...Mission Statement!
The objectives of the charity are:
To raise funds to provide for the relief of children in Malawi suffering from hardship and distress by reason of their social and economic circumstances. Such provision to include accommodation, and hospice accommodation, for orphaned neglected and terminally ill children and essential factors such as love, care, food and clothing, medical and nursing care and funeral expenses.
The aims of the charity are:
The Trust raises considerable funds through their activities which are used to support specific development activities in Malawi.
Ideally Open Arms Infant Home needs to have enough annual income secured to be confident that the home can continue to support the babies in its care and to further develop and improve its facilities.
Some of the projects fully or part- funded through the UK Trust so far include:
Aubrey, Wilson, Norman and Mary, all children who have spent most of their lives at Open Arms left Harrogate House and moved into Rose's house, their new permanent foster home before Christmas 2005.
Most of the Open Arms children are returned to their communities although some, like the "Famous Four" have nowhere else to go.
They live with their new Foster family Save and Robert Pophera and their son Blessings. Save was a house mother at Open Arms for six years and her husband Robert is a teacher.
The "Famous Four" already attend a good private school close to the house. The Royal Alexandra and Albert School at Gatton Park in the South of England are generously fundng their future education.
Reports from Ladybird International School indicate that they are all doing well. All credit for this is due to Enipher Nasiyaya, Open Arm's dedicated nursery school teacher, for providing them with a sound nursery school grounding. Aubrey's progress is particularly pleasing. He suffers from Cerebral Palsy.
To raise funds to provide for the relief of children in Malawi suffering from hardship and distress by reason of their social and economic circumstances. Such provision to include accommodation, and hospice accommodation, for orphaned neglected and terminally ill children and essential factors such as love, care, food and clothing, medical and nursing care and funeral expenses.
The aims of the charity are:
- To continue to provide shelter, food, care, love and medical facilities for fifty orphaned or abandoned infants in the age range of one day old to five years old.
- To return wherever possible, immunized, fit toddlers to relations in village or township and to monitor the 'returnees' subsequent progress.
- To support impoverished grandparents or near relations who have accepted the children back into their communities.
The Trust raises considerable funds through their activities which are used to support specific development activities in Malawi.
Ideally Open Arms Infant Home needs to have enough annual income secured to be confident that the home can continue to support the babies in its care and to further develop and improve its facilities.
Some of the projects fully or part- funded through the UK Trust so far include:
- A large verandah allowing the babies access to the fresh air, even in the rainy season
- A matron's house. Open Arms employs three Malawian matrons in full time salaried positions.
- A volunteers' house. Many people want to visit Open Arms and provide volunteer help. Not only will this facility provide them with secure accommodation within the grounds of the home, it will also provide a small income. Volunteers staying at the home pay US$5 dollars a day.
- Rewiring of the home. This was considered an essential expenditure as there had been two small electrical fires due to the poor state of the original electrical wiring.
- Refurbishment of the staff quarters.
- Improvements to the security system. Again this was considered essential due to the growing local unrest and poverty. The home had been broken into a number of times.
- An incubator for premature babies.
- Funding for a regular supply of drugs which would be a heavy financial burden on the home's income.
- A village type house where families spend a few days with a child they are taking back to their village. This allows staff to ensure the family bonds and the child will be well cared for. It also enables the child to familiarize itself with traditional housing.
- Freight costs for supplies, clothes and medicines, including supplies of infant formula milk lactogen 1 and 2 which is difficult to source in Africa.
- Four by four vehicle to use for the outreach project.
- New 25,000 litre water Storage System.
- The complete re-flooring of the main Home.
- Continual supply of washing machines and tumble dryers.
- 'Harrogate House was built in March 2004.
- Each year a number of children are admitted to Open Arms who have no opportunity of replacement within their own or any other community. All their relatives may have died, or perhaps they were abandoned. Adoption is an alien concept in Malawi and so Open Arms is often their only refuge.
- To accommodate these children Harrogate House was built. The unit was constructed at a cost of £25,000, all of which was raised by people of Harrogate North Yorkshire, UK.
- Harrogate House accommodates 12 two to five year olds in 3 purpose built dormitories. It has its own housemother, care assistants and nursery teacher.
- Each day these 12, plus 12 of the older children from the main house attend their own school run by a qualified Malawian teacher.
- Rose's House
Aubrey, Wilson, Norman and Mary, all children who have spent most of their lives at Open Arms left Harrogate House and moved into Rose's house, their new permanent foster home before Christmas 2005.
Most of the Open Arms children are returned to their communities although some, like the "Famous Four" have nowhere else to go.
They live with their new Foster family Save and Robert Pophera and their son Blessings. Save was a house mother at Open Arms for six years and her husband Robert is a teacher.
The "Famous Four" already attend a good private school close to the house. The Royal Alexandra and Albert School at Gatton Park in the South of England are generously fundng their future education.
Reports from Ladybird International School indicate that they are all doing well. All credit for this is due to Enipher Nasiyaya, Open Arm's dedicated nursery school teacher, for providing them with a sound nursery school grounding. Aubrey's progress is particularly pleasing. He suffers from Cerebral Palsy.
