
"We cant stop working we will have all the eternity to rest"
From our beginnings, the main objective of Active Africa has been for young people to have access to a better quality education.
In Malawi, our challenge in the last 16 years has been to improve education in the poorest areas of the country. For this, we have restored and improved the infrastructure of some of the public schools in the Dowa area. In each trip, all the schools that have received help over the years are visited and meetings are held with the educational community and with a representation of the parents of students to know their needs.
The granting of scholarships for the two best students of each class has become a great incentive for these students without resources.
Our most important project has been the construction and rehabilitation of 20 buildings, with two and three classrooms each, in eight primary and secondary schools in the Dowa area: St. Mathias, Dowa I, Dowa 2, Kanyenje, Mvera, Lovimbi, Katundu, Chankhungu Primary, Mpanwgeni, Masadadera, Mbindo, Chigwere, Chingondo, Mtenje, Mgona Secondary, Chankhungu Secondary, Chimwang'ombe.
Throughout these years we have realized that we had to bet on secondary education because in this way, the entire education cycle is guaranteed.
Our action has been extended to guarantee the safety of the students and for this, we have financed the construction of three boarding houses for girls in the Secondary Schools of Chankungu, Mwera and Chimbang'ombe.
As a result of our support for education, our SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM was born, where we support students who for various reasons deserve help to continue studying. We believe that this is the best investment for a better future.
PERMEACULTURE - TRANSFORMING AGRICULTURE
Aligned with several SDGs, and concerned about the environment and the different factors that lead to a deterioration of natural resources, deforestation, low environmental quality, etc ... we have taken initiatives and carried out projects that fight against this problem, how to build with ecological bricks, invest in new wells, support renewable energy installations and support actions that lead to a more sustainable and ecological agriculture.
One example is: Alliance with MAWA, Malawi NGO for a permeaculture project. For more information click here
In Malawi there is a majority of the population that cultivates smallholdings that occupy most of the cultivable area (4.5 million hectares) with maize and other types of grain in not very rich soils and of low production. For many it is their only work and livelihood. The food of the whole family depends on the annual harvest.
This is a form of agriculture aligned with the environment that uses available natural resources to have a sustainable and economic production.
Through this system, the farmer manages to have fresh food throughout the year, not depending exclusively on the corn harvest and developing crops around the house where they live.
Mawa organizes training sessions for groups of farmers in the field, in permaculture (training, supervision and monitoring) and gives them a pack of tools, seeds and animals that allow them to improve their standard of living, health and economic independence.

We know that the road ahead is very long but every action counts
COVID-19 MALAWI and KENYA PROJECTS

In March a year ago, we began to be aware of the importance of COVID-19
Suddenly, we are faced with a totally new world landscape. In a short time our habits of life, way of working and relating to each other have radically changed. It is very difficult to make projections because the data varies every day and we do not know very well what is the best step to follow.
The virus is affecting the countries of the world differently.
It seems that due to various factors, in Africa or at least in some areas, including Malawi, over the past year, the incidence was lower. This even allowed us to organize a project control trip in November.
In early 2021, however, there was a strong rebound that affected a large Malawian population. The government closed schools again, imposed the mandatory use of masks and took many measures to reduce the contagion. They tell us that the incidence is currently down.
We are following the evolution daily. Seeing what measures to adopt, within our reach.
Until now, and following the most urgent requests, we have launched 3 projects,
Purchase of medical supplies Likuni Hospital, Malawi
This Hospital located on the outskirts of Lilongwe has treated several Covid patients. The toilets are in a situation of total lack of protection since they lack masks, gloves, etc.
All over the country there are protests because nurses and doctors refuse to work under these conditions.
A donation has been made so that they can buy material and care for the sick.
Population feeding Samburu area, Kenya
By declaring the closure of schools, the children of the villages have been left without food that they received in these schools. Our counterparts asked us for help to be able to feed those most in need in this situation.
We have joined with other Foundations and organizations and we have allocated part of our fund to support the project.
Project for the distribution and construction of a hand sanitizing gel production plant in the Parish of Benga in Malawi
We support the Ready for Africa initiative, led by Haan, the Missionaries of San Pablo and Botanicae, which consists of the distribution and creation of a hand gel production plant. The objective of this action is not only to distribute this gel but also to provide work for a group of women in the area in a situation of special vulnerability.
The project will be divided into two parts, the first will buy and distribute gel among the nearby towns.
The second is the creation of a gel production plant. This will be distributed among the most needy population and the rest will be sold to hospitals and companies so that the sustainability of the project can be achieved.
The implementation of this project has been possible thanks to the contributions of Haan, Botanicae, Soltec, Beter, Active Africa and the solidarity contribution of many people through donations in a solidarity challenge in Migranodearena and Bizum
Sale of Masks to finance the #ReadyforAfrica project
A group of volunteers has made Masks with African fabrics to finance the construction and distribution project of Sanitary Gel from the Benga Mission. These are acquired thanks to a donation. The entire contribution goes to finance the Ready for Africa project.
Apart from these projects, we are awaiting the evolution of the pandemic to make decisions about future actions.
We also believe that we must prioritize supporting projects that are already underway and that need annual help. We will continue paying the numerous scholarships that we are already sponsoring, sponsorships and other similar actions.
It will be a different year, but we will continue alongside our people helping in what is most necessary and urgent



