Help us to feed the hungry

In March 2024, Malawi joined Zambia and Zimbabwe in declaring a state of disaster after El Niño – the natural phenomenon that disrupts rainfall patterns around the Indian and Pacific oceans – exacerbated weather irregularities caused by climate change, leaving the country’s soils abnormally dry.

The people in the rural area of Malawi where we are working, continue to face hardship caused by increasing prices for food, such as maize and basic commodities.

This is the time of year when the rains should begin and the planting of crops start, however, the villagers need to be careful when they start to plant and sow seeds because if they do it too soon the rain may start but it then tends to stop again before the main rains start.

With temperatures being higher than they used to be, the new shoots will die in the fields and their harvest will fail.  Each year many crops are washed away by heavy rains. 

Prolonged gentle rain is needed to grow the crops but in recent years it has become more difficult to farm with uncertainty about the weather.  

If their harvest fails, they will then be faced with either replanting or trying to buy maize on the open market at high costs.    

Each year between November and March, there is what is known as the “Hungry season”.   

This is a time of year between planting and harvest when a family’s food supplies run out. Due to less predictable harvests, these “seasons” are now lasting longer and longer.

According to the World Food Programme report in September 2024, approx. 9 million people, that’s nearly half of Malawi’s population, have been affected by the change in rainfall pattern.   

Up to 4.2 million are currently experiencing ‘acute’ food insecurity – level 3 on the global standard for measuring food insecurity (the Integrated Food Phase Classification), one stage away from ‘emergency.’

With years of back-to-back climate disasters, lost harvests, currency devaluation and high inflation exacerbating food insecurity, that number is expected to rise to 5.7 million people between October and March.

We are very concerned about this and expect that there will be a great need for food and basic commodities, such as soap toothpaste etc. during this period in the Salima area.

We therefore are launching our Autumn Appeal to provide help and relief to those families who are supporting orphans and the most vulnerable by supplying maize, beans and other basic food and commodities.

To give you a guide, these are the current prices of the items to be distributed:

Maize – a 50 kg bag costs £ 20. 1kg bag costs  45p
Beans - 50kg bag costs £80.  1kg bag costs £1.71
Cooking oil - 1litre costs £1.94
Rice - 1kg costs 95p
Washing powder for clothes – 500 gram pack costs between 76p to £ 1.12.
Toothpaste - 750 grams costs £ 1.03
Bathing soap – a 200 gram bar costs 52p
 
Would you be willing to help us with this by donating to this appeal?  You would be helping to make a huge difference to those in need.     

You can make your donations through our Give Tap page at

https://donate.givetap.co.uk/f/starfish-malawi/aa24

Donations can be made directly to our bank account,
using reference AA2024 .

Our account details are:
CAF Bank, Sort Code 40-52-40, Account number 00018762.

Easter Appeal - Update

The "Hungry Season" is biting hard. Many families have little food.

The first distribution of maize and beans has recently taken place and here are some photos. We are doing a further two distributions to other communities very soon.

Your donations have enabled Starfish to purchase the food to give out.  It has been a tough time during the hungry season for so many families in the community of Ngolowindo, where our core work is.

They so appreciate your kindness to them.  

Your continued support of our work and of the communities that we serve, is so wonderful. It is allowing us to show God’s love to the children and their families. 

Thank you so much.

Christmas Gifts for Children and families in Malawi

Following the success of our Christmas gifts appeal last year we are once again giving you an opportunity to give families in the villages where we work gifts of essential commodities to allow them to eat, have better hygiene assist with children’s education and help with the production of crops to sell from the family smallholding. 

This is even more crucial this year following another huge (44%) devaluation in the Kwacha which has increased prices by almost 50% from the start of November.

Your donation can cover the cost of any of the items from the following options and we will then divide the total raised to provide as many of the resources listed as we can.

If you would like your gift to purchase a specific item, please let us know when donating.

Thank you so much for your support.

Food

• £15.00 = Cooking (1Kg Rice, 1kg Beans, 1ltr cooking oil, 1kg sugar)  

• £12.00 = Maize (15 kg bag of maize)  

• £  4.00 = Meat   ( 1Kg beef)

Hygiene

• £9.00 = Essentials (2 tablets of soap, 2 toothbrushes, 2 tubes of toothpaste and 500gm of washing powder)  

• £30.00   = Cloths & Towels (5 face flannels, 5 towels, 5 pans cloth)  

• £27.00 = Family Washing (6 x 500gm washing powder, 10 large tablets of soap)

Education

• £ 33.00   = Primary essentials (5 exercise books, pencils, eraser, notebook)  

• £ 15.00  = School Uniform for one student.  

