When the six teams returned in late 2007, a non-profit organization was formed to start a small school in a tea plantation in Sri Lanka and to support a home for the elderly and people with mental disabilities.

 

In mid-2009, a call was launched through a Fourth Pillar forum to establish a health project in the Sitima region of southern Malawi within an existing YOCE education project. After thorough investigation of the region, it was determined that structural nutritional deficiencies were at the root of malnutrition among villagers.

 

A team from Non-Profit Belgium with doctor Gunter De Win and nurses Jan Foubert and Karine Haerinck traveled to six villages in the Sitima region for research. They encountered poverty, chronic malnutrition, lack of water and health care in a region with high rates of malaria and HIV infections.

 

In order to find a structural solution to chronic malnutrition, they collaborated with Toon Driesen who, as part of his anthropology studies, conducted ethnographic fieldwork for six months to investigate the causes of poverty and malnutrition. From his observations, it was decided to establish a food bank.

 

Karine Haerinck, founder and inspirer of the project, stayed in Malawi from August 2011 to March 2012 to start up the project. It is currently being continued by local farmers under the supervision of our non-profit organization Chabwino.

 

In 2017, the construction of a small school for preschoolers began in the village of Chabwera. Children from different villages are accommodated in a new school building. Education is primarily aimed at social development and, if possible, literacy. This will give the children a better chance to enter mainstream education later on.

 

Karine goes on annual field visits to coach and direct the project.

Pierre Mahy, our former secretary and treasurer, went on a working visit in 2018 to verify irrigation development and working with oxen.

Education at the little school in Chabwera received a big boost, a student from the 'development cooperation' program, did her three-month internship there in 2018. Educational and didactic material was provided as well as a vegetable garden.

 

2019 dentist Christian Beckx and wife Lut worked for a week in our villages where they treated tooth decay and teeth brushing was introduced in the little school.

2020: A building for a corn mill will be erected. Electricity wil be provided.

 

In 2021 : The construction of a sewing workshop began.
Two sewing machines were purchased for making face masks during the corona period. These sewing machines were soon used for training and repairing and making new clothing. Currently, the sewing workshop has 10 sewing machines

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With our climate projects, our main goal is to raise awareness and knowledge about the benefits of composting, trees and the importance of better water management. Two concrete examples of these projects are setting up a water recovery system on our site and planting trees. A number of trees were already planted in the villages in 2012. 

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In the fall of 2022, the project "CommuniTree: planting trees towards a self-sustaining community" will start. The core of the project consists of planting 1,000 trees on the lands of population. Tree planting and management will continue in 2023 and 2024. 

 

In 2023, solar panels were installed on the school by four engineering students from Ghent University in cooperation with the non-profit organization Humasol. This allows us to cook on solar energy for the school.

 

An energy-efficient stove was given to each family by Chabwino.

 

Workshops on composting (Mbeya) also began in 2023. 

 

2024: 240 chickens are purchased for better diversification of diet and prevention of food scarcity through availability of eggs. Workshops for insights on chicken breeding and disease prevention will be conducted. 

 

In the future, we want to continue our efforts to diversify crops to combat soil erosion and provide a broader pallet of nutrition for local people

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Operation

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Our goal is for the Chabwino project to continue to take shape and be supported by the local people. People's decisions on the ground are made under the leadership of local coordinator Winnedi Mangwino, assistant coordinator Davidson Machika, secretary Benson Gwanlanwa and Wadson Jika as chairman. 

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There is very close contact with the traditional authorities in and around Sitima, the so-called "chiefs" of T.A. (Traditional Authority) Mwambo. T.A. Mwambo has 325 villages and is one of six T.A.'s in the Zomba district. The chiefs have been heavily involved in its activities since its inception. In each case, work is done with and not alongside the chiefs and the existing VDC (village development committees). All the villages are represented through the chiefs or a member of the VDCs on the Chabwino committee on the Malawian side.

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There has also been good contact with the fascilitors of the Ministry of Agriculture in Malawi since early 2012. These officials work in rural villages and provide training to farmers on agricultural techniques such as fertilization, composting, agroforestry, etc. 

It is noteworthy that before the start of our project, no facilitators had visited the nine villages for many years. There was little interest from the government to train the farmers in these villages because the motivation among the farmers was considered very low and the soil fertility and agricultural yields were too low to invest in anymore. Now, several years later, the facilitators are back in the region, thanks in part to the efforts of the committee in Malawi and our non-profit organization who have strengthened ties.

The 'CBO (Comunitiy based Organization ) Sitima - Zomba disctrict - southern Province' are the 'eyes of society', as they say it themselves. They have a monitoring and guiding role for our activities in Malawi's Sitima/Padoko region. The list of the poorest who can go to the food bank, for example, is compiled in consultation with village chiefs, Chabwino club members and the CBO. 

 

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Approval of project proposals

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We are proud to announce that the Provincial Executive of East Flanders has approved our comprehensive project proposal "Energy for a sustainable future in Zomba", in addition to the sewing workshop and the "Forest Jump" project. This was done after a thorough evaluation based on the predefined criteria, taking into account both our operations in Malawi and our own. 

A quote from their assessment report: 

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"Very well reasoned project. We think the participation and participation of local people in this project is very strong. The project offers the possibility of financial independence for the initiatives set up. Also here in East Flanders there is a good operation and actions are set up to increase support."