Your summer newsletter is out now!

Life changing care in southern Malawi

This year as the world continues to respond to the impact of Covid 19 your support is more important than ever.

Thanks to your help in 2020:

• 40 children survived to returned home to family guardians
• 307 children and families had support in remote communities
• 56 children were given love, lifesaving care and temporary shelter in our Infant Homes
• 652 children received preschool education and food in nine remote nursery schools.

Thanks to your support, last year Blantyre and Mangochi Infant Homes cared for 56 babies from birth to two years old. Access to life saving care like this enabled them to regain their strength, continue their development, benefit from a safe and secure environment and ultimately return home fit and well to families who are ready to care for them.

Growing Independence

Five Open Arms houses are homes to 26 older children and 9 children of Open Arms staff. 33 of these children are in education across six different facilities including six young adults who started vocational training courses in 2020. Since 2018, Open Arms Infant Homes have been developing future plans with each child to support them into adulthood and beyond and this vital work continues.

Community support

Open Arms Community Outreach programme supports 307 families and children who have recently returned home or need extra help. Each visit and package of support is designed by the experienced team in Malawi and if centred around the needs of the family and child. The ultimate aim is to make sure that each reintegration is successful by providing both physical and financial help as needed.

Never More Needed

We cannot take this work for granted though; your support has never been more needed. Small International Development charities like Open Arms are facing an incredible challenge having been disproportionately affected by the Covid crisis.

At Open Arms, we have seen both a drop in income, as events were cancelled and funds refocused domestically, whilst at the same time we have had to answer an increase in demand for funding in response to Covid 19. The team at Open Arms Infant Homes have adapted services and worked harder than ever to provide for the children in their care but we continue to face a £50,000 gap in funding to support the 91 children in residential care, 307 children in community base support and 647 children in community nursery schools in 2021.

You can read more about our work in Charlie's (Director of Open Arms Infant Homes) letter and the newsletter below. If you would like to find out more about how you can support this vital work please contact hello@openarmsmalawi.org or consider making a donation today through https://www.openarmsmalawi.org...