EXPLORE OUR PROJECTS
Women Promotion and Adult Literacy Centre
In the area where we minister 90% of the women are illiterate. In most cases women have 5 or 6 children to care for, and often have no husbands. Most of them are widows due to the death of their partner because of HIV/AIDS or having been deserted by the men that moved away to South Africa to find greener pastures.
Since most of the women are illiterate, it is almost impossible for them to become self-sufficient and independent from external help. This is why we decided to open the “St. John Women Promotion and Adult Literacy Centre”. We thought that it was not enough only to help the kids at our two nursery schools but also to help the families where they come from.
"Chimanga" Maize Project
This project humbly started in June 2005 with an initial help which we received through friends mainly from Paratico near Brescia in Italy. Its focus is on food security for our poor communities. It is a very important and necessary project because its goal is to empower families through lessons in agriculture in class but above all in the fields where they can learn new ways and systems of growing crops and cultivating the land so as to solve the problem of famine and hunger which often strikes this region’s population.
The cause of famine almost every year is either due to too much or too little rain. It is really humiliating to have always to depend on external help to survive. For this project, we had to employ staff trained in agriculture.
Malawi’s economy depends on agriculture. And the activities depend on the weather. In many instances, the rainy season is sporadic. In this case then, it would be marvellous to have an irrigation system, at least in our region which is situated near the lake. For this project we would need huge sums of money! I hope this dream of mine will come true in future.
Treadle Pump for the Irrigation Project
It is a marvellous project connected with the “Chimanga” Maize Project. Thanks to the Kemme Family from Greely in Cororado, USA who have given a very big hand in procuring many treadle pumps at once for the poor families. Thanks also to some people in Italy, Singapore and elsewhere who in one way or the other have participated in this project by providing treadle pumps to the poor families.
It is absurd that in Malawi we should speak of hunger when there are lakes and rivers with so much good water throughout the year. Instead of one maize harvest a year, families can harvest three times a year.
Despite the unpredictable rainfall we experience every year, we can use these treadle pumps near the lake or rivers where we can take the water directly from them. In more distant villages, the families dig shallow wells from where they draw the water for irrigating their maize or vegetable gardens.
St. John Nutrition Centre
In Malawi more than 1 million children under 5 years of age are suffering from acute malnutrition syndrome.
Some years ago we were able to build and open our Nutritional Centre. At this centre we help many children under 5 years of age coming from the 25 villages that are situated around St. John Nursery School. Every year more than 1,000 malnourished children are treated when their mothers bring them to the centre and get food and medicines there.
At the nutritional centre we have employed qualified staff. They visit the villages where mothers with children gather in one place where the worst cases are identified. There are sometimes serious cases showing, apart from malnutrition also other diseases or complications, so we have to bring them to the nearest hospital. It is gratifying and encouraging for us to go on even if it is very expensive and difficult without any form of steady financial assistance.
Care for the Poor, Old, Sick and the Orphans
For many years, in front om my office there was always a long queue of poor people and people waited for their turn even for half a day. Most of the came to seek help and narrated of situations of extreme poverty. When you are confronted with such terrible cases it is difficult to get rid of the just with some words of comfort and hope.
we have a group of old, sick and poor people who receive help every month. Every 11th day of the month they come or send someone to collect their necessities enough for one month. At the moment we have a total number of 250 people in this group.
Assistance to Needy Students
We have a great number of students who attend different secondary schools, universities or colleges for whom we pay school fees. While primary school education is free in Malawi, secondary school education is very expensive here. We have seen that only a limited number of families with a good financial position can afford to help their children to proceed to secondary education.
We are helping about 200 students: girls training to become nurses, some attending schools preparing to become teachers, some attending computer courses, others in some secondary school or professional schools like Technical Colleges spread around the country. This project takes up a lot of funds and leaves us often with a lot of debts.
We do this because we are of the opinion that our country badly needs well trained and educated people in every sector of life. And training of qualified people is a major issue in development in order to better our country’s situation of poverty.
We need you and your help so that we can help them
Construction of Boreholes in Memory of Bishop Alessandro Assolari
Water means life. We would like to remember Bishop Assolari in Africa by giving “life” to many poor people of the Diocese of Mangochi who cannot get potable drinking water through the construction of 51 bore holes with hand pumps. These bore holes are drilled in the villages and poorer institutions.