Construtions with Eco bricks
It is difficult to think that the entire population can change their traditional way of building, but it is true that, to our small extent, we can limit the number of bricks made in the old way and reduce the use of firewood.
We know that the Government of Malawi has also imposed the rule that public constructions are made with this new material.
Our builder, Moses Kasamba, has a machine that manufactures them using high pressure and with a finish similar to the traditional one.
Of course, there will continue to be an obligation on the part of local communities to contribute water, sand and labor as a collaboration to the project. And on the other hand, the design of the building will be the same as the one used so far but with this innovation, we hope to see benefits for the entire community.


We are currently implementing this system in several construction sites:
- New building with 3 classrooms in Kanyenje sponsored by MANGO
- Reconstruction of 2 blocks of classrooms in Mpangweni sponsored by the Mercedes Armengou Foundation and funds from the Association
- New building with 3 classrooms in Mtenje sponsored by the Mercedes Armengou Foundation
- Fence of the land of the next boarding of St.Mary's Rehabilitation Center in Chezi, Dowa, supported by MANGO and GANDARA
Since the 2019 annual trip, Active Africa made the decision to carry out the works with so-called ecological bricks. They are compact bricks that are obtained from the mixture of sand and cement.
Unlike those that are produced in a traditional way throughout the country, they do not need cooking, they are not dried with wood ovens, which means that their use reduces the felling of trees and improves the environment.
New construction underway. Buildings in Primary and Secondary schools
2021
New Laboratory and Library in Chimwang'ombe, sponsored by Fundación Barceló and MANGO
Boarding for boys at Chezi
2020
Construction of a new block of 3 classrooms at the Kanyenje School, sponsored by MANGO
Construction of a new block of 3 classrooms at the Mtenje School, thanks to the Sponsorship of the Mercedes Armengou Foundation
Renovation of 2 blocks in the Mpangweni Primary School, sponsored by the Mercedes Armengou Foundation and other donors.
2019
INAUGURATION OF:
Chimwang'ombe
Kasumba
Chingondo
During the last trip we were able to make to Malawi, in spring 2019, we had the opportunity to see and open new classrooms in 3 Schools in the Dowa area, Central Malawi.
On the one hand, the Chingondo and Kasumba elementary schools sponsored by Mango and on the other hand, Chimwang'ombe, a Secondary School that was born through an agreement between parents, school committee and Active Africa and of which we are especially proud.
In Chimwang'ombe, thanks to these new buildings, it will be possible to double the number of pupils and thus allow all the Primary Schools in the surrounding area to send their selected students to this center. This increases the number of students but also gives a great push on the issue of security. As the School is closer, the young women are not exposed to the usual dangers of long journeys and the need to rent houses in places far from their families.
Thank you Mango and Fundación Barceló for your support.


