are still fighting, and we are determined to keep Community Highlight running, because this is an organisation that we belong to and believe in.

If you can help, we will be forever grateful.

Any questions, concerns, or if you just fancy a chat - please do message us via social media, or email us on [email protected]

Thanks so much,

Evie Dickinson
UK Manager

DONATE NOW

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3/18/2023 1 Comment

Cyclone Freddy update

Donate to our emergency appeal

First of all, thank you so much/ zikomo kwambiri (in the local language of Chichewa) to everyone who has donated, raised awareness and sent us messages of love and hope over the last few days. Your support has been unbelievable and your funds will genuinely save lives.

As valued supporters, we wanted to send you a quick update from Domasi. We are devastated to announce that over the last couple of days we have lost two community members in Domasi, 265 families have been displaced, and 123 families have lost absolutely everything as a result of Cyclone Freddy.

Since we were last in touch we've been working around the clock, alongside other CBOs and local authorities, to work out a plan to best support these families and we are pleased to say that the action starts tomorrow. Using the incredible donations we have already received we will start delivering aid to households in our area. Priority will be given to vulnerable families and individuals e.g. those living with HIV.

The aid we will deliver is based on local needs reported by our team on the ground, as well as the guidelines and recommendations of the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) in Malawi. This first phase will focus on the provision of blankets, maize flour, other food items and plastic sheeting - helping to provide people with access to food, shelter and warmth.

We hope to reach over 20 vulnerable households in phase one, and we will then build from there. We've scheduled to collect data every few days so we can understand how the situation is progressing.

We are so proud of how our community of Community Highlighters have come together at this terrifying time, and we really can't thank you enough for everything you are doing to support the people of Domasi.

Keep shouting from the rooftops, keep spreading the word and keep our community members in your thoughts.

Thank you for everything, we will be in touch again soon.

Take care and stay safe,

Evie, Thocco, Emma and everyone at Community Highlight 🙏

Donate to our emergency appeal

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3/16/2023 1 Comment

Cyclone Freddy: an emergency appeal

DONATE NOW

While we are all being bombarded by newsflashes about BBC football coverage and Jeremy Clarkson's farm this week, people are dying in Malawi, and it's not even front page news.

Cyclone Freddy has already killed 190 people in Malawi and we are devastated to confirm that our community in Domasi has been badly hit.

"Cyclone Freddy has broken records for the number of times it has re-intensified after weakening, and has recorded the highest-ever recorded accumulated energy for a single cyclone - more energy over its lifetime than a whole typical US hurricane season."

Houses are falling down, our staff are reporting injuries, many people have lost everything and we are terrified.

As you know, we try to lean away from being an emergency aid organisation, as we prefer to set up and run sustainable projects that focus on empowering our community members and championing education. However, in this situation, we do not have a choice. Without the people of Domasi, there is no Community Highlight - we must protect lives.

We've set up this emergency appeal to gather funds that will help us to protect, house and feed our community members temporarily, while the cyclone still continues to rip through the region. People are gathered in our school buildings and religious buildings and it's our utmost priority to keep them safe and healthy while we plan further.

So, if today happens to be payday, or if you are looking to scrap your BBC TV license, PLEASE consider sending some funds to Community Highlight.

Together, we can help the people of Domasi to get through this truly terrifying time. Thank you and we will keep you updated.

DONATE NOW

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2/24/2023 0 Comments

Priorities for 2023

Donate to our 2023 fundraiser

Thank you so much to everyone who supported our work in 2022. We are so proud that we are able to support and serve the community of Domasi, and it wouldn't be possible without your kindness.

As always, we spent the first month or so of this year holding community and staff meetings to work out what we should focus on in 2023. We are unique in the fact that all of our project ideas come directly from community members themselves - we arrange meetings regularly with the people living in our district and find out what they really need assistance with and the resources that need to be provided. Through this mentality and process we can be sure that donations are going exactly where they are needed most and that we are promoting empowerment and self-sufficiency.

SO, what did our community meetings find...

Our community meetings showed us that the main challenges facing our families in Domasi at the moment are:

Food insecurity: putting it simply, our community members do not have enough food. The price of maize (the staple food in Domasi) has rocketed, as has the price of fertiliser. This is having a negative impact on our school children's concentration, and it has led to an increase in divorce, school dropouts and child marriages.
HIV and AIDS: we have seen a rise in the number of people living with HIV and AIDS in our community. We now have 35 members in our support group, compared to 25 this time last year.
Child welfare and nutrition: we have also seen a rise in the number of orphan children looking after themselves. Many of them are living with HIV, most of them are living in extreme poverty and they are disengaging with education. Their nutrition is extremely poor.

We have also noticed a rise in cholera cases and staff have flagged a need for a new office, bicycles and uniform. We want to do all we can this year to alleviate the above issues for our community members, and continue building Community Highlight into a sustainable organisation. We will do this through a combination of:

Awareness campaigns
Small-scale sustainable community projects
Sponsorship programmes
An expansion of our feeding programme
Increasing our work with Nsangeni Support Group

Donate to our 2023 fundraiser

But to do this we need your help. We have the expertise, we have the project plans underway, we have an incredible team that work around the clock to make things happen, but sadly, as always we need money.

As part of the UK team's plan this year we want to formally register as a charity which will allow us to seek funding from trusts and corporate parties. But until then we are still largely reliant on you fantastic people. Times are really hard for us all, and life is still not feeling quite as chilled as it did a few years ago, but if you do have any capacity to give, and you do want to support the people of Domasi, please consider donating to this appeal through this link.

Your money will have a direct and positive impact on our community members, and 100% of your donation will go straight to the cause. We are all volunteers here in the UK and we cover all of our own running costs so you know that your money is going exactly where you thought it was.

Throughout the year we will update you on social media and via our mailing list which you can sign up to here but if you have any particular questions or concerns you can always find us at [email protected]

Thank you so much for reading this blurb and for believing in our work. Together we hope to make this year a big one, and we hope to make life a little easier for the people of Domasi.

Donate to our 2023 fundraiser

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YOUR CART

Empowering Women Living with HIV and AIDS through Tailoring Skills: our new project

Anderson Liwonde Day 2024

Anderson Liwonde Memorial Day

How are we getting on with our grand plans?

Back in March we snipped the big red ribbon on our priorities for 2024. Here we are, two months on, to report on how we are getting on with that stack of plans...

What's next?

Our plans for 2024: revealed!

Revamping our school sponsorship programme

Our 2023-24 Fundraiser

Cyclone Freddy update

Cyclone Freddy: an emergency appeal

Priorities for 2023

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