NJOHO

Not too long ago, the BBC carried a special report on Njoho which you can read HERE

The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated responded to this report by consulting with another NGO that's headquartered in Zomba - EI - (Emmanuel International) that's been working with WFP (World Food Program) feeding the starving in this and other areas.

In August 2006, the AAFI funded the construction of an urgently needed orphanage (and associated facilities) to shelter 94 orphans...and provide blankets, utensils and an ambulance bicycle.

It's to replace a frail structure of branches that threatens to be brought down by the weather.

News Update - January 2008 The NJOHO Project completed..... A new centre for the children....a solid kitchen.....a WATER SUPPLY of their own in their own grounds .....and class is in! Their expressions say it all! Soon this little centre at Njoho will become a shaded oasis. The top middle photo shows plantlings stored in readiness to be planted around the buildings!

News Update - December 2007 FLASH!! We've just got word that the urgently needed water bore we've been seeking for months to sink at Njoho...has now been successfully accomplished!!! A great Christmas gift. We'll post up the photos just as soon as we receive them.

News Update - November 2007 Remember this?........the simple straw hut that the children relied on for their "kitchen"...that a strong wind could easily have simply blown away so many times! Or, worse, caught fire! Now, our brick kitchen building has been built in its place to partner our mini-orphanage...and already the new kitchen is the centre-piece for a new local feeding program for the children. These are the latest photos of the children and their new brick kitchen

News Update - August, 2007 Here's the latest pictorial report from Njoho, that's been filed by EI's Country representative, Paul Jones. The central orphanage building is essentially now complete. The new foundations are for the partner kitchen building, replacing a shaky grass and straw hut. Work on drilling the water bore to secure a permanent, fresh supply is due to get underway this month.

The construction of the orphanage and its facilities is now virtually complete..a solid building that'll last for years and with a wide verandah that offer plenty of shade.

A big crowd turned out to greet the Australian visitors, Chris and Marj Laughton, who were visiting on behalf of the Australian AIDS Fund Inc....and to hear Chris Laughton speak to them.

The Australian AIDS Fund is presently studying other ways in which it may also be able to further assist this community..especially in their need for an improved water supply.

Despite the drenching rains, work is proceeding apace on the new orphanage building.(See photos below)

Believe it or not the small pools are where the toilets are to be sited! It shows how much rain has fallen.

What you can't see...inside..is all the work on the flooring and plastering...so the end is in sight!

Just before Christmas 2006, we received the following photos of the new orphanage under construction. The roof will be added in early January, 2007, and, hopefully, the building will be completed by the end of that month.

In November 2006, The Australian AIDS Fund Inc provided the funds to also build a badly needed kitchen for the new orphanage and a four cubicle toilet at the nearby Njoho school.

The village has little in the way of entertainment or links with the "outside" world.

But now The Australian AIDS Fund Inc has provided two television sets so that the local schoolchildren can tune into the wider world for both education, information and entertainment..The television sets are powered by car batteries with the use of inverters.

The day the blankets were handed out in the Njoho village became a very special occasion as the children surrounded the delivery truck and the staff of the EI agency who'd bought the blankets on behalf of The Australian AIDS Fund Inc.

Featuring in the handover is EI's Relief Manager, Martin Phiri (in the orange check shirt.He's being helped by Relief Supervisor, Sakina Mumba (giving out the blankets) and field staffer, Henry Chipili.