I (Lesley Curtis with Caroline Freeland) am raising money to build a library in a remote region of Malawi where Brown Munthali, certainly the most driven but poorest man I have ever known, has set up an orphanage and is responsible for housing, feeding and educating over 70 orphans and vulnerable children.
Faced with poverty and escalating prices as well as natural disasters, the most recent being Cyclone Freddy which killed 4 orphans and destroyed his crops, he bounces back every time to achieve his vision for the future. Without a decent education, he knows the future is bleak for these children who will inevitably be forced to join the sex trade or beg on the streets.
Brown’s ultimate goal is to be self-sufficient and not dependent on donations. The library is integral to this plan providing some much needed income, future jobs and ultimately the chance for a brighter future for the orphans and the wider community of more than 2000 people.
The story
My path crossed with Brown after creating the R World Foundation in memory of my son Robbie Curtis. Brown lives in the remote region of Chitimba, Malawi and he created the Brown Munthali (BM) Foundation (charity RDC/SWO/2021/04). He was introduced to me by a partner charity that had just funded a primary school which was successfully project managed by Brown.
R World developed the relationship by funding some teaching in the school and embarked on a tree-planting project before the idea of building a library was raised. A lack of facilities at the school has meant that parents who paid fees for their children to attend have taken them to other schools. This has meant that there is little money to fund the teaching.
The new library will :
attract fee-paying children,
provide jobs in the community and for orphans in the future,
bring in income from joining fees,
prevent the transmission of poverty between generations by providing greater opportunities to earn, as well as helping to move other socioeconomic indicators in a positive direction.
We feel so fortunate to have found in Brown the perfect partner to help us create a lasting legacy for Robbie in Africa, where he had ambitions to work. He gave so much in his lifetime and although his life was far too short, his legacy will live on thanks to all that the R World team and supporters have done in his name. Check out our website to read about our work in universities and schools to help support the mental health of students. The feedback so far suggests that hundreds of young people are now benefitting from the training delivered by the lecturers we have funded.
Caroline and myself are very excited to be visiting Brown and his family in Malawi in September to help prepare for the construction of the library. The trip is entirely self- funded so every penny donated will go directly to paying for the library which will not only pave the way for a better future in Chitimba but will provide the perfect legacy for Robbie.
Already R World has purchased the land and has paid for a new store room which is being built at the moment! We have also raised £18,000 so far towards the library so a further £12,000 is needed before the building work can begin.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give us! All progress will be shown on our website.
Lesley & Caroline
On behalf of R World
www.rworld.org.uk