Changing Stars Malawi have been looking for a couple of years for a building to start a community hub, vocational centre and library.
CSM's ethos is to work alongside members of the community if at all possible, so they have a vested interest in the project and also so that we are giving the villagers what they actually want and need.
Charlie was aware of a small group within the village consisting of two local young men and a French Canadian donor who had set up a group called the RAG Foundation. This being Renaud, Akim and Gift.
Their idea was to have a space where they could encourage some of the local children to come along and have quiz nights and somewhere to hang out to keep them out of the local bars and lodges.
Charlie met with RAG Foundation in late 2023 and felt that they were a good fit for what we wanted to achieve. RAG had received some funds in 2018 to build something and although they had four walls and a roof, the building had no flooring, no windows or doors etc and the grass was knee high inside, when Charlie first visited. Their funding had stopped so it was agreed that CSM would join in partnership with RAG foundation and the Community Hub could be built.
CSM provided the funds for this to happen, in part from a donation from St Elizabeth Church in Scotland, UK, and in June 2024 the Community Hub was opened.
There was space for vocational training, an office, an IT suite and a library which was dedicated to one of the CSM Trustees, Jim Zentveld, who had sadly passed away in February 2024. Jim was a great believer that all children had the right to an education and he loved Malawi. His legacy will live on in his library and the Hub where children can come and be supported in their learning.
The Hub opened in June 2024 and since then we have around 300 people come through the doors each week.
There are classes held six days a week, including story telling for little ones, help with homework for the school children, chess and games clubs, and a young mothers group who talk about female empowerment, what it means to be a woman in Malawi, mental health and well-being and they even have held meditation classes. There are other groups such as sports groups and also social groups.
In February 2025 the first vocational course will start. It is for 10 young women from the village who will learn to sew and make washable sanitary packs. When they have completed their training they will move into our studio and will continue to work making the packs and for every two they make, they get to keep one to sell in the markets. We will keep the other one to distribute to our young girls in school so that they don't have to miss their classes.
There are also sports classes such as basketball and netball, plus weekly quizzes are held between local schools.
Everyone is encouraged to come and use the library and its very rewarding to see children who have never even held a book, come into the library and look through picture books and start their love of reading and learning.
We planted lots of trees and the area is looking green and lush now, and we hope to start harvesting some of the fruit from the banana trees very soon for our visitors to the Hub.
We are so proud of this building and all it is doing for the community.
Watch out for updates as we have lots more planned for this wonderful resource for the local community.
If you would like to sponsor a child then please check out our shop section where you can choose to sponsor a child’s education for the year.
