Little Sprouts, Big Dreams!
It's been a joy trying to keep up with all the momentum happening at Mitongwe Farm and our team this month. July brought success on multiple fronts: thriving new crops, effective intervention for struggling infants, and impactful health education for young children. Take a look back at these exciting developments and more from July at Mitongwe.
Harvesting Success Through Farming
Our recent Mitongwe Farmers Outreach class was pure joy: singing, laughter, and a powerful lesson on financial freedom. With support from our partner, Tree of Life, our lead farmer families were taught how to manage resources wisely and avoid unplanned loans. The day’s golden rule came alive when Duncan walked us through his thriving Agroforestry Systems. From maize and cassava to bananas and papaya, each crop opens another “door” for income. By reinvesting those earnings, he even launched a small shop, showing everyone what steady, united family decision‑making can build. We ended the day celebrating with sweet papayas straight from his field
Building Beyond Barriers to Success
Recognizing those in need in the surrounding villages is one of our Team's strengths at Mitongwe. Joseph is a new member of our Disability Program who faces many challenges. Polio in his youth has left him with mobility issues and limited work options. He is now training with our carpentry crew, learning skills so he can contribute and earn. There is much joy in this process and its results.
Bundles of Joy, Stories of Success!
It's time for a Healthy Baby moment. Our team at Mitongwe love these opportunities to create happy endings. Young Moms face many challenges. We are alerted to hard situations, and we come alongside to meet any needs or assist in training or instruction.
A new mom was unable to properly nourish her newborn. Now fast forward a few weeks, and lactogen powder brought health to this young child, and our attention to this mother brought health to her situation as well. In another tragedy, twins Grace and Blessings were born mid-March while their mother was in transit to the hospital, 20 km from home. Though the babies entered the world safely, their brave mother did not survive.
Kasinje Health Center reached out to us; we rushed to assist and enrolled both babies into our Lactogen feeding program, giving Grace and Blessings the nourishment they need for a strong start in life. In these photos, we’re doing a 4-month wellness check and are very pleased with these thriving babes. These emergencies were turned around, enabled by those who support our work, resulting in the chance for a healthy future for these precious families. Hallelujah!
Little Sprouts, Big Success!
Our preschoolers are bringing their lessons to life! First, they learned the basics inside the classroom, and then they took the fun outdoors to plant their very own beans. They became mini-scientists by exploring the difference between planting in dry ground and wet ground. It’s the perfect mix of indoor learning and outdoor fun!
Soccer Dreams, World Cup Success
Meet Mackson Chakhumbila. He is a young boy in Malawi with a big dream of becoming an elite soccer player. He enjoyed school and loved playing “football” with friends in his free time. However, when his parents divorced, Mackson was forced out of school because of family challenges. But he never gave up on his dream, continuing with training, practicing skills, staying focused and letting football be his source of hope.
After 4 years away from school, Mackson was allowed to join Mitongwe Sports Academy, which brought him back to school and gave him a chance to further develop his talent. He showed great determination, allowing these challenges to make him stronger and more resilient. His journey taught him that difficult circumstances don’t have to stop a person from achieving goals and dreams. Mackson continues to grow as a player and a person, definitely a person with new hope and a big smile.
On that note, you can imagine the excitement of a World Cup Final viewing for our neighbouring villages. We showed “Pele: Birth of a Legend” and then the big game, with popcorn, of course.
Drying for Success: Marvellous Moringa
Our dehydrator is an endurance athlete, running the distance with little rest. These are fresh Moringa leaves being sorted, cleaned, and prepared for the dehydrator. There is a rhythm to this work and a joyful knowledge of the nourishment and health being churned out.
Sun, Water, Action: Irrigation Success!
Our amazing Mitongwe Team have successfully installed a Rain-hose Irrigation System on a one-hectare plot where we are planting Napier Grass. This grass is excellent fodder for animals, great for mulching, silage making, and improving soil health. This entire hectare is irrigated using only solar power, pumping water directly from underground, and the team showed outstanding dedication and commitment by completing this project within just one week.
Laying a solid foundation for sustainable farming and community growth, it is also important to teach locals these skills because such work would normally require experts from other districts or even countries at a very high cost, yet our own team, led by Steven Lister, accomplished it with excellence.
