News Article
This article originally appeared in the March 2006 edition of Dunblane Cathedral Magazine

Likhubula - Time For a Change of Pace!

During the last year we have been busy developing the relationship with our friends in Likhubula. We have been helping each other to understand why the partnership is important, and we have been building the capacity we need to move things forward. Last year’s series of visits gave us the opportunity to meet the people we will be working with, and gave the people of Likhubula a chance to tell us how we can assist them.

So in the last few months we have been working with our friends to identify what help they need, and what problems they want to address. In all of those discussions we kept coming back to one issue - food shortages. We have already offered some help to those in greatest need but together with the Likhubula Steering Committee we started to look at ideas that would allow us to feed many more people. As we did that we became aware of a programme to feed children in Malawi while they are at school that was set up here in Scotland. Scottish International Relief (who have a shop on the High Street) have a scheme called ‘Mary’s Meals’ that is already feeding 50,000 children every day of the school year.

We put S.I.R. in contact with Charles Chiromo - the Head Teacher of Nansato Primary School - and they have been able to establish that the scheme could be extended to Likhubula. S.I.R. can provide the expertise and the basic resources to set up the scheme and the community at Likhubula will provide the volunteers to prepare the food each day. Our role is to help with the funding. For as little as £5.50 you could feed one child for an entire school year. In this first year we also want to meet the cost of setting up the scheme at Nansato School. For £12.00 a year you could provide funds that will help to buy food, stoves, fuel, mugs and the storage that will be needed.

So we are going to ask for your help. From Wednesday 15 March, for one week, we will have fliers, posters, information, pictures, and gift and direct debit forms available to be completed. These materials will be in the Cockburn Lounge when it is open for coffee, at the Sunday School coffee morning on Saturday 18 March, and after the morning service on Sunday 19 March - when our worship will reflect on the theme “I was hungry and you fed me.” That afternoon the Likhubula Link (meeting at 2pm in the Dunblane Centre) will host an open day to give a flavour of their work to anyone interested - young or old. On Wednesday 22 March we welcome S.I.R. who will show us how Mary’s Meals is working in the rest of Malawi and may even have pictures of early developments from Likhubula. Charles Chiromo is excited by this scheme, as he hopes it will bring many children back to school. This an opportunity to make a real difference, to ensure that the children of Likhubula receive a nutritious meal every day. The time has come for a change of pace in our partnership with the people of Likhubula!