The Nsanje Agricultural Project

Life is incredibly difficult for a large segment of the population of the African nation of Malawi. Considered among the world’s least developed nations, poverty-stricken Malawi is a place in which:

• Every five seconds a child dies from hunger-related causes.
• Long periods of drought and frequent natural disasters are the order of the day.
• HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among adults.
• Over one million children have been orphaned as the adult population is ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Our initial intervention took the form of donations of basic necessities to Malawian orphans. However, aware that our donations provided only temporary relief, we embarked on the Nsanje Agricultural Project as a means of improving the lives of the people in the long-term, by equipping and empowering the villagers to meet their own dietary needs.

This sustainable agricultural project was the first of its kind in the rural district of Nsanje, Blantyre, where we initially acquired 75 acres of land and hired the villagers to cultivate rice, corn (maize), and beans, on an ongoing basis. The project not only provides much needed jobs to locals, but also yields an annual harvest which feeds five villages, including many orphans and their guardians.

In 2013, an irrigation plant was established to stave off the harsh effects of drought in the region and to aid in food production for project.

At the invitation of the government, we are planning to acquire another 200 acres of land for the expansion of this project. It is anticipated that, once cultivated, it would provide food for over one quarter of one million people on an on-going basis.