MMF began with a small group of volunteers who were committed to working with Malawian friends and partners to support girls in secondary education in Malawi. Nearly 30 years later, we are a Board of Trustees, but our purpose remains the same. We welcome new Trustees to the Board and if you are interested, please read on!
We are a working Board, all volunteers. One of our Trustees is currently doing the Scottish admin role on a voluntary basis, and we have a part-time paid Malawi Country Director, who works one day a week. None of us would describe ourselves as experts, but working together as a Board, we learn as we go and each of us brings our own expertise and experience to the work that we do together. We are well supported by the membership organisation, the Scotland-Malawi Partnership (SMP), and there are numerous networking and training opportunities available, run by The Alliance (Scotland’s International Development Alliance) and other organisations.
The essential qualities for a MMF Trustee are a commitment to our purpose and values, good interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to work together as a Board online, using email, Zoom, Podio (an online platform) and online file-sharing systems. We meet as a Board six times a year.
Beyond the essential skills and attributes, there are other areas of experience which would be valuable to the Board
- Safeguarding
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Experience in the voluntary sector
- Education
- Grant application, project management
- Fundraising and marketing
- IT & digital
We would also welcome applications from interested people who are based in Mzuzu and could help to build local support for our Country Director.
If you would like to apply to be a Trustee, please email [email protected], giving your contact details and a short description of why you would like to join us, what your areas of interest and experience are and what you could bring to the Board. Please feel free also to contact us on that email with any questions you have about the Trustee role.
Trustees are re-elected each year so your commitment would be just for a year in the first instance.
Being a Mamie Martin Fund Trustee is a significant commitment but, in our experience, it is a rewarding and interesting role. Whatever challenges we face, we know that the support we give to girls in secondary school in northern Malawi can transform their lives, their communities and the country as a whole.
However, please note that if you feel making a full commitment as a Trustee would be difficult, we also have a very active group of volunteers whom you could initially join. This would also give you a good flavour of who we are and what we do.