FISH PONDS
In March 2019 we started a fish farming project as an income-generating activity for two reasons:
- To source funds to support the various charitable projects we run.
- To provide fish meals to: (i). Our two nursery schools, (ii). Nutrition centre, (iii). Girls boarding primary and secondary schools.
We have so far constructed 12 large fish ponds of 20 by 30 metres big. Each pond has 5,000 fish. The sales will also help us in paying school fees for poor students in secondary schools, colleges and universities. It will also assist us in helping the many poor, old and sick people whom we assist every month.
BANANA PLANTATION PROJECT
St. John Integral Education Centre has various projects that are aimed at benefitting the people surrounding the area where the institution is operating. Special attention is paid to children, young people, the elderly and sick people.
We have projects like Nursery Schools, Primary and Secondary Girls’ Boarding Schools, Guest House, Treadle Pump for Irrigation Project, Chimanga (maize) Project for Food Security for poor farmer just to mention but a few. The Banana Plantation Project was started at the end of 2020 as one of the income generating projects to source funds to support the Charitable Projects of the centre but also to provide fruits to the numerous children and young people we have in our two Nursery Schools, Primary and Secondary Schools and Nutrition Centre for malnourished children.
Bananas are one of the most popular fruits worldwide. They contain essential nutrients that can have a protective impact on health. Eating bananas can also help lower blood pressure and may reduce the risk of cancer.
BENEFITS OF BANANAS
Banana has a lot of benefits in our everyday lives and some of them include the following
Bananas are one of the best fruits sources of Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 from bananas is easily absorbed by our body and a medium-sized banana can provide about a qurter or our daily Vitamin B6 needs.
Vitamin B6 helps our body:
- Produce Red Blood Cells,
- Metabolise Carbohydrates and Fats, turning them into energy,
- Metabolise Amino Acids,
- Remove unwanted chemicals from our liver and kidneys, and
- Maintain a healthy nervous system.
Vitamin B6 is also good for pregnant women as it helps meet their baby’s development needs.
Bananas are also respectable sources of Vitamin C
We may not associate bananas with Vitamin C but a medium-sized banana will provide about 10% of our daily Vitamin C needs.
Vitamin C helps:
- Protect our body against cell and tissue damage,
- Our body absorbs iron better,
- Our body produces collagen – the protein which holds our skin, bones and body together, and
- Support brain health by producing serotonin, a hormone that affects our sleep cycle, moods, and experiences of stress and pain.
Manganese in Bananas is good for our skin
One medium-sized banana provides approximately 13% of our daily manganese needs. Manganese helps our body make collagen and protects our skin and other cells against free radical damage.
Potassium in Bananas is good for our Heart Health and Blood Pressure
A medium-sized banana will provide around 320-400 mg of potassium, which meets about 10% of our daily potassium needs.
Potassium helps our body maintain a healthy heart and blood pressure. In addition, bananas are low in sodium. The low sodium and high potassium combination helps to control high blood pressure.
Bananas can aid digestion and help beat gastrointestinal issues
A medium banana will provide about 10-12% of our daily fibre needs. Singapore’s Health Promotion Board recommends a daily dietary fibre intake of 20g for women and 26g for men.
Soluble and insoluble fibres play an important role in our health. Soluble fibre helps our body control our blood sugar level and get rid of fatty substances such as cholesterol.
Insoluble fibre adds weight and softness to stools, making it easier for you to have regular bowel movements. This healps to keep our gut healthy and safe from harmful bacteria.
Bananas, especially newly-ripened ones, contain starch that does not digest (resistant starch) in our small intestine and is able to pass into the large intestine. Such bananas help you manage your weight better as you stay full for long.
That said, bananas can help you beat gastrointestinal issues such as:
- Constipation,
- Stomach ulcers, and
- Heartburn.
Bananas give you energy - minus the fats and cholesterol
Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose – giving you a fat and cholesterol – free source of energy. As such, bananas are ideal, especially for children and athletes, for breakfast, as a midday snack or before and after sports.
There are a lot of benefits that are provided by the bananas of which these are some of them. We see these benefits that they will go a long way to benefit a lot our kids and girls as they pursue their education at St. John Integral Education Centre.