We visited Chingondo 10 years ago. At that time they only had a block of 3 classrooms to accommodate 5 courses.
We decided to bet on them and we got down to work.
We built a kitchen so that they could benefit from the daily food program run by the Mary's Meals Foundation.
Later, thanks to a donation from Thaigo and Julia, we were able to build a new block of 3 classrooms. The Ministry of Education decided that the School already had the conditions to be a Full Primary. From then on, the entire Primary could be taken.
In 2019, with the inauguration of a new block in Chingondo, the School has achieved a dignity that it lacked.
Now students in the area can complete the cycle there without having to travel.
It should be noted that since we began to help this school, final exam results have improved exponentially and many students have managed to be selected for Secondary.

Purchase of an Electric Generator for the Likuni Hospital
The Likuni hospital was founded in 1940. Currently, the hospital serves either 80,000 patients per year in its own facilities or through the eleven mobile clinics.
Sister Lungu wants to ensure that the most needy have access to appropriate health care. Likewise, she wishes to improve both the quality of the attention provided and the statistics of said attention. During 2016, the reconstruction and equipment of the maternity wing has been her priority, in order to increase control in the stage of pregnancy and delivery, thus ensuring a greater survival of newborns.
However, the hospital continues to have significant shortcomings.
From one hand, Malawi suffers from a chronic power shortage. The power cuts are constant and lasting, which affects especially certain areas of the hospital. As it is a very large center, it is very difficult and expensive to install solar panels and there are areas of it whose equipment is not sustainable with this alternative energy.
On our last trip, Sister Lungu confirmed that the purchase of an Electric generator that kept the supply in the most vulnerable areas of the hospital (operating room and laboratory) was her main priority.
Thanks to Mango, now this generator is a reality.
On the other hand, for years they have been asking for help to buy an Ambulance.
This was a very urgent need since the one they had was very old. The repairs were constant, causing serious problems in the transportation of the sick and also due to the continuous bills for their repair.
It should be borne in mind that the Hospital has a Mobile Clinics program to provide healthcare to the population not only in the Hospital but also in all the surrounding towns. In Malawi, people often do not go to health centers because they are far from their homes and because they lack the necessary money for transportation.
By ambulance, these towns are reached and the most seriously ill are taken to Lilongwe Central Hospital when the occasion requires.
Finally, in mid-2019 it was possible to buy and deliver to the Likuni Hospital.
Thanks to Mango, the generator and the ambulance are already fully operational, helping the people of Malawi.

Scholarship Program : Malawi and Kenya

This is a very important program for Active Africa.
It is our reason for being and what we spend a lot of our efforts on. We believe that education will serve to improve and change the lives of many young people individually and as a society.
In Malawi , we have several actions underway,
On the one hand, and from the beginning, we decided to implement a Program through which 2 scholarships per school are awarded each year, one to the best girl and the other to the best boy of all the primary schools that are within our program in the Dowa and Kanyenje area. These students continue with our support during Secondary and Higher Studies or University. The program expanded its scope of application to other areas and territories of the country, granting scholarships to many high school and university students from Lilongwe, Blanthyre, Dowa, Mzuzu, Nkhotakota, etc.
Thanks to this, more than 2,000 young people have benefited from the possibility of pursuing higher education and marking a change of course in their lives that will directly affect the improvement of the country. Numerous scholarships have also been given to girls / boys recommended by people we trust and who are in dire need.
And of course we have supported all the orphans who are from Dzanja and Chezi. Those who have achieved a score to continue their studies receive help to go to the Centers where they have been selected and secure a good job.

