An Angus charity which has transformed two communities in Malawi is holding an event to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
The Dalitso Project started at St Andrew’s Church in Arbroath but the operation in the landlocked country in southeast Africa has grown so big it became an independent charity last year.
The group runs two daycare centres and orphan residences at Thyolo and Kambilonjo which care for more than 300 children and provide jobs for 30 staff.
It has also responded to flooding and food shortages in the communities.
The project started in 2007 when a group of seven young people visited an orphan school and village in the south of Malawi and got to see the tough conditions children were living in.
Arbroath woman Charis Bowie was one of the people on this trip and is now chairperson of the charity.
She said: “We built two centres and residences and all our work has come from that.
“The rate of deaths from mothers in childbirth from Malawi is extremely high. We run an infant relief programme because of that we have a lot of babies that turn up with extended families who need fed.
“In Thyolo we’ve got a classroom being built and we’re paying for an extra teacher to increase their opportunity of education. The children get two meals a day at school.
“Malawi has been hit by droughts and floods and in the last couple of years there’s been a problem with an army caterpillar, a bug that was eating the maize that is their staple diet. We’ve provided maize and also help build houses affected by flooding.
“Over the years we have painted numerous buildings, built play parks, decorated walls and sent containers of aid.”
Around 200 of the 300 children cared for are sponsored by people in Scotland, at a cost of £10 a month.
The sponsors also send a few gifts at Christmas and receive letters and school reports in return. The charity is hoping more children can be sponsored.
The group is now undertaking its most ambitious project yet with the creation of a health centre in Kambilonjo, which is situated in mountains that mean it’s a long drive from a hospital.
Charis, who has visited Malawi six times, added: “It is the biggest undertaking in the 10 years other than the building of the centres themselves.
“Kambilonjo is two and a half hours on the back of a truck to the nearest hospital. For a lot of people that can be too long.
“The centre is being built. At the moment it will be a GP like facility in the hope we’ll be able to add to it in the future.”
The 10th anniversary event will take place at Arbroath Bowling Club in Dishlandtown Street on Saturday at 7.30pm.
The event will include video interviews from staff and children taken on the charity’s summer 2017 trip.
