Village Foundations (VF) started out in 2006 as the international humanitarian arm of the Congregation of Yahweh UK, under the heading ‘The Joseph Project’. It has been operating in Malawi as a UK registered Charity since 2010. (Charity Number: 1139081)
Jon Thornton and Debra Palmer initiated a project in Mulanje District, seeking to establish a sustainable means for rural villagers to access and grow crops all year round which would serve them in times of need during erratic weather conditions. In order to achieve this, 6.7 acres of land was bought, and a 48-metre borehole was dug. This was the starting point of teaching villagers how to grow a range of drought-tolerant crops.
Since the success of this initial project, VF has launched other initiatives across Malawi, such as:
- The provision of clean water
- Nursery facility, providing education to under 5’s
- School feeding programmes
- School twinning
Now, VF, through the establishing of a Health Post in Nkhudzi Bay, Mangochi District, consistently helps hundreds of people each week. It has a catchment area in excess of 11,000 people, numbers which are rapidly growing.
As a Charity, VF also offers specialist support, enabling highly regarded medical experts, teachers, agricultural experts, and more, to visit Mwanyama Village to impart their expertise to help others. Furthermore, it has enabled groups of volunteers to visit, who have given communities the help and support they need to begin their journey back to self-sufficient living.
VF believes that sustainable and successful projects are enabled when assistance is given to individuals to help them reach their potential. It believes in providing a hand up, not a hand out.