As Nansato Nursery Trust celebrates its eighth year, we want to take the opportunity to thank you for supporting the charity and keeping it going strong.
When we visited Malawi in November 2014, we took heart in seeing the children learning lots and the nurseries being used well by the local community. Four of our trustees – Paula, Stuart, James and Pam – and a very excited Maisie (Paula & Stuart’s 18-month-old daughter) made the trip to Mulanje.
Our time was short so it was a busy but a great week and a blessing to find the four nursery schools full of happy, healthy and very clever children.
Each time we visit, we see the teachers’ confidence in their ability increasing and the children responding well to this. The resourcefulness of the teachers was a delight to see as they used sticks and stones to give context to their lessons and ask the children to create shapes and count using the materials.
Thanks to the ongoing support from yourself and our other regular givers and fundraisers, we were able to take out parachutes for each of the four nursery schools – and they were an instant hit! The teachers themselves were full of laughter during the training and wanted to play the games again and again!
Counting and colour games were played with the children, who showed remarkable patience as they waited for their turn, and it was great to see that, within a few days, the teachers had developed their own lessons using the parachutes.
Since opening the doors to the four nurseries, over 2,400 children have benefited from a year’s education and a daily bowl of porridge.
While the buildings have been cherished by the local community, general wear and tear was evident on our last visit so we took the decision to paint some of the internal walls that needed most attention.
Another achievement from the trip was being able to source and deliver new porridge stoves to the four nurseries and continue our partnership with Mary’s Meals who we work with to ensure every child who attends the nurseries receives one nutritious meal a day.
One of our highlights of the trip was a visit to our caretaker’s house Mr Muthuthuwa. Since our last visit, he has built a new house and has managed to pull a mini farm together with chickens, goats, pigs, rabbits and pigeons… Maisie loved it!
He was really proud to show us around his house and land, calling it a ‘Nansato Nursery Trust property’.
As always, it was very humbling when he, and the other teachers, thanked us all for their continued employment, and Mr Muthuthuwa added that it would not have been possible to build his house without his job security and saying he feels proud as the people in the community look up to and respect him because of his work for the schools.
It’s always great to see the knock-on effect of the charity. We couldn’t do it without you and we are so thankful for your continued support.
Nansato Nursery Trust