Projects
- Support to Grass Roots Orphan Care Centers, Malawi
- Pens and Pads for Progress, Liberia
- Malawi Youth Initiative
- Completed Projects
Support to Grass Roots Orphan Care Centers, Malawi
Beginning July 2007
Goods for Good is developing programs to support locally run childcare
centers catering to both their short-term and long-term needs.
Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, is faced with an
orphan population of 1.5 million children. The traditional model of
family-based orphan care, which relies on the ability of the extended
family to care for orphans, is struggling to cope with the high orphan
rate.
As a result, many orphans are going without such basic necessities as educational materials, bedding, clothing and health and hygiene products. This is particularly problematic as the orphan population is expected to increase to 2 million children by 2010.
To deal with this growing crisis, local communities are founding Community Based Childcare Centers (CBCCs). In December of 2006, Executive Director Melissa Kushner and CFO Jeremy Kaplan traveled to Malawi to visit several CBCCs and evaluate their needs. Goods for Good also sponsored a meeting of local organizations caring for orphans and vulnerable children.
On this fact-finding trip, Melissa observed, "Caregivers are preoccupied with procuring basic necessities. If provided with these necessities, most agreed they would dedicate additional resources to improving their skills and their organizational infrastructure; both integral elements in building sustainable organizations and caring for vulnerable children."
Building on the information gathered in December, Goods for Good will begin working on the ground in Malawi in July 2007 to implement this program. Our goal is to support the short-term and long-term needs of partner organizations, providing them with basic necessities today and facilitating the training of their staff for the future.
Related documents
Read the report from the site visits (PDF)
Read the report from the meeting (PDF)