Pip Whately

We have initiated School Partnerships between schools in the UK and schools in our area of support in Malawi

So far we have 10 schools linked and this number is set to grow until all 25 of our schools in Malawi have a sister school here in the UK.

The main aim of these links are to increase understanding and education into the cultures of both countries. We encourage the schools to write letters to eachother (staff and pupils) and we set a theme every 6 months that encourages a specific communication on our cultures.

Last April the theme was homes, in October it was games and this April the theme will be water.

When I was in Malawi in October I gathered all the information on games – I was taken round each school and given demonstrations on how to play each game and was given some of the equipment they make to give to our schools in the UK. I am in the middle of compiling a teaching aid here to teach the kids how to play Malawian games.

What I found most touching was that every game  was played using stuff they’d found or made from stuff around them, for example, spinning tops made from bits of pumpkin…this is such a massive contrast to the plastic world our kids live and play in here in the UK!

I have produced a Newsletter about the trip which can be viewed by clicking on the picture below.

This week I have been working on two of our school partnership packs which give information about the school in Malawi to their sister school in the UK.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been creating flyers to bring together all the information about all our projects in Malawi.

Here is the recent flyer I made about our water project, providing over 45,000 people with clean, safe water.

We are building up the surrounds around wells in our area to make them safe and free from contamination. If you donate £100 we will build the well up with a plaque dedicated to anyone you want, we have a number of people who bought gifts for their loved ones for christmas, groups of people raising the money for a well through gigs and some people dedicated wells to someone they have lost as a memorial. This is a really amazing gift to give someone as it provides life to those in Malawi…

For more info please email pip@landirani.org

Landirani Eco Village is a really exciting project that will continue to be developed and built over the next couple of years…

It will be in the heart of our area of support and will have many uses and roles for The Landirani Trust:

Firstly it will be the charity’s headquarters in Malawi – the charity office, accomodation for the Country Manager, Education Manager, Country Director and any other long term volunteers. It will also have a storage area for items waiting to be distributed.

The village will also be a training centre, primarily agricultural training, for people working within our area.

Landirani takes a group of volunteers to Malawi to work for two weeks every year to work (and play) with the villagers, and this village will provide the accommodation, meeting and relaxation places for our volunteers

We are also keen to involve and enhance the local community wherever possible and the village will provide some employment to local people and help the Landirani Team be part of the community it supports.

The land for the village has been given to us by the chiefs of this area and we are in the final stages of securing this kind offer officially. The area of land we will be building our village on is appoximately 10 acres which is a fantastic size for the needs we have.

This is a rough land mass study – it is just a preliminary picture to give us a scaled idea of the buildings we would want in the village and how much space they will take up.

This is not how the lay out will be – we will be designing a layout that is in keeping with the surrounding area and the village will be based on villages you find all around our area. It will comprise of huts and vegetable gardens, and fruit orchards and a meeting point.

We are very happy to be working with Cave Coop as they are a sustainable architectural company who we know will stay true to Malawi, and help us learn, and so teach, about effective sustainable architectural practises.

We had a meeting with Cave this week which was fantastic and things seem to be moving quite quickly now. Our team in Malawi are getting the official documentation on the land and Cave will be coming to Malawi in October this year with the view to learning about local techniques, finding out about local materials and hopefully converting our 40′ container which will by then be on site.

Currently we are in the process of creating our project proposal and the document that will help us in any funding bid we undertake….

Landirani Village is going to save the charity money on office/house rental; create a vibrant community; provide training; create a demonstration agri-centre (veg gardens, fruit trees and maize fields); demonstrate to the people in our area the benefits of sustainable aspects such as compost toilets and immerse Landirani in the area it is supporting.

Landirani Live 2010 will be held at Fishponds Park, Surbiton on Saturday 4th September.

This is a one day event incorporating African dance, music, and culture with local artists and music.

ORA Productions will be providing the main stage and sound system which will play host to local bands, including little sister blue, and African Artists including Kasai Masai (others TBC)

We will also have an Audio Visual Tent and an African Dance and drumming tent, both of which which we hope to hire from Indian Marquee Company

The Audio Visual Tent will be playing short films about Africa throughout the day, interspersed with African music DJ sets.

The African Dance and Drumming tent will be home to Sakoba Dance Theatre for their performances based on the workshops held previously, and an African drumming circle.

In addition to the three main performance areas we will have an arts and crafts tent, food tent and bar, as well as other activities for kids.

This festival is open to all the family and is going to be a fantastic event!

Tickets:

Under 12 – FREE!!

£10 – anyone over 12

£5 – concessions (students and OAPs)

Tickets available to purchase before the event – email pip@landirani.org

Following a very informative and inspirational meeting with DDM this week me and Sam are feeling very confident about this year’s festival.

DDM are a local marketing company who approached us following last year’s festival and have offered their time and expertise for free to help us publicise this year’s festival.

We are creating our sponsorship pack and will be setting up meetings with local businesses and companies to try an enlist some local sponsorship for various aspects of the festival. We would like to secure at least three main sponsors who will have their name all over our event and promotion in return for giving the funds to cover (for example) the main stage area, or the Audio Visual Tent.

If you know of any local (Surrey) businesses that would like to get involved with the extremely exciting and diverse festival please email pip@landirani.org for more information or to set up a meeting!

This year’s festival is set to be SOOOO GOOD!

I had a fantastic meeting with Sakoba Dance Theatre where I was privileged enough to watch Mr Bode Lawal take two classes of his own African Dance technique. Bode Lawal, originally from Nigeria, has the most fantastic and innovative dance technique which combines traditional dances he learnt growing up in his tribe with modern twists and he incorporates a variety of multicultural influences too.

Bode is very excited to be working with Landirani on this project and is keen to bring some of the young people he has been working with to perform, as well as doing a performance himself. We would like Bode to do some workshops locally too whic will be confirmed later this week.

Working with Sakoba Dance Theatre will bring a real spirit of Africa to our festival and we’re very grateful to Mr Lawal for his enthusiasm and generosity in supporting with us for this event