< AGM Archives – Mamie Martin Fund

Tag: AGM

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Welcome to our new Trustees

At our recent AGM we were delighted to report the election to our Board of two new Trustees. Matthew and Francesca are both much younger than the average age of the current Trustees – a welcome change! We need young voices and perspectives in the steering of our work.

Francesca has experience of work with grassroots NGOs and a strong interest in International Development. Matthew works for a clothing manufacturer with a focus on ethical trade. As such, he is very aware of the many issues facing women and children around the world. His current job in ‘social impact’ also involves managing donor projects and partnerhips. We are so pleased to have this level of expertise available to us now.

We say ‘thanks and see you later’ to the Trustees who have stepped down this year – Phil Wright, Mariot Dallas and Kate Jere. They each have strong connections with our work in Malawi and we hope to see them return to the Board at a later date.

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Issues facing girls going to school in Malawi

As an addendum to our AGM today, we want to share this recorded interview with you. During a recent visit by Howard Msukwa from Malawi to Scotland, he told us about some of the barriers to education faced by girls in Malawi. Class sizes in Malawian primary schools are very high with teachers often having to work with up to 120 children per group. As Howard says, it is difficult for children to concentrate in that situation. Without good exam results the children will not be selected for the better secondary schools. There are not enough secondary school places for all the primary school children in Malawi.

So by the time secondary school girls come to the attention of the Mamie Martin Fund they have already overcome huge obstacles. They face even more problems in schools which don’t have adequate toilet facilities for girls. 

The barriers faced are not only in school. Howard tells us about the attitudes of some families to girl-child education and the dangers of early marriage for young girls. While marriage under 18 is outlawed in Malawi, the law is not always applied, particularly in the North. Girls there are often in grave danger of being married before they have finished school. Howard says that the support provided by the Mamie Martin Fund is very important in keeping Malawian girls in school. ‘It sets the pace for role models in the villages.’ 

Howard is a rice farmer with KASFA, Kaporo Smallholder Farmers Association. They grow rice using co-operative irrigation methods and environmentally friendly farming techniques. Their rice is available in the UK as ‘Kilombero’ rice – our favourite rice! It is available from the One World Shop in Edinburgh and from Gavin’s Mill in the Glasgow area, among other outlets. 

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Being a Trustee for the Mamie Martin Fund

What do you think of when you hear ‘Trustee’? Those old men in top hats in Mary Poppins when there was a run on the bank? Twinsets and pearls and a long shiny table? Read on and I’ll tell you about being a Trustee for the Mamie Martin Fund.

Mariot Dallas

It’s a voluntary role with serious responsibilities. That could be daunting, but the Board is a team, and we work together. Each of us brings our experience and expertise to help make sure the Fund operates in line with our constitution and helps girls in schools in Malawi get their secondary education. We use your donations to pay their fees.

As Trustees, we commit to attending meetings, now mostly on Zoom. We share the responsibility for making sure we have productive and positive discussions and that we spend your donations wisely.

I hope that doesn’t sound dull. It really isn’t. Meeting online means that our Malawian Advisers and our Malawi Country Director can join the meeting. Provided all the tech works well, we can hear firsthand about how your donations are being spent. My favourite times are when we hear about young women who have left school and are making their way in paid work because they have completed their secondary education.

As Trustees, we have decisions to make and reports to approve. For me, the financial oversight part of the role is challenging. Accounts and financial reports don’t speak to me but being part of a team means there is always someone to explain and clarify. As a Board, we talk through financial decisions carefully so that we are using your money responsibly and in line with our constitution.

We have to have a strategic plan, so that we can manage all the various tasks and responsibilities and priorities we have as a Board. The plan is also where we note the evidence to show that we are using our funds appropriately. If you are somebody who likes to break large projects down into manageable tasks, then maybe we could bring your expertise to the Board.

Underpinning all these strands of activity is the process of fundraising, including grant applications. Our Marketing team has responsibility for agreeing fundraising strategy and reports regularly to the Board.

Being a Trustee of the Mamie Martin Fund is never dull and there is a strong likelihood of job satisfaction in this voluntary role. We know that we are making a difference to the young women of Malawi and to future generations. If you are interested in becoming a Trustee, we would love to hear from you!

Mariot Dallas, Trustee

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AGM 2023 – Sat 4th Nov 13:00 – 15:00 UK time

Are you signed up for our online AGM yet? Our keynote speaker is Precious Mhone who works in Embangweni Secondary School for Deaf Children. She will tell us about her school, the community and her pupils. Her positivity shines through, even as she describes some of the barriers faced by these young people. Then Kevin Simpson of Malawi Fruits will speak to us about how that organisatoin is empowering women in the agricultural sector in Malawi.

