Open Arms Infants Home (Malawi) UK Registered Charity
No. 1090655

Open Arms Infants Home provides shelter, nourishment and care to orphaned and abandoned infants. Typically mothers will have died during child birth of AIDS related illnesses. In a country where the average daily wage is less than a dollar, infant's formula milk is far beyond the grasp of the infants' surviving relatives. Where once the extended family might have stepped in, such is the scale of the AIDS/HIV problem in Malawi, this traditional safety net often cannot cope. Officially designated one of the poorest countries in the world, the Central African country of Malawi also suffers from one of the highest recorded incidences of AIDS/HIV. Accurate statistics are hard to obtain but the number of orphans is suspected to be between 800,000 and 1,000,000. Coping with these numbers is an awesome prospect for any society, particularly a poor one.

This need gave rise to Open Arms Infant Home. Statistically 40% of the infants could be carrying the HIV virus due to maternal transmission at birth. The forty babies in our care range in age from one day to two years old. They come to us from all over southern Malawi. At two years old those that have survived are returned to their extended family in the village. If they had no remaining family, we previously placed them in a conventional orphanage. However with the opening of our new unit, Harrogate House (which will allow us to look after another 12 children aged 3 - 5 years old), they will automatically move into there. Very occasionally our babies are successfully adopted by foster parents. Last year approximately thirty infants didn't make their second birthday.

At present Open Arms receives no regular funding form large donor agencies. The $50 000 a year operational cost for the home is met mainly by numerous small private donations from well wishers worldwide. Larger contributions for specific projects are often provided by schools and religious institutions both overseas and locally. The home is entirely dependent on these donations and is particularly proud of the fact that every Penny, Tambala or Cent donated directly contributes to the well being of the infants in our care. We are in the fortunate position of owning our own grounds and buildings thanks to the children of Denmark, so rent is not one of our out goings. Our main monthly expenditure is on the salaries and food of our locally employed staff. Imported formula baby foods from Zimbabwe and South Africa runs a close second. Medicines, medical consultations and hospital care account for a fairly considerable proportion as does the maintenance of our aging buildings and the running of our modest utility vehicle (a donation from Danish children). Capital projects such as the matron's house are not included in this budget. With the exception of the Matron, the management of Open Arms is entirely in the hands of volunteers. A team of 26 salaried Malawian ladies deliver care and love to the babies in their charge 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Contact Information:

See website: www.openarmsmalawi.org

Water Aid is a global NGO dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people. Ethiopia, the fourth largest country in Africa, is one of the poorest and driest that Water Aid works in. It is very mountainous and most of the population live in scattered rural communities on the temperate fertile plateau in the centre and south of the country. Only 24% of the population have access to safe water supplies and only 15% have adequate sanitation; among the world’s worst figures. Water related diseases are rife and health services are limited. Reports indicate that the lack of safe drinking water is probably the most important cause of preventable disease. Collecting water from long distances contributes significantly to the burden on women and children and divert scarce family labour, time and energy away from productive activities that would otherwise increase production and thereby household income and food security.

IMPACT (Kenya) Registered Charity No. 290992

IMPACT is an international programme to prevent and alleviate needless disability. Its aim is simple – that no-one should become unnecessarily disabled by disease, lack of knowledge, or shortage of medical supplies. All their projects are run by local people in touch with real need – they also contribute resources. This ensures that the work is cost effective and appropriate. IMPACT has already restored sight, mobility and hearing to over 50,000 people and prevented a lifetime of disability for thousands more. According to the WHO estimates, 7-10% of the world’s people live with disability – 80% of these live in developing countries and one third are children. We are convinced that, with the effective delivery of modern technology and knowledge, at least half that disability is preventable and much is reversible or curable at low cost.

In Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar, surgical teams travel into the countryside to restore hearing and sight. In Kenya the Mobile Ear Treatment Unit benefits 7,000 people each year. 20 primary healthcare centres in rural villages treat people who live long distances from the nearest hospital. We will be working in the Mvea centre in a rural district in the north of the country. Local health workers are receiving training in community health education and the projects heavily rely on the skills and talents of dedicated volunteers.

A woman giving birth in Africa is still 200 times more likely to die from complications than a woman in the West. And for every woman who dies, many more will become disabled. Mother and Baby clinics ensure that women remain healthy throughout their pregnancies and childbirth is safe for both mother and baby while a home gardening scheme provides nutritious fruit and vegetables for entire households as a healthy diet can prevent many of the conditions including child blindness, developmental handicap and stunted growth.

Contact Information:
IMPACT Foundation
151 Western Road Haywards Heath West Sussex RH16 3LH
Tel: 01444 457080 Fax: 01444 457877

Email: impact@impact.org.uk
See website: www.impact.org.uk


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