This video from Mchengautuba Community Day Secondary School was the hightlight of our AGM 2022. Holding our AGM online started as a necessity. Now we choose that way because we can include so many more people. Our friends and colleagues from Malawi are always particularly welcome. We had 25 participants in the meeting with some others watching it live on Facebook. You can watch the recording on this link.
The highlights of the business part were:
- Things are currently very difficult in Malawi. The impact of the Covid-19 and the devaluation of the Kwacha has hit people hard
- Mercy Sibande‘s title is now Malawi Country Director, which better reflects the seniority of her role there
- We have improved our governance in several ways – we have revised our Strategic Plan, improved our cyber security and improved our internal and external communications. Our new Strategic priority is Localisation, ensuring that as much as possible is done in Malawi by Malawians
- We noted that Brian Kerr is stepping down from the Board and we thanked him for his years of service
- We welcomed Patrick Chinguwo to our Board. Patrick is a lecturer in Law at the University of Mzuzu
- Noted that we need paid or voluntary help with our IT work.
Reports from our Country Manager included a heart-warming story about a girl who is back at school after having a baby.
The treasurer reported on the year’s accounts. Noted that
- More than 90% of our money is spent in Malawi
- 95% of our money is spent on direct provision of services (fees and other costs in Malawi)
- Because our admin work is being done on a voluntary basis, our costs are low (5%)
- Small regular donations from individuals are the backbone of our funding
The Marketing team reported on the year’s fun and fundraising. Noted the new Christmas Jumper appeal which was launched at the meeting.
Noted that we will be 30 years old in 2023 and #Birthday30 will be our marketing focus – do 30 things for MMF.
The first keynote speech was by Mrs Joana Chimphepo, a teacher at Mchengautuba Community Day Secondary School (MCDSS) in Mzuzu. She told us the history of the school. She was one of the teachers there. Then she told us of the struggles of many of the students. They are often part of child-headed families, a legacy of the AIDS pandemic. Other illness cause the death of parents so many of the children have lost one or both parents. That speech is available on our YouTube channel.
The second input was a follow-up talk by Dr Isa Uny from University of Stirling on her From Fuel to Pot research.
The meeting closed with thanks to all those who attended and who made it possible. It was great to be so global!
A recording of the meeting is available on YouTube.