* Donates two bales of blankets to the Mpemba-based orphanage to alleviate the children’s home from persistent chilly weather
* Going forward, Courageous Kids Foundation to be considered in Ashraful Aid’s various humanitarian projects
By Duncan Mlanjira
Humanitarian organisation, Ashraful Aid International, has strengthened its partnership with Mpemba-based orphanage, Courageous Kids Foundation to be considered in its various of projects.
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The assurance was made today at Ashraful Aid offices at Yiannakis in Limbe where the international humanitarian organisation had invited Courageous Kids Foundation to be supplied with two bales of blankets (117 pieces) to alleviate the vulnerable children’s home from the persistent chilly weather that Blantyre is currently experiencing.
Executive Director, Abdullah Panjwani told the media that the assistance of the blankets is a small gesture that has been been made to cement the partnership Ashraful Aid has with the Foundation, adding that such support is one of the many they carry out towards vulnerable Malawians.
These humanitarian aid projects include food security & food relief; meals provision; water security; social development; students bursaries; wells & borehole drilling; disaster assistance & management; youth empowerment; winter warmth assistance, among others.
“This donation is just a small gesture to strengthen the relationship we’ve established with Courageous Kids Foundation, whom we have supported before but we want to cement a long-term partnership,” Panjwani said.
“We have a winter warmth project that we reach out to many people and we discovered that the children at Courageous needed support of blankets and at the same time, we decided to be involving the Foundation because they are doing an amazing job.”
He added that their volunteers search around to identify vulnerable groups that might need assistance in various projects — thus Courageous Kids Foundation will be under their scrutiny for consideration as a beneficiary.
Managed by its founder, Courageous Msasa — a former street connected child — the Foundation is currently hosting 98 children, of whom 43 are girls and eight being under the age of 10.
The Foundation rescues street-connected children and she raises them from her own resources as well as support from various well wishers, but do not have solid organisations like Ashraful Aid in sustaining the needs of the home at Mpemba.
Fondly addressed as ‘Mama Courageous’ by her adoptive family, Msasa was at loss of words to thank Ashraful Aid enough, saying the support of the blankets was a huge blessing to them as it is exactly what she was budgeting to acquire.
“This is such a pleasant surprise because we didn’t expect that we will be given blankets when we were invited here,” she said. “We have been carrying out fundraising activities, while at the same time appealing to well wishers for support of blankets.
“It’s been very cold in Mpemba in the past few months and I can see the children celebrating wildly once we reach home with these blankets. We pray that the Lord should continue blessing Ashraful Aid abundantly and going forward, we will indeed forge a win-win partnership.”
She disclosed that they face many challenges, “with food being a major problem especially in these tough economic times we are all experiencing as prices of food items are way too high”.
“We are blessed with a kind sponsor of food in the name of Pastor Praise Jalasi, whose charity, Feed the Hungry, supplies us with food packs called Manna Pack. We are very grateful of the support we get from Feed the Hungry.
“But the challenges are many because we do not just house and feed the children we rescue from the streets as we also send them to school — and currently we have 13 who managed to get selected to universities.”
When asked by the media present on how she manages to raise the education fees, Mama Courageous disclosed that they have a sound sponsor in the name of Rev. Msowoya of Church of Christ, who has been assisting with tuition fees for her children from primary up to university level.
Ashraful Aid emphasised that they have so many projects of which Courageous Kids Foundation would be considered — taking cognizance of the “amazingly great job Mama Courageous and her Foundation are doing in rescuing street connected kids from as young as toddlers”.
“We will endeavour to support Courageous Kids Foundation in some of the projects we would roll out if they fit into them,” Panjwani emphasised.
The international humanitarian organisation is headquartered in South Africa and having supported Malawi in various projects, Ashraful Aid established permanent office in Malawi in January this year.
Ashraful Aid first came to the fore in Malawi when it delivered food packs to communities in need in November last year and also in December when it supplied over 1,000 reflective vests and 3,000 reflector tapes to motorcycle taxi (Kabaza) operators — an initiative designed to intensify road safety measures to help minimise accidents and ensure safer rides during the festive season and beyond.
By establishing new offices in Malawi it thus expanded its footprint across the globe as it also operates in Bosnia, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya — among others.
Mama Courageous being decorated with ‘Award of Excellence’ in 2022
Meanwhile, the noble task Mama Courageous is executing for her Foundation is being recognised as in 2022 she was honoured with ‘Award of Excellence’ by non-governmental organization, Young Achievers Development (YAD).
She was recognised among 12 Malawians for their outstanding and crucial individual roles that have helped to change lives of many people.
Formerly based deep inside Chilobwe Township at hard-to-reach area of Naotcha in Blantyre, Courageous Kids Foundation — the youth-led residential home and academic institution came to public prominence in June 2022 when a modest donation of fuel wood by CDH Investment Bank exposed resilient challenges she faced on daily basis taking care of then 70 street-rescued vulnerable kids.
At the presentation of the fuel wood, CDH Investment Bank’s marketing manager, Nancy Bisika said through the effects of Cyclone Ana in January, one of the huge trees that add ambience at their premises in Blantyre, fell down and they proceeded to chop it into logs.
As they were deciding whom to donate the logs, “who could make good use of them to make their lives better”, CDH Investment Bank officials came to know of the existence of Courageous Kids Foundation through the founder Courageous’ visibility and fliers she distributed highlighting the challenges that the school and home faces.
Since then, she has earned recognition from well wishers who have been supporting the Foundation in various ways — thus the partnership with Ashraful Aid is certainly a huge boost in their operations.
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