Volunteering with Sparkle Malawi

Hello, my name is Dorrie Hartley and I am in my last year of A Levels at Wymondham College studying Law, History and English Lit. I will be starting my law degree in September, I hope to go into Humanitarian law, as I have a passion for charity work and human rights. This year our school decided to partner with the charity Sparkle Malawi, a link I set up after the charities CEO came to visit last year. The charity is a volunteer run program that provides medical care, meals and education for vulnerable children and orphans across six villages in the Zomba area in Malawi. They also support women with HIV and work on creating a sustainable environment for the locals to live and work in. All year as a school we have been fundraising and we hope to raise enough money to support a child through their secondary school experience which costs just £250 a year. So far we have raised well over £1000 through a variety of events organised by myself and a collection of other people. I was personally struck by the brilliant work that the charity does running solely on the kindness and generosity of others. I have been accepted to go out and volunteer in Malawi this August for three weeks. On my trip I will be spending the week days at the
Sparkle Malawi School in a small village called Sogoja. The children are taught English, maths, life skills and have a physical education lesson with a porridge break in between. I could be doing anything from teaching skills, playing games, village, dancing, singing, helping with paperwork, planting a vegetable garden, painting or gathering data on children?s weight and current environment. I will be doing a variety of different jobs and definitely will not get bored or be stuck for choice! I have a passion for academics and so to have an input in that would be a real honour. Also in running activities for the children I will have an opportunity to bring my own passions into such as drama and art and engage with the children in that. I would also help with meal times, and would be working in the nursery. I think part of the experience will getting to know the children, to leave a positive impact and to create lifelong memories. The weekend will give me opportunities to see different parts of Malawi from visiting nature parks and wildlife reserves such as Liwonde National Park where there boat or jeep safaris to
experiencing the local culture in the market in Zomba. Other highlights of Malawi are climbing the Zomba Plateau and visiting Lake Malawi. The cost of my trip is a £1000 minimum amount raised for the charity, and the rest of the cost will be my flights, accommodation, insurance, visa and vaccinations which I expect to amount to around £1700. I have been awarded two travel grants, saved from my part time job, but I am still not quite at my target. I would appreciate any donations massively and any money that isn't needed for my trip will go directly to the brilliant charity. The trip is an absolutely amazing opportunity, and I would be immensely grateful for any support. Thank you :)