A board member from Malawi writes...

This time, a blog from a Malawian board member: Bright Khaneni! He is the secretary of the Malawian board. As secretary, he makes sure that the board can function optimally, that important topics can be discussed and that decisions are made effectively and are also carried out.

"I am very happy to be a board member of the For a Change board. In this way, I can help to fight poverty in Malawi step by step. We can do this in dependence on God and together with the church, the school, the community and other organisations. I love the vision of the For a Change foundation, because it states clearly that we strive at a lasting change. Often, help that is given is only short-term. But we try to bring a lasting change, which takes more time, but will make the people self-sufficient in the long-term. We try to start early with this, for example by means of the nursery school. We can see the children change already because of the education they receive. It will be so great to see them as self-supporting grown-ups one day, who will be able to take care of themselves and their community! It is also good to see that the parents and the action committee see the use of education more and more. This is an important facet of a lasting change. Of course, there are also difficult sides of our work. We would love to help more children and people, because there are so many problems in Kwanjana. But we have to tell ourself: step by step...Also in my own work, this is visible. I am a doctor, and I see many problems each day. But I also know that people cannot come to me, because they do not have money, or because they lack knowledge about illnesses and do not visit a doctor because of this. Every day, people die due to the poor quality of the health care system, and due to a shortage of medicines. The Malawian population is still growing, meaning that there are less doctors available for the growing population. But, also in my work, it is a blessing to be able to help people. And with this knowledge, I can also help the For a Change foundation. My wish is that For a Change may continue to grow and will be able to help more and more Malawian people out of the circle of poverty!