• £ 240.00 = Secondary School sponsorship for a year.   

Family Agriculture

• £ 112.00  = Crops (50 maize plants, 50 groundnut plants)  

• £ 120.00  = Tools (2 hoes, 2 rakes, 2 shovels, wheelbarrow)

• £ 112.00 =  Bag of fertilizer  

£ 225.00  = Solar Drip Irrigation system (waters 1 acre of crops)  

Christmas Gift voucher

Not sure what to give your loved one for Christmas?

Why not buy them one of the packs above or give a donation to one of our projects.
(Please specify which pack or project when applying for the voucher.)   

Voucher available from admin@starfishmalawi.com

Appeal - Mosquito Nets for Children

Mosquito Net Distribution 2024 - Thank you

Malaria in Malawi is a common disease during the rainy season that typically begins in November or December and lasts through April.

Many children and adults will become infected after a mosquito bite. This can be fatal in some older adults and young children and babies. 

Malaria is endemic in more than 95% of Malawi.

Transmission is perennial in most parts of the country and peaks after the start of the annual rains. 

The highest transmission areas are found along the hotter, wetter, and more humid low-lying areas, including Salima and Ngolowindo where Starfish works.

Our Hope Clinic was very busy this year treating malaria cases and it is therefore something that we want to try to reduce by providing mosquito nets to as many families as we can who have children coming to Glad Tidings and to the Salima Blind school. 

Unfortunately, some nets are not good quality and will tear easily. A net with a hole will let in a mosquito, so we need better quality ones to prevent children being bitten during the night.

In addition to this we want to supply a pack of toiletries to as many families as we can, so they can have better hygiene. 

The prices of these are increasing in Malawi and families are not able to afford them.

Would you be able to donate funds for mosquito nets and toiletries?

The cost of a good quality net is £10.
The toiletry pack will be made up of, toothbrush, toothpaste, a tablet of bath soap and a 500g pack of soap powder, total cost £4

We would really like to help as many families and children as we can before the rainy season begins this year.

Thank you so much for your support

2022 Christmas Gifts Appeal

Families in the communities in which we work are facing large increases in prices for their basic commodities due to the recent devaluation of the Malawian Kwacha.  We wish to help them at this time of increased costs, to be able to purchase what they need for their families to eat, wash their clothes and practise good hygiene.

We would be so grateful if you are able to support us in this appeal to assist the many families that we help through our projects and with whom we have built relationships with over many years.

We have been given a list of the most needed items and have arranged these into various group options for you to choose from. However, there is also an option for you to choose from the list of items and to give a different value of donation.

Thank you for all your support.

Christmas Gift Voucher

Not sure what to give your loved one for Christmas?

Why not buy them one of the packs above or give a donation to one of our projects. (Please specify when applying for the voucher.)    

Voucher available from admin@starfishmalawi.com

Thank you for your support of our work. Without your donations and prayers, our work would not be possible.

GIVE BABIES LIGHT APPEAL

An Appeal for Mains Power for Hope Clinic and Maternity Wing

As we touch a light switch in the UK, the room is illuminated. When we switch on our electrical equipment, there is immediate power. However, imagine if that were not the case and the reality was that power is available only for a short while and then only enough to run a few lights and sockets in your home.

In Malawian villages this is reality. Many houses, schools and shops have no power at all, those who rely on solar power can only use as much as is held in the battery, which may only power one light and a socket. Mains power is available in the towns but even that is subject to regular powers cuts, which means that businesses can’t function properly.

At Hope Clinic, solar power has been installed to run the lighting and a few sockets in the clinic and staff houses. It also runs the water borehole and equipment. However, with the maternity wing now being built, there is a need for a more robust power source, as there will be more equipment and better lighting, especially in the delivery room. 

Starfish therefore wish to provide mains power to the whole of the Hope Clinic site, so that both clinic and maternity wing can have a better quality of lighting and power.

To achieve this, we need to purchase an electricity transformer and the associated wiring and equipment.  A transformer is needed and will come from ESCOM, the national electricity company, but we have to apply and pay for it “up front” and then wait for installation, which can take up to a year to eighteen months.  This waiting period may be reduced as we are partnering with the government for the provision and running of Hope Clinic, but there is no guarantee.