Many young people in Malawi deserve this opportunity and our association is proud to be able to help some of them fulfill their dreams.
When we travel to Malawi, we visit them at their various study centers.
There is nothing that can make us feel happier than to see how these children we met at a very young age are finishing their studies and entering the job market.
We appreciate the sponsorship of Fundación Gandara, Martiderm, Zikkomo, Familia Cejudo-Mercado and other individuals who assume the cost of their studies.
On the other hand, in Kenya we are granting scholarships to many young women through the Kianda Foundation programs and with the sponsorship of the Maite Iglesias Baciana Foundation. This is a successful project that has improved the lives of many women in the most needy areas of Kenya.
WELL CONSTRUCTION IN MALAWI
Night School for children sheperds, Lchekuti:
Drilling wells in rural Malawi is perhaps one of the projects that best defines the objectives of our association: to contribute to the development of rural communities by providing infrastructures that improve health, nutrition and the improvement of the educational quality of the Poorest children in Malawi.
We are proud to have built 35 wells in the Dowa and Benga areas, of which 5 have been this year.
Despite the difficulties, thanks to funding from HAAN and its mediation with HOOF and DONNER REUSCHEL, 5 villages now have a better quality of life in many respects.
The construction of wells prevents the population from collecting water for their daily intake in exposed places (rivers, streams, lakes or ponds), which are a source of disease. Poor water quality has a direct impact on the health of the population and its nutritional status. It contributes to poor growth in children and creates significant problems for pregnant women. The possibility that they drink water from a safe source has an immediate effect on the health and nutritional status of the population, and increases their productivity and quality of life.
Tuum and Barsaloi are two small villages in the Samburu desert. They are located about 500 kilometers from Nairobi. These arid and inaccessible places are the habitat of the Samburu and Turkana tribes.
Both the lack of rains and the fact that grazing is the main activity of these tribes, make the care of the flock the main objective of these families, a task that falls on the children who are considered the smartest.


Tuum and Barsaloi are two small villages in the Samburu desert. They are located about 500 kilometers from Nairobi. These arid and inaccessible places are the habitat of the Samburu and Turkana tribes.
Both the lack of rains and the fact that grazing is the main activity of these tribes, make the care of the flock the main objective of these families, a task that falls on the children who are considered the smartest.
They are children who can not go to the official school, since their work as shepherds forces them to spend the whole day taking care of the cattle and looking for new pastures. The feeding of these children is based on tea and some milk. Without academic training, they have difficulty integrating into the official educational system and even, the development of an adult social life. The goal of the lchekuti is precisely to overcome these impediments. They go to class at dusk, usually from 7pm to 9pm, when they have returned from the pastures. For their learning they use a basic program integrated into the educational system in which they are taught to read, write, Swahili, English, religion, science and basic mathematics. These are simple notions so that they can unfold into society in their near future. In addition, they offer a very nutritious food called UJI that reduces malnutrition and controls their health. Without these centers, all these children would be doomed to illiteracy.
Active Africa currently supports five Lckekutis in the villages of Tuum, Parkati, Larelok, Waserongai and Naimaralal.
Thank you. Ache Ole.


Community of Benga:
A young mission but with great force.
It was born 5 years ago and from the beginning we have supported them in various projects
In a short time they have set up a daycare center for children under 6 years old, an elementary school, women's training programs that include eating and hygiene habits, support programs for the elderly and a program helping the albino population, a group of people especially vulnerable in Africa.
The mission has built more than 50 wells that contribute to improving the quality of life and hygiene of their entire population


The organization of various advisory programs to local farmers has been prioritized to improve crop yield and diversification.
Thus, new plants have been introduced, improving the breed of animals in the area. Rafts have been built by way of fish farms, the distribution and planting of mango trees has been increased. All this devoted to produce sustainable development in the area, involving the population
Finally, many schools located in the limits of the Parish are supported.
This year, thanks to the help of ‘your solidarity salary”, “Zikomo” Active Africa has been able to build several buildings of the Mkhula school.
Mkhula School
In this rural public school hundreds of children receive lessons in the shade of trees. It seems like an idyllic place to study, but in the rainy season the classes are simply suspended. There is no space to accommodate more than 1,526 students.
It is located in Nangawira, near the town of Benga. It was founded in 1964 as mixed-gender school. It currently has 10 teachers. Only two of them are women.
In Mkhula, the eight primary years are taught. The earlier years are overcrowded. However, there are no students in 8th grade. The dropout rate is very high due to early marriages, excess students per class, lack of teachers, lack of infrastructure, lack of awareness of family members and lack of interest from the students.
The school has eight classrooms, two in good condition and six in poor condition. It is a clearly insufficient infrastructure to accommodate all students.

