Raising Malawi in the News

There was an article in the news a couple of days ago about Madonna's charity, Raising Malawi. Well, it's not only Madonna's charity, it's a charity close to my heart, too. The article mentioned RM providing cars, drivers, golf club memberships, and more than $3 million in donations unaccounted for. I went to Malawi a year ago and stayed 3 weeks at an orphanage in Mchinji District that receives more than 50% of its charitable donations from Raising Malawi (RM). My RM contact, Philippe van den Bossche, helped place me at the orphanage for my volunteer service, and guided me through the (quite extensive) process of actually getting there, i.e. required immunizations, what food and clothing to bring, what to expect once in-country, and most important, made sure I had the right consciousness for the job. I pulled out all my notes from the trip and the first thing I wrote about an interview with Philippe was "it's all about the kids". THAT's where Philippe was coming from, concern for the kids. RM didn't provide any money for outfitting me, for plane fare, for my month taken off from work, for food or transportation in Malawi, or provide a stipend. About the car and driver. An RM employee, Lois, DID meet me at the airport, for which I was very grateful on account of I was by myself and she made me feel welcome. Lois had a compact car along with a driver. The car was standard with no frills (or shocks either as far as I could tell). I don't think many people could drive in Malawi outside of the capital and the country's 3 major roads without a driver. It was raining when I arrived and the driver had to maneuver around gi-normous pot holes, sink holes, very uneven surfaces on dirt (mud) roads as well as avoid other vehicles, bicycles, live stock, chickens, women carrying obscene loads on their heads and plenty of little kids who chased the car with their hands held out for "sweets". It takes a special person to drive there and most everyone has a driver and I bet they come cheap. I was driven from the airport to my room for the night - for which I paid, not RM. On route, we stopped at the Success For Kids Malawi headquarters but that's another story. The next day I was driven to the orphanage, about 2 hours from the capital near the Zambian border. I paid the driver for his services and I also paid for the gasoline. The orphanage guest house is free to volunteers - the utilities are low, there was electricity off and on and we had running water for several days but not that often for the 3 weeks I was there. The volunteers bought their own food at the farmer's market and at the end of the stay, made a donation to the orphanage to cover housing. Nothing to the volunteers from RM. What I DID see while there that RM is responsible for was a brick wall around the whole mission - there are over 400 kids and about 20 adults and the wall kept the kids rounded up and safe; a new boy's dormitory with solar panels that was clean and big and provided the boys with a very nice place to live, by Malawi standards anyway - as an Army brat, it reminded me of post barracks. I saw every child was attending school and I saw every child had the basic necessities of 3 meals per day, clothing, a bed, a mosquito net, soap and for the kids with AIDS, medication. About the Golf Membership - that's got to be a joke. About the donations accountability - I reckon Madonna is also concerned about this. You know SHE didn't take it...Although living in a 3rd world country is relatively inexpensive compared to say, living in Miami, it takes a lot of money to get anything accomplished. When I lived in Antigua, I saw two potential businesses call it quits because of the unexpected amount of money required for start-up costs - mostly in bribes and "greasing the palm" which may be common for any 3rd world country project - kind of like an expediting fee. I don't know what happened to the RM money in question but I know how much money I spent (donating by my sister, friends and family) just to GET to Malawi - before even getting to the kids...I guess it would be the same for a business, too. The press article will bring to light any management and accounting issues that may be hindering Raising Malawi and I trust the charity will be even stronger afterward. I saw first hand how RM has helped the kids at just one place. Madonna and Raising Malawi support HUNDREDS of schools, day-care programs, and educational programs across the country. You can help, too, by donating at www.raisingmalawi.org.