2025 proved to be a far more successful year in delivering poverty reduction programmes than Mbedza had anticipated. In this blog post the UK Director reflects on an encouraging 2025 and hopes for 2026.

Our MOEP students returned to school on January 5th 2026. The Government has abolished school fees for Secondary School. Prisca Ibbu, MOEP student support officer, explores here the poverties that prevent children from being in school. Why is it that only 33% of children complete Primary School and 15% Secondary?

A busy start to the new school year sees Daphney Phiri and Prisca Ibbu with much to do. From introducing new contracts with students, distributing school materials, visiting schools, distributing maize and hosting a school group from the UK.

There is much to grateful for, especially being able to recruit 19 new students this year.

In this blog we discover more about the life of one of Mbedza’s staff members. What does their life look like outside of work? Bainatu - our female HIV Counsellor invited our Comms team to come and discover.

A seed planted in her mind at the age of 6, in this blog, Jessie Akambadi tells her story that has led to her being in London studying a PHD.

We rejoice with Jessie who will be a great ambassador for Mbedza and Malawi over the next three years.

Reflecting on their whole experience with Mbedza in Malawi this is Tom and Bree’s final blog post.

In 2024 30 youths graduated in Mbedza’s Youth Leadership Award Scheme. As we launch the second round of this educational programme our Hope Ambassadors are receiving training in theatre for development, entrepreneurship training and leadership.

They are already at work in the communities coordinating hand in hand with Mbedza’s HIV team to bring life saving messages.

We recently launched the Girls Nest Club as part of our Orphan Education Programme. The event brought together all female students in Forms 2, 3 and 4. This initiative is designed to inspire confidence, nurture talents, and build resilience among young girls, equipping them with the skills and support they need to thrive.

Building stoves in larger villages is a great challenge for us. In 2025, thank you to support from our 2024 Christmas Big Give donors we were able to send our stove team to Monkey Bay to build in Kamphande village.

Mbedza Volunteers Tom and Bree explore the Beauty of Malawi

Mbedza’s 2025 - 2026 environment programme for tree planting begins with the training and preparation for 6 tree nurseries this month.

We were able to select 6 communities for this task although many more are crying out for this intervention. Important lessons continue to be learned from previous programmes.

Tom recounts his (almost!) first month in Malawi with Mbedza and reflects on his experience so far volunteering with various projects.

Tom and Bree, two students from Leeds University have had a great start to their gap programme. In the blog Bree shares what they have done so far with opportunities to visit Mbedza programmes as well as visit Mount Mulanje.

Maintaining our orphan education programme has never been more challenging in the last 20 years than right now. Difficult decisions lay ahead yet we remain determined to change the story of Malawi where only 15% of young people complete secondary education.

The latest nationally available data on HIV rates is encouraging - Malawi is winning, that said, we are not complacent. We are strategically placed to offer HIV testing and counselling in a part of the country that has some of the highest HIV prevalence rates. We continue to reach out into the communities.

Enduring poverty and the lasting impact of Cyclone Freddy in 2023 are requiring a rethink to our approach in stove building. We have introduced a wider distribution of Gamba Tinsmith portable stoves to deal with realities on the ground.

For young people in Malawi, the barriers to completing Secondary Education can be challenging. In a country where only 15% complete Secondary Education the determination to succeed is impressive. The biggest barrier is poverty.

Our first small Tiyeni plot yielded 8 bags of Maize. A comparable plot using traditional methods and expensive fertiliser yielded less than half that amount. Tiyeni points the way for households to become more food self sufficient and reducing costs.

Mbedza is expanding this training in 2025.

In April 2025 a group from the UK and Belgium visited several Mbedza Projects. This blog looks at visits to some of Mbedza’s environment interventions - tree woodlots at Kagwa village and Mbewe village and a new development helping farmers to grow more food in a more sustaonable way - the Tiyeni method.

We cannot help being alarmed by the uncertainties caused by the news we are hearing about USAID programmes. The US initiatives 20 years ago to provide support for those who are HIV positive have saved millions of lives. This individual story reminds today that the fight against HIV hasn’t finished and Anti Retro Viral Drugs are crucial.