< Thompson Fund Archives – Mamie Martin Fund

Tag: Thompson Fund

Posted on

International week of the Deaf

We come to the end of International Week of the Deaf 2020 and congratulate the World Federation of the Deaf for valuable events and posts during the week. This year’s theme is ‘Reaffirming Deaf People’s Human Rights’. We endorse the need to secure and promote the human rights of deaf people everywhere. We are privileged to support six deaf girls at secondary school in North Malawi. Embangweni Secondary School for Deaf Children is run by our partners, the CCAP Synod of Lvingstonia. 

Two of these girls are supported by the Scottish Government as part of the Cameron Endowment Fund which we manage on their behalf. Three others are supported through our Thompson Fund, established in the memory of Jack and Phyllis Thompson who lived and worked in Malawi most of their lives. The girl that we have supported the longest is now in her final months at school and wrote her story to give to us. We share it on our website here. 

For many reasons education is a greater challenge for deaf children in Malawi than for hearing children. Our contribution is small but very important to these girls. Our Malawi Manager, Mercy Sibande, is learning sign language so as to improve her communication with them. We invite you to watch our short video of the Thompson girls newly starting their secondary school education in 2019.

Posted on

6 year old shares our vision

  • Alice’s project (image of Alice removed after 6 months in line with our policy)
  • Embangweni School

On 1st August 2018 Rev. Ken Ross launched a fund to support three girls at secondary school in Malawi. This is the Thompson Scholarship Fund and we are honoured to administer it on behalf of the Thompson family and the Scotland Malawi Partnership. Just over a year later, Jack and Phyllis’ youngest granddaughter, 6-year-old Alice, has created a project about ‘giving’ in which she has used this Fund to illustrate the joys of ‘giving’.

Her two-page project is beautifully decorated with photos of her grandparents and of the three girls whose secondary school fees are paid by the Fund. Alice wrote:

In Malawi, which is in Africa, many girls don’t get to go to school. This is because they are poor and often get married too young. Also they have to stay at home and do chores for their families. The Mamie Martin charity helps Malawian girls go to school. One fund in the Mamie Martin charity is the Thompson Scholarship Fund. This is in memory of my Grandma and Grandpa who lived and worked in Malawi for many years.

These three girls are called: Funny, Deborah and Mary. They are the first three girls to be sent to school by the fund. These girls are also deaf. It would have been very hard for them to go to school without the fund. I am really happy that they get to go to school like me.

By Alice Thompson

Isn’t that amazing and heart-warming? The Thompson Fund has started to support girls in Malawi, as Alice has written. All three are at the same school, the CCAP Secondary School for Deaf Children in Embangeni. These girls will be at secondary school for six years, rather than the four which is more usual in Malawi. This is because of the many barriers to their education – the girls are deaf. You can watch a video of them chatting by sign language on the Mamie Martin Fund website or on YouTube.

The Thompson Scholarship Fund was set up in the anticipation of a four-year support of three girls and has reached that target. However, these girls need support for six years and so the fund-raising page remains open. The Mamie Martin Fund is committed to supporting all its beneficiaries until they complete their schooling and these Thompson girls are no exception – they will be supported for six years or until they complete secondary education.