In May 2023 we launched an appeal for £10,000 to plug a funding gap.
Thanks to a fantastic response from our friends and supporters, we are 95% toward the target.
Walking The Lake, our sponsored walk of 50 kilometres, generated £3873 and there might be even more to come from late donations.
The walk was along the Wales Coast Path from Flint Castle to Victoria Pier in Colwyn Bay and involved walking in fields, on the beach, in sand dunes and on concrete promenades – all challenging in their own way. The weather was typical of a British April: sunshine and showers.
The photo shows (L to R) walkers Mike Butler, Susan and Stephen Maund, Sarah and Charlie Pratt with support team Jaya Butler, Tina Symes, Anne Maund and Hana Morris (plus a trio of dogs) who offered food, drinks, medication and massage at five rest-points along the route.
The reasons for organising Walking The Lake are best summarised on the fundraising page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/walking-the-lake. The £10,000 appeal target was our estimate of the minimum required to keep our essential programmes going through to mid-2024.
Hoping that Walking The Lake would itself contribute £2500 toward the appeal, we were delighted and staggered in equal measure when the fundraiser reached £3873 – more than half again what we’d hoped.
The video shows tired but elated walkers arriving at Colwyn Bay pier at 7.30pm – 12 hours after starting the walk.
Our next event is a ‘Drop In To Malawi’ afternoon in Dodleston, Cheshire, on 15 June when a mixture of merchandise and donated items such as quality ‘pre-loved’ clothes and jewellery will be offered alongside refreshments. This will be the fourth in our series of ‘Drop Ins’.
Many thanks to everyone for your support, and please feel free to contact us should you feel able to host a ‘Drop In’ – we come with everything prepared, we print leaflets and help promote the event, and Stephen does a short talk on Capacity’s work in Malawi. It’s a great way to meet your neighbours, enthuse your friends and spread some good news in this world!
PREFER TO DONATE OFFLINE?
If you’d rather send us a cheque, please make it payable to The Capacity Foundation and post it to us at:
Brooklands Cottage, Ffordd y Bont, Pontybodkin, Mold, Flintshire CH7 4TS.
YOU CAN ALSO SUPPORT US IN OTHER WAYS …
HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR US
Bake a cake, run a race, have a car boot sale … there are lots of ways you, your family, friends and colleagues can raise money for us. If you need some inspiration, check out our fundraising ideas.
LEAVE US A LEGACY IN YOUR WILL – OR DEDICATE A GIFT TO A LOVED ONE
About one in six people who make their Will include a legacy or gift to charity. If you’re interested in this type of giving, then find out more.
HOW WE USE YOUR MONEY
Funds raised outside Malawi to support the Foundation’s objectives are spent on the Microloans programme, the Farming Improvement Programme and the Academy (adult literacy and numeracy classes). Examples of individuals’ achievements can be found across this website but here’s an overview:
The Microloans programme involves giving marketing and business skills training to prospective loantakers; helping them to devise a business plan; and monitoring and advising them during their 10-month loan repayment period. The Foundation’s Programme Manager, Emily Nkhoma, and Field Officer Vincent Mphande oversee the loans programme. The ‘loan book’ is maintained by the recycling of repaid loans and the infusion of earmarked donations from the UK.
The Farming Improvement programme is run through 16 Lead Farmers who are trained by the Foundation’s agricultural advisor, Andrew Kamanga (who once performed the same role for the Malawi Government’s department of agriculture) and two members of Foundation staff, Kennas Jim and Vincent Mphande. The Lead Farmers are coached in the best organic practices including the making of bokashi (organic fertiliser). The Foundation pays for farming and water capture equipment including a petrol-powered tiller, tools, seeds and fertiliser ingredients that cannot be foraged.
The Capacity Academy comprises eight adult literacy and numeracy classes under the supervision of Adorn Kuzala, a trained teacher. There are eight class teachers plus an itinerant teacher who circulates across classes to instruct beginners. Some students enrol in the Academy simply because they want to be able to read and write while others have the express intention of applying to the loans programme where literacy is a prerequisite. Reading books, notebooks, other consumables and equipment (including bicycles for the teachers to reach the more remote class locations) are funded by the Foundation.
All of the Foundation’s 20 staff are Malawian, so boosting employment in the area as well as delivering the Foundation’s programmes.
