The dust has settled a little for me now. We got back from our first field trip to Malawi 2 weeks ago.

Though I didtn’t know what to expect, it was everything you might hear from someone going on a trip like that. Life changing, perspective changing, shocking, inspiring, thought provoking. Emotional, upsetting, exciting and fun.

We met some extraordinary people working on the frontline of poverty alleviation. Although Malawi is relatively stable and safe, it is poor. Malnutrition is common, healthcare is hard to come by and hard to afford for most. If the seasons are bad and the harvests are bad, people die. It’s as simple as that.

The flip side of this familiar sad story is that there is hope, there is change, and there was a feeling in the air that the best was somewhere in the not-too-distant future. Like an economy waiting to ignite and change millions of lives. There are the usual and familiar issues around stewardship of Government and Aid support, with corruption commonplace at the top and the bottom. But it felt like this was changing. Bright young Malawians willing to fight for their families and communities and, with technology and education, in a better place than ever to make that change happen. This change was palpable, taste-able, it is already happening.

This sense of potential was reinforced by a recent TED talk from the familiar anti-poverty pinup Bono. Think what you will of this aging rock star (and trust me i do too) but as a voice and movement-leader, he makes a great case for the changing state of global poverty.(click here to see his 13 min talk) This is an exciting time to be part of that international awareness, mobilisation and ultimate eradication of absolute poverty for millions of people. With the emphasis on all the work left to do for the worlds poorest communities, the overriding picture is one of change, hope, transformation and the potential to eradicate world poverty, in its worst sense, within our lifetime.

Why am i ranting on about all this? I should be here announcing the virtues of joining Be One Percent (don’t worry that bit is coming) I guess what I’m saying is that the world is already changing. That we are already part of this extraordinary picture.

Whats really exciting for Be One Percent is that we are better placed than ever to invest in the best initiatives, to see and quantify our impact, and even meet with those we are supporting. How much more exciting can you get? (I think its pretty exciting)

Our 1%Member count hit 96 today. This month those 96 people, giving just 1%, will raise enough to give 750 people access to a sustainable clean water supply. Next month we will buy over 1,000 malaria nets guaranteed for distribution helping to protect entire districts of communities.

One of our strap lines is a mis-quote of Gandhi: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” and the sentiment echos louder than ever.

Ultimately I’ve come back from the trip incredibly proud of what we are doing and more confident than ever in what we are achieving. Though we are a small part of a big picture, we are the change.

Not a member? Why on earth not?

Be One Percent.

With additional contributions from The Mando Foundation we raised a staggering £3,245.11 last month. This is again beyond our target and will buy seven water pumps for Village Water projects. As part of their work this will bring safe and sustainable water supplies to as many as 1,190 people in 7 communities in western Zambia. Thanks again for all those who contributed, by giving together we make giving great.

The long term impact of technically simple measures about sanitation and basic hygiene are enormous. Children can wash regularly and good hygiene practice is maintained, thereby avoiding the life-threatening diseases caused by insufficient clean water and poor hygiene practice. Families no longer go hungry as the water helps to grow plentiful supplies of nourishing food. A local source of water gives village women the time to create their own local enterprise and children the time to attend school. Sustainable water supplies help farmers to harvest crops throughout the year, instead of the single crop reliant on the rainy season. Surplus food can be sold at local markets. Money made through their enterprise enables families to pay for medicines and an education for their healthy children.

Key to the work of Village Water is the groundwork carried out by local fieldworkers. These are professional community workers, who encourage local people to organise themselves by forming a Village Water & Sanitation Committee. This commitment proves if the village has the vitality to take ownership of the well and pump seriously. The villagers pay a small start up fee for the well of around £20 and the Committee undertakes to supply long term running costs. Such ownership is essential to ensure sustainability, as it permits the gradual withdrawal of external support. Village Water works with local Committees to install and maintain water pumps and latrines and offers training to support local health educators. Once the work is complete and sustainable then help is offered afresh in a new locality.

