Looking back to 2025 and forward to 2026?
2025 has been a successful year for Mbedza. A year ago we were anticipating many challenges that could impact our ability to sustain our programmes. Those challenges included exchange rate volatility, cyclones, high inflation in Malawi, the collapse of US AID and UK Aid, poor harvests and increasing food insecurity. In some of our programmes cost increases caused us to consider the possibility of reducing programme delivery.
In the end things turned out differently. First and foremost this is down to our amazing Mbedza community who have continued to support us financially. That community has grown significantly in 2025, partly because of a busy visits programme that saw several groups and individuals visiting Malawi in 2025. The formation of a new Mbedza community in Belgium, officially registered, was another very positive development.
In 2025 under our health strategy we conducted 3362 HIV tests and counselling sessions, distributed 2700 HIV self-test kits, helped 19 new HIV positive cases and distributed over 55,000 condoms. We provided 1,131 girls and young women with a washable sanitary kit along with sex and relationship education. We worked with 50 Hope Ambassadors as part of our leadership award scheme.
In our livelihoods strategy we built 300 Esperanza stoves and distributed 722 GTS stoves. Half of these Esperanzas were built in Monkey Bay and the others around Zomba. We pioneered the development of a bigger Esperanza for school kitchens and conducted field testing on its efficiency.
In our environment programme we trained 120 farmers in the Tiyeni method (deep beds, compost/manure and no fertiliser)and planted 35,000 trees. Our environment work has been recognised locally for its excellent practice.
In our education programmes we supported 84 students/orphans in Secondary school and 70 children in Nursery education. Education is an important theme across all our programmes and we conducted research into sex and relationship knowledge and attitiudes amongst young people. As a result we are producing a toolkit to improve this important area of education.
As our offices open for the New Year, Mbedza remains firmly committed to its mission of changing the livelihoods of people in our communities - to name a few positives for 2026:
We had a successful Christmas Big Give that will enable us to continue our stove building programme starting in March 2026.
This month we are about to plant 30,000 trees in various woodlots and around households in several villages and schools. In April we hope our application for Big Give Earth Raise funds will enable us to fund an expansion in our environment programme. We are also working with WorktoGive providing businesses with a Corporate Social Responsibility package that includes tree planting in Malawi.
Our biggest concern in 2025 was having to reduce the number of students we could support in our MOEP programme caused by high inflation costs. Growth in new donors and the continuing suuport of existing donors meant our fears did not come to pass.
In March 2026 the new Special Needs centre will open at the site in Namadidi.
We will be able to increase further our sanitary kit programme in 2026.
In April our second cohort of Hope Ambassadors will graduate from the programme and then we will start our third group in May.
We have better financial security for our health programmes in 2026 and continue in our mission to see HIV/AIDS eradicated and a HIV free youth.