The cost of the transformer is currently estimated at £20,000 and plus wiring and equipment a further £5,000 to £6,000.

Donations can be made directly to our bank account,
using reference GBL2022.

Our account details are:
CAF Bank, Sort Code 40-52-40, Account number 00018762.
Or
You can donate via our Just Giving page at
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/GBL2022

We appreciate that this is a large amount to fund but we hope that we can raise enough to begin the application process. Donations will be put into a committed fund for mains power, in the Starfish accounts. Once the application is made and approved, payment will be made but we then have to wait to receive the transformer and be connected to the grid.

We hope that you will feel able to support this appeal, as to have mains power for the clinic and maternity wing is now crucial to its work in the community.

Thank you for your support
Click here to download our flyer

Update - New Year Appeal Care Packages For Families

We are so thankful for all those who have donated towards our New Year Appeal - Care Packages For Families.

The distribution has begun and many people have received their care packages.

Newsflash –
Salima Floods Emergency Appeal February 2022

It is with huge sadness that we write to advise you that Salima and the surrounding area has been hit by storms and heavy, continuous rains for days. This has resulted in the whole of Salima being flooded and many, many people, including some of the Starfish team, have been displaced due to their homes being deeply flooded.

Roads and infrastructure have been disrupted and with the rising water we fear that it will become contaminated and spread disease. The maize fields are very wet and it is feared that the young shoots will be damaged and lost leading to a poor harvest. We have been sent the photos below and video of the area, which shows the devastation.

We are launching this appeal so that we can give financial assistance to as many families as we can, to help them repair their homes and to provide them with food relief packages.

Please help us to stand with the people that we serve every day, so that we can provide and care for them in this hour of extreme need.

Please give as generously as you can, for we can only help them if we have funds to do so.

Donations can be made directly to our bank account,
using reference SFEA2022.

Our account details are:
CAF Bank, Sort Code 40-52-40, Account number 00018762.

Thank you so much.
Chris Knott and The Starfish Team

Maize Update - April 2022

Once again in 2022,we have been able to respond to the need for maize during the first few months of year, when stocks are always low in the villages.  This year our distribution was centred at Glad Tidings, with many people coming from different villages.  We have provided large bags from which many large pots or other bags have been filled with maize. This will really help the families during this year's hungry season.  Please watch the video to give you an idea of how busy the distribution is. 

The Oxygen for life appeal

The second wave of the COVID–19 pandemic in Malawi is now mercifully declining but there are still approx. 10,000 people needing medical care.  They are still suffering from the disease either in hospital, other health centres or at home and they may need access to oxygen over the coming days and weeks.  

The South African variant has become more dominant and is now severely affecting the healthcare provision in the country. Oxygen supplies are running very low, with some hospitals only having a few cylinders left. In addition, the oxygen concentrators that take normal air and filter it, to just supply oxygen to patients, are in short supply as many are not working and in need of repair.   PPE supplies are also urgently needed.

Starfish Malawi have already responded to this situation by setting up the Fighting COVID-19 Fund, to enable us to help supply some of these urgent needs to Salima District Hospital and to our Hope Clinic.

With the current financial support for this fund, we have already secured 4 oxygen concentrators and 4 hospital grade pulse oximeters, plus some other medical supplies, which will be flown out to Malawi in the next few weeks.  This will help to meet this urgent need. However, we would love to supply more of this equipment to help the situation plus deliver PPE supplies.

It is important to note that apart from these concentrators assisting Covid-19 patients, they are also needed to assist in normal healthcare needs, such as for providing oxygen to women during childbirth.

Starfish are committed to helping assist the more general healthcare needs of the community in Salima, by using part of this fund to supply medicines and medical supplies to Hope Clinic in Ngolowindo.  In addition to this, Starfish plan to launch an education programme to underline the importance of everyone being vaccinated.

If you would like to help us provide more equipment in the fight against COVID-19 in Malawi, please donate to this appeal, we would be extremely grateful. 

Many thanks for your support!

Hungry Period in Malawi

 The months from January to April, each year, are when the maize stocks from the previous year's harvest run low. These months are known as the “hungry period” in Malawi. During this period, the rural communities always suffer to some extent from lack of food, but 2021 may well be worse due increasing climate change issues and the knock-on effect from the COVID-19 situation.

Malawi depends entirely on rainfall to produce the food needed to feed over 18 million people. Each year, as the rest of the world feel the effect of climate change, it hits Malawi hard, hugely affecting the food supply.