Our contribution this month will purchase seven India Mark II hand pumps. These pumps will bring safe water to 1,190 people.

http://www.justgiving.com/september2012beonepercent

Once again, it’s incredible that we can do so much with a 1% commitment from a small number of 1% Members. Thank You.

Thank you for making a small commitment to BIG CHANGE!

We are inching ever closer to 100 members. At 1% HQ its been inspiring to us that so much has been given by so few and we continue to try to make the most with the least every month. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this, our giving as a network is becoming truly life changing for hundreds and thousands of people.

In many African countries, under 10% of all seed is accessed by farmers from state-run agricultural support services, with the large majority saving their own seed from year to year – often with diminishing yield returns.

Self Help Africa supports seed multiplication across its programmes in Africa, provides ongoing training and technical support to community groups, and links farmer producers to laboratories where they can have their seed analysed and certified.

The ‘science’ associated with seed multiplication has been taken by Self Help Africa to grassroots level across the eight African countries where it works, with small-scale farmers now acting as the producers and distributors of good quality cereal, pulse and vegetable seed in their locality.

Miriam Dinah Daka is a 27-year old mother of two and a community based seed producer living in Luondo village, Chipata Zambia. Thanks to seed multiplication, Dinah’s family now have access to a year round supply of food.

In early 2010, Dinah joined a group of farmers on a Self Help Africa seed growing project. She was trained to grow bean seed and given 20kg of beans to multiply. Dinah harvested 380kg of beans and received certification for her produce, which she then sold. She earned £200, and invested this in a small grocery trading post which is bringing in enough money to meet her family’s basic needs.

“I am grateful to Self Help Africa for helping me to start my business, and enabling me to improve our standard of living.”

Across the border in Mabwera village, Malawi, Mary Banda is another community seed multiplier supported by Self Help Africa with her enterprise.

“I used to struggle to produce enough food, but since I became involved in producing peanut and maize seed I have seen my own yields increase, and have also earned good money from the sale and distribution of certified seed. We never used to grow peanuts but now there are around 20 farmers in this village growing it”

Watch a short video on the importance of seed multiplication programmes; ‘It starts with a seed’

This month 1% fundraising will provide seed for farmers in Uganda to set up 4 seed multiplication projects, this will provide high quality seed for hundreds of local farmers and impact on entire communities. Please give your 1% here…

https://www.justgiving.com/august2012beonepercent

Gomani Primary School is located in the Chiradzulu District, which is just north-east of Blantyre. At the latest enrolment count our school had 408 children enrolled, out of which there are 229 boys and 179 girls. This is an increase of 48 children compared to 2011. This is a great indicator that providing school meals has impact on attendance. Just £7 will provide a school meal for a child in Malawi for an entire year. Our fundraising this month will help us feed not 1 but 2 more schools in the same district. That means that with as few as 100 1%Members giving proportionaly, between us we will raise enough in July and October to feed 800 Malawian Children for their entire school year.

Read More about Mary’s Meals here: HelpIng Malawian Children to a Brighter Future

The children on Gomani Primary School send a big thanks to you for Being One Percent!

To see a full report on our first school contact us.

The aim of the charity is to respect the traditional extended role of local families to look after orphaned children. The impact of parental deaths from AIDS, alongside persistent poverty for some groups in East Africa has placed a particular strain on this role. Families find themselves unable to send their children to school and all members become prone to malnutrition and preventable diseases. Under this burden, rural children drift into urban area and live on the streets, adding to their vulnerability.

Our contribution to the work of The Mango Tree will help to reverse some of these pressures on the families they work with. The focus is on self-sustainability, especially by increasing access to clean water and raising the production of local agriculture, livestock and fishing production. These efforts are targeted on those families most at risk of ill health. The economic model is to facilitate the establishment of micro-business (250 in this region is the target by 2014). The Mango Tree works with other charities locally to advocate for land inheritance rights as part of this aim of self-sustainability.

Building greenhouses with The Mango Tree will will provide a positive practical and environmental impact for these foster children and their families, and we look forward to sharing photos of them later this year.