Dear.....

In early 2007, I travelled to Mzuzu in Malawi with a group of 11 St. John of God personnel, who were based in Carmona Services in Glenageary, Co. Dublin.   Our mission was to fundraise for a food project called Umsuma which operates as a food credit union by Brother Aidan Clohessy in outlaying villages from Mzuzu.   Each of the group had to raise 5k.   With your help, I managed to raise nearly 8k.   I saw first hand the benefit of this great operation, which is working very well and is feeding and giving employment to over 500 families.

Some facts on Malawi :

< Out of the 173 poorest countries in the world it ranks as 165
< Average wage is $1 per day
< Life expectancy is about 37
< Over 20% of the population have aids
< In a country of 12 million people, there is one state psychiatric hospital

Bro. Aidan Clohessy runs a fantastic centre in Mzuzu.   At its core, is The House of Hospitality, which caters for people with mental health problems. Not only is this a first class medical centre but also Bro. Aidan has set up many ventures to rehabilitate and train the ex-patients.   They can be trained in carpentry, screen-printing, landscaping and horticulture and many other disciplines and he encourages them to be able re-enter society feeling worthwhile.   They also run outreach clinics, nursing stations and are very involved in a project for clean water called Wells for Zoë (see article by John Waters in The Irish Times).

One of the schemes that affected me greatly was the Umoza Childrens Centre there. Bro. Aidan set this up as a day care centre for homeless children. These are children who live on the streets because their parents have died generally from either Aids or malaria.   Some of these children are also Aids victims themselves.   They are brought into the school, given clean clothes, fed and educated there.   While, I was there they showed a great musical flair and immediately, I agreed to sponsor a music teacher for 2007/2008.

Since January the group (Umoza Cultural Group) has done three public performances and I am returning in January 2008 to see one performance and to record some tracks from these kids for use on a CD to released at some stage in the future.   I am completely dedicated to this project now and certainly want to continue to invest time and money into this worthy cause in an effort to try and improve the lives of these children.   However, the difference I am making is a drop in the ocean compared to what needs to be done.   A little financial help goes a long way in Mzuzu.   I would be obliged if you would consider making a donation (no matter how small) to this very worthy cause.  

Donations should be made out to 'St. John of God-Umoza' ....and sent to:

Hannah Dunford
The Daisy Label
2 Carriglea
Naas Road
Dublin 12
Ireland

I will be updating everyone on the progress out there on my return.   I am leaving on the 15th of January.

Many thanks in advance.
Kind Regards,
John

More info is available here at the World Health Org's page on Malawi
Also John Waters has written this article after his visit.