Dear Kudimba friends,
Unfortunately we begin this update with some sad news.
For some time now we have been anticipating this day with dread. Our little Alimah is finally at peace, her battle has ended. In the early morning hours of the 13th of November Alimah passed away at home and according to local customs her funeral took place the next day. We know that Alimah’s medical needs were extremely complex for the setting in Malawi and that the necessary expertise is not available. Until the end we did everything we could for Alimah and we believe that we were able to limit her suffering, with the help of the community nurse who visited her at home every day. We will remember Alimah with great fondness.
We also have positive news. For some years we have been supporting a young boy “Issah” with his medical problems. He was born with some severe deformations in his digestive and genital tract. We have been assisting the family with multiple trips to specialised hospitals for surgery and at last Issah has been given the all clear. He no longer needs medical follow up.
Issah’s mother requested for Issah to become a full time participant of Kudimba, but as he now is so fit and well we don’t