Goods for Good’s December Shipment Arrives in Malawi

Over a ton of children's clothing and school supplies haves arrived in Malawi!. The shipment includes hundreds of shoes, pants, dresses and tops donated by The Children's Place as well as school paper and over 35,000 pens. The goods will be distributed to orphans and vulnerable children served by our in-country partner organizations: St, Mary's Rehabilitation Center, Tiyambe Nawo community center and Africare.

Chaka Cha Bwino! (Happy New Year)

2007 has been a remarkable year for Goods for Good (GFG), filled with new challenges and great progress. Over the past twelve months, we have expanded our team, formed new partnerships and improved the lives of thousands of orphans and vulnerable children.

Our fieldwork in Malawi has been a resounding success! Goods for Good has developed partnerships with local and international organizations that share our commitment to caring for children in crisis, and we have expanded our work to include support for 20 Malawian public schools. As a result, we will be able to reach more than 30,000 children over the next two years.

And that's just the beginning! GFG is now a registered nonprofit organization in Malawi and will be opening an office in the capital Lilongwe within the next few months. With our new office and the addition of our Malawi-based Program Officer, we will be positioned to expand our work even further in 2008.

As always, your support makes our work possible. In 2007, GFG volunteers raised funds, coordinated goods drives and packed tons of clothing and school supplies that will reach thousands of children in Malawi. Our friends and volunteers are the hearts and hands of Goods for Goods and we couldn't do what we do without your help!

Goods for Good has accomplished so much in the past year, but we still have lots more to do. Together we can work to ensure that the children we serve have healthier, safer childhoods and brighter futures.

On behalf of the thousands of children who benefit from our work, Zikomo Kwambiri (thank you in Chichewa)!

For the latest news from Malawi, be sure to check out Melissa's Weekly Blog from the field!

Breaking New Ground

Because of Goods for Good’s close involvement with Tiyambe Nawo, two private groups have decided to finance the construction of a new nursery and community center. The groups are donating the funds to Goods for Good and GFG will be overseeing the project. It is an amazing step forward for Tiyambe Nawo, the hundreds of children benefiting from their services will not longer have to meet under a tree or in a shack but in a comfortable safe and clean shelter. By the middle of next year the community will have a center for their programs, goods for their children and the nursery, as well as trained caregivers. caregivers who are trained on how to best use these goods. With these three components in place, the community will be ready to provide an even higher level of care to the hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in their community.

Star Garments Fabric Distributed

Goods for Good distributed over a ton of fabric, buttons and elastic from Star Garments to our in-country partners in Malawi: St. Mary's Rehabilitation Center and Consol Homes.

St. Mary's will use the fabric to make secondary school uniforms for 300 girls and 500 uniforms for their home-based care Rainbow Program.

Consol Homes will put the fabric to use in their vocational training program where young orphans who have dropped out of school people are trained to be tailors. In addition, graduates of the training program will be employed to use the fabric to make school uniforms for orphans who are served by Consol Homes.

Winter Packing Party

With the help of 7 volunteers, Goods for Good sorted and packed 43 boxes of clothing for our winter shipment. Because of their hard work, we are able to provide thousands of vulnerable children across Malawi with new outfits that will keep them clean and dry in the summer and warm when the weather turns cold. These items will be used at several different Goods for Good project sites in the coming months. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers for their hard work and dedication!

Caregiver Training Program in Malawi

Building on the success of the Teacher Training seminar at St. Mathias, Goods for Good coordinated a training program for caregivers at Tiyambe Nawo community center. This seminar, which was created by UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, was developed inadministered in collaboration with the Malawi Association of Preschool Playgroups Malawi and UNICEF. The workshop provided and provided professional development and technical assistance training for 10 formerly untrained nursery school teachers with educational, emotional and developmental training in Early Childhood Education (ECDE) caregivers. This seminar continues GFG's commitment to developing sustainable programs that support the important work of our in-country partners and maximizes the impact of donated goods and resources.

Jeans and Bags Provided for 600 Orphans at St. Mary’s Rehabilitation Centre

Children at St. Mary's Rehabilitation Center received clothinges and tote bags from Goods for Good at the Chaka Cha Rainbow Feast held at the end of the Malawi school term. The totes were distributed to 500 children orphans and vulnerable children from the Rainbow home-based care program and 130 orphans living at the Center. New jeans which will serve as uniform bottoms were also provided to boys in the home-based care program.