After a little break, Donr Spotlight returns this week to talk to Becky Boucherat, Fundraising Coordinator and Events Producer at foreign aid charity, Temwa.
Some years ago, Jo Hook and Sophie Guise were running a backpackers’ lodge in Usisya, a remote village on the lakeshore of Malawi. While they were there, the duo’s close friend and colleague, Lotti Nkhwazi, died after developing AIDS — he’d had little access to healthcare before death and had been supporting his sister, brother, sister-in-law and 15 children.
This first-hand experience of the challenges that Malawians face on a daily basis spurred Jo and Sophie into action on their return to the UK, in the year 2000. Three years later, in 2003, they had become Managing Director and Trustee of their own charity, Temwa, which “means ‘love’ or ‘love within a community’ in the Chitumbuka language — one of the languages spoken in the communities we partner with in Malawi,” Becky Boucherat, the charity’s Fundraising Coordinator and Events Producer explains.
“Temwa exists to empower people in remote communities in Malawi to tackle the root causes of poverty and transform their own futures,” she continues.
Working in isolated villages in the north of the country, the charity works to combat poor water and sanitation, a lack of basic services such as health and education and limited access to markets. “We run programmes with the community that address the multiple and complex causes of poverty, not just the symptoms,’ Becky explains.
“We equip people with the skills to transform their own communities’ futures.”
This work has included planting over 1 million trees; testing over 30,000 people for HIV (and supporting HIV-positive people); increasing food security for over 30,000 people by training 5,000 farmers and helping entrepreneurs set up a cooperative bakery project; providing safe drinking water to 4,000 people; and improving literacy rates through reading camps, community libraries and secondary school bursaries.
“A £5 donation can give one person access to safe drinking water for three years.”
However, the charity’s work is far from finished. Temwa recently signed up to use Donr’s Text Giving service and plans to spend money collected via this fundraising mechanism to continue to help villages in this extremely isolated part of the world.
“Our current priorities are providing more villages with access to safe drinking water through filter provision, planting more trees and improving reading and writing skills,’ Becky explains.
“A £5 donation can give one person access to safe drinking water for three years.”
To help Temwa continue to fight poverty as best it can, please text ‘TEMWA’ to 70085 to donate £5*.
If you’d like to find out more about the charity, please visit their website or find them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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*Texts will cost £5 plus one standard network rate message. To donate a different amount, text ‘TEMWA 3’ to 70085 to donate £3 or ‘TEMWA 14’ to donate £14. Any whole pound amount from £1 to £20 can be donated. Texts cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message.
