Nsondole, Malawi Reaches Self-Reliance!
11/18/2022
We couldn’t be prouder and more excited to announce that the Nsondole community in Malawi has now reached self-reliance! The Hunger Project (THP) is an incredible organisation that sees people living in hunger as the solution, not the problem. They give communities that live in poverty the support, knowledge, and leadership skills required to end their own hunger and create a better future for themselves.
Our village partners from Nsondole, Malawi have kindly put together a video to thank us all for our continued support. Their stories are wonderful examples of what is possible when people are equipped with the skills, knowledge and resources they need to transform their lives.
The Hornbill THP Sneaker
We’ve supported The Hunger Project since 2019, initially as a month-long initiative where a portion of every full-price shoe sold was donated to THP. This quickly turned into an ongoing partnership with our limited-edition Hornbill THP range that launched in 2020.
For those that don’t know, $50 of every Hornbill THP sneaker sold is donated to empowering communities in Malawi. Since 2020, we have created three unique sneaker designs and sold over 7,380 THP sneakers. We’re always looking at new ways to support the Hunger Project and we recently designed exclusive invisible socks to add to our THP range. This gives us a total of $369,000 raised and counting! We couldn’t have reached this outstanding achievement without the continued support of our customers.
The Nsondole Epicentre - a journey to self-reliance.
The Nsondole Epicentre was first established in 2003, and now includes a total of 29 villages and reaches 23,248 people. Once the epicentre was constructed in 2004, programs were created to give community members access to a variety of resources including farming, business, health, finance, women’s empowerment, leadership, and sanitation.
By 2018, the Nsondole community was thriving with access to clean water, education, and other fundamental skills provided by the epicentre programs. With this achievement, Nsondole began its transition to self-reliance. The end goal of the epicentre is to create a self-sustaining community where they no longer need the support of The Hunger Project.
Now in 2022, The Hunger Project-Malawi has confirmed the people in the Nsondole community have reached self-reliance! Community members have the ability and confidence to continue life free from poverty and hunger, independent of THP.
We’re in awe of the Nsondole community’s accomplishments and the steps they’ve taken to determine their own future with better health, creative business, and aspiring leadership.
We are very proud of the incredible, long-standing partnership we’ve created with Bared Footwear. The Bared team are exceptionally committed to having a positive impact on the world and shares our vision of creating a more equitable world free of hunger and poverty.
We do this by giving remote communities in regions like Africa the skills, knowledge, and resources they need to break the poverty cycle themselves. We identify and build community leaders, then enable them to unite and transform their village through education, agriculture, better health, and strong local businesses. Over the past 4 years, Bared has proudly supported the Nsondole community in Malawi and we are thrilled to announce that this community has now reached the historic milestone of Self-Reliance. This means the community of 23,248 people are determining their own futures, free from intervention, and free from hunger and poverty. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire Bared team and their loyal customers for your support of The Hunger Project’s mission to sustainably end world hunger and poverty.”
Philippe Magid, CEO of The Hunger Project Australia.
Cecilia Metewele’s Story.
Cecilia is a farmer that attended a workshop at The Hunger Project Nsondole epicentre in 2018. After completing some educational programs, she received a loan and used these funds to purchase fertiliser for her farm where she was able to harvest 40 bags of grain. Cecilia sold 30 bags and used this money to purchase iron sheets, cement, and other materials to fix her house. With the success of her farm, she then had the means to get a bicycle and goats to further expand her business.
The THP Nsondole epicentre gave Cecilia the confidence and means to start her business, and now with a stable income, she no longer needs to take loans. Cecilia has proudly achieved self-reliance for herself and her family.
We couldn’t be prouder and more excited to announce that the Nsondole community in Malawi has now reached self-reliance! The Hunger Project (THP) is an incredible organisation that sees people living in hunger as the solution, not the problem. They give communities that live in poverty the support, knowledge, and leadership skills required to end their own hunger and create a better future for themselves.
Early Childhood Educators
Knowledge is power. The lovely early childhood educators at The Hunger Project Nsondole epicentre. They encourage and support their youth in having fundamental literacy and numeracy skills for a happy, healthy life.
Maize Mill
Working with a can-do attitude. Every member of the Nsondole community is inspired and determined to give themselves a better future, which includes working hard every day to achieve this goal.
Maize Mill Group
Teamwork makes the dream work. Farming is an essential source of income and food in the community. It also created jobs for others in the community, leading them into a strong future of economic growth and empowerment.
Tailoring Training
Creativity and collaboration. Learning trades such as tailoring is a great way to not only grow community business but to utilise skills for individual needs.
Nsondole Sacco Bank
Lend a helping hand. Giving the community member access to finance and loans to achieve financial independence and business growth.
We’ve loved working with The Hunger Project over the last three years and will continue to support their mission of ending poverty and hunger. This definitely isn’t the end of our limited edition Hornbill THP range and can’t wait to announce our next exciting new collaboration with THP soon!