Photo: Malawi Fruits
Mrs Precious Mhone

We’d be delighted to have your support at this AGM. You can register here (free) or watch the livestream on our Facebook page.

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AGM Keynote speaker announced

We are delighted to announce that Mrs Precious Mhone, Boarding Mistress at Embangweni Secondary School for Deaf Children, will be a keynote speaker at our forthcoming AGM. This will be held online so that we can include colleagues and friends from Malawi. The online format also allows many other supporters to join without having to travel.

Embagweni school
Embagweni girls

Precious will tell us about her school, the pupils and their lives. We are proud to support 15 girls at Embangweni in the coming school year. Seven of those are supported through the Thompson Fund, set up in the memory of Jack and Phyllis Thompson. Because of the strong fundraising to this Fund, we have increased the number of girls whom we can support. This year’s amazing fundraising is being done by Helen Nyul, who is undertaking The ROC England – a fearsome triathlon in the Lake District.

Our AGM will be held via Zoom on Sat Nov 4th at 13:00 UK time. We would be delighted if you could join us. The event is free and open to all. You can register here.

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Friendship and collaboration in person

On Saturday last we were delighted to attend in person at the AGM of the Scotland Malawi Partnership (SMP). What a day of warmth and excitement. We had not seen friends and colleagues for so long. The day felt like true partnership all the way through. We shared a table and volunteers with the One World Shop. We caught up with Kenyawi Kids, Steka Skills, the David Livingstone Birthplace, MalDent and many many others. The team at SMP put on a great day which included Malawi Gin (of course), Malawian food, great music and a tremendous tribute to the outgoing CEO, David Hope-Jones, who has been so supportive to the Mamie Martin Fund over the years.

We were pleased to introduce our friends from the Malawi-Scotland Partnership to our friends at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, where they were welcomed to the Sunday morning service.

Thanks to our volunteer, Liz Hall, and to all the supporters who stopped by our table to chat or buy notecards or gift cards.

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A ‘global’ AGM and a new trustee

It was a first for MMF as it has been for so many other organisations in these unprecedented times. We held our 2021 AGM on Zoom and livestreamed it on Facebook. Six months ago most of the Board didn’t know what livestreaming is (some still don’t), far less how to do it.

But we did it. We were rewarded by having 25 participants in the Zoom meeting and many others watching on Facebook (reach = 50 and engagements = 36). We had attendees from Scotland, England, France, Portugal and Malawi, and possibly elsewhere too. We had challenges: one chair fell ill the night before, another lost her internet connection as the meeting started and North Malawi experienced poor Airtel connectivity until almost the end of the meeting.

But we overcame all those challenges. We reported to our supporters and donors, which is the main purpose of an AGM. We heard about girls’ education in Malawi from a Malawian woman, Fiddes Msowoya, who is immersed in education there. We also heard about some on-going research by Isa Uny about fuel and cooking in Malawi and Kenya.

When the MMF AGMs return to local events with the much-missed soup, they will certainly retain a global element as we must not lose these wonderful connections which are now established.

The AGM was particularly pleased to welcome another Malawian onto our Board. Remmie Kamanga became known to MMF when we established our partnership with the Diocese of Karonga, where he was the Education Desk Officer. No longer in that post, he is free to join our Board and we are grateful for his engagement. A former teacher, he brings a wealth of experience and understanding to our work. We will learn much from him.

Watch the recording of the AGM here (approx 90 mins)
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Nothing more powerful than education …

Our AGM took place in Stirling last Saturday, 26th October. Sue Dumbleton, an MMF supporter, was at the meeting, and has very kindly given us permission to share her blog about MMF and the power of girls’ education:

“AGMs are often things to be avoided, just in case someone asks you to be treasurer or similar. Not so today though and in fact I was disappointed not be able to stay for the full meeting of the Mamie Martin Fund. The Mamie Martin Fund was founded in 1993 by Margaret and John Sinclair in memory of Margaret’s mother, Mamie, who worked to empower women and girls through education in 1920s Malawi.

I can’t think of anything more powerful than education (I would say that having been involved in education one way or another for the greater part of my working life but, honestly, is there anything more important?). The education of girls and women is still not to be taken for granted and the work of organisations such as Mamie Martin is crucial.”

On the right in the picture is Moira, one of the MMF trustees, and someone I met through our shared work at the Open University. Moira is sporting her Malawi-Scotland Partnership dress. On the left is Esmelda, a Malawian woman who has just completed her Masters degree in Glasgow. Both Esmelda and Moira were speaking at the AGM and I was sorry to have to missed their talks. “