Mission Malawi II - mud, sweat and tears

An ActionAid challenge is a fantastic way to support our work and embark on the adventure of a lifetime. This year a group of 34 took part in ‘Mission Malawi  2’, cycling, trekking and kayaking across Malawi to raise money for ActionAid's HIV&AIDS work.

Nestled towards the southeast coast of Africa, Malawi is a beautiful but poor country. It suffers recurring food insecurity and has a devastating HIV and AIDS epidemic. An estimated one million people – around 15% of the population – are currently living with a virus that kills 90,000 Malawians every year.

In 2002, when ActionAid supporter Les Pratt became aware of the crisis gripping the country, he decided to do something about it. "I saw television coverage of ActionAid’s work in Malawi on HIV and AIDS," he says. "The work seemed to fit with what I felt were important issues to address, and it prompted me to make that first call to discuss what would become Mission Malawi."

The first challenge took place in 2004 and raised over £40,000. In March 2006 the Mission Malawi 2 team completed the 300km journey from the southern town of Blantyre to Lilongwe, the enigmatic capital city, raising a fantastic £124,000

The team were very keen to find out what their hard work and fundraising meant in real terms and visited an ActionAid HIV and AIDS project in Thyolo district. There they discovered that the budget for the entire project – which works with over 300 mothers, orphans and chronically ill people – was just £1,800 for a six month period, leading to gasps from around the room.

Team member Katie Hatfield admitted she felt like crying at this point. "We have all individually raised more than enough to run this entire project for six months," she says. "It is so humbling, but also heart-warming to know that our efforts go so far. Meeting face-to-face the people that are benefiting from all this hard work makes all the difference in the world, and encourages me to do loads more when I get back to the UK."

The money raised by Mission Malawi will be used to fund the full range of work ActionAid carries out in Malawi and Zimbabwe to combat the HIV crisis, and to help ensure that people living with the disease and their families can lead a dignified life.

On the final day of the challenge, team members visited Kaggwa community on the outskirts of Lilongwe, where ActionAid is working in partnership with a local support organisation to improve the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS.

The group saw how a drop-in clinic run by nurses administers drugs and nutritional supplements and records the results of HIV tests. The clinic also runs a home-visiting programme, reaching on average 150 chronically ill people in their homes each month.
All the effects of such a challenging trip, both physical and mental, will stay with the adventurers for a long time to come. "In the past two weeks I’ve gone through such a mixture of highs and lows, hope and despair, laughter and tears," says Katie. "It has changed my perspective forever. When I think of HIV in Africa now I don’t just think about the terrifying statistics, but of the faces of the many people I’ve met. Their stories will stay with me forever."

photo : ©Georgina Cranston/ ActionAid