In Malawi, the illiteracy rate has reached worrying levels and the spread of diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever, dysentery, malnutrition, HIV / AIDS, provokes the continuous loss of life. The first victims are children, exposed to malnutrition and loss of family members. Added to this is the dramatic percentage of maternal and child mortality during childbirth. Many women still today give birth without medical or health care, which in most cases is a cause of permanent disability for many new-borns. The environmental conditions combined with the cultural ones and widespread poverty means that disabled children are marginalized and deprived of any chance of redemption, so life expectancy is very low.

Thanks to the Sponsorship of 13 children and to the precious contribution of Fondazione Mediolanum, we support two institutes for the reception of disadvantaged children in the district of Mangochi: the St. John Early Childhood Development Center and the Kausi nursery school. The schools run by the diocesan priest, Father Joseph Kimu, guarantee breakfast and lunch, which for many children represent the source of nourishment for the day. As for the little ones, pre-school training is offered to teach them to read and write before going to kindergarten. It also provides for monitoring the health status of members through periodic checks managed by a specialized nurse in order to reduce the rate of malnutrition and prevent the spread of diseases.

Aleimar, through the Sponsorship of 9 children, supports the rehabilitation program for disabled children in the district of Mangochi: they are children between the ages of 1 and 12 with motor disabilities associated with mental retardation, hydrocephalus children or people with spina bifida . The rehabilitation program includes two or three sessions per month and is offered by the Tiyende Pamodzi group, an association made up of local volunteers affected by HIV and the volunteer nurse Marina Zanotti, now in Malawi since 2004. The most serious children are accompanied, together with family, at the “Feed the Children” center, located in Blantyre. Each child is hospitalized for two weeks during which rehabilitative care is provided and the family is taught the maintenance exercises that the child will have to perform at home. After admission, specialist check-ups are scheduled to monitor the effectiveness of home care and the progress of the child. The whole route does not involve any expenses for families as our contribution covers the entire cost.