Promotion of women: Training workshops
Women are the most needy group on the African continent. Since they were little they look to the future knowing that what awaits them will not be easy. They must support the family and bring money home. However, the good news is that more and more girls have access to education.
Active Africa funds many scholarships each year to improve the future of these women. However, others, if not the majority, will not have access to higher education.
For this reason, Active Africa supports the creation of workshops that give women opportunities to improve their economy and that of their family as well as grow in self-esteem.
This last year we have financed four literacy and sewing workshops: two in Malawi (specifically in Chezi and Kapiri) and others in Kenya, in Tuum and Opiroi.
These projects have been possible thanks to funding from Comercia Global Payments and the Maite Iglesias Baciana Foundation.
Specifically, the Kapiri project is carried out in the Mission of the same name in the central-western region of Malawi, under the supervision of the Malawian sister Sister Patricia.

It is a land highly affected by poverty and with a very high percentage of illiteracy. Women are the most unprotected and vulnerable part of Malawian society. For these reasons, Sister Patricia asked us to start this project in which women receive classes in literacy, sewing, notions of economics and agriculture but above all they have the opportunity to meet, share experiences and train to lead a more dignified life and be able to give a better future for their family and themselves.
Once they finish, many create their own business. Some have the opportunity to buy a sewing machine at a good price and settle as dressmakers in their villages. Others set up shops in the local market or start small businesses that will mean a big change for their future.
We are grateful to the donors who make it possible for these actions to go ahead.


Nanthomba is a Public School of Secondary Education in the rural area of Dowa, in Malawi. It accommodates 600 students and has a radius of influence that includes 36 villages and 7 elementary schools with an average of 1,300 students per school. It does not have a boarding school and students who live far away must rent their own rooms in homes near the school, which do not meet the minimum standards of safety and hygiene. All this increases the cost of schooling until it is unaffordable.
Girls are the most vulnerable group in terms of dropping out of school. AIDS makes them have to deal with sick parents and grandparents. However, 80% of school dropouts are due to lack of financial means, followed by 11% of early pregnancies and 9% of marriages. Families that can not afford the cost of renting a home near the school risk their daughters´ lives whom travel several kilometers every day on unsafe roads, in which they frequently receive assaults. All this does not help to continue with the studies and closes its doors to a future where to integrate into the world of work. The best solution is to build a boarding school for girls in the school itself. The fee that students must pay is much lower than the cost of renting a home nearby and the school itself organizes surveillance and dining services, allowing the girls to have more time to study and live safer. When knowing this situation, Active Africa looked for a donor to be able to make reality to our first boarding house which in March 2017 we have been able to inaugurate. Thanks to Mango, Nanthomba already has a safe place for 90 Secondary Girls. Zikomo
Support program for the AIDS patients of Kaggwa Parish:
Since 2006, our association collaborates in the maintenance of the special attention program for AIDS patients (Kaggwa Community Home Based Care) that takes place in the parish of Kaggwa, Lilongwe. The objectives of this program have been to improve the quality of life of AIDS patients group and their closest family , to stop to increase the number of AIDS patients through training and prevention and also, to achieve the patients social reintegration. The activities that are developed annually in order to support the AIDS patients groups are designed to take care of their health and nutrition and offer them the tools necessary to lead a dignified life.

Water for the village of Lodung 'okue
Lodung'okue is a village located in the Samburu Desert, in northern Kenya. The people who inhabit these lands belong to the Samburu Tribe.
Normally, in the dry season they have to walk several kilometers until they reach a river where they dig wells to get the water out. Then they return to the village loaded with more than 20 liters of water. Sometimes they take advantage of the watering holes of the animals with the consequent risk of contamination.
This is why the Javerian Fathers proposed this project that will considerably improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the area and mainly the women, who are in charge of the water.
The Project consists of the installation of tanks and solar panels to collect the rainwater and distribute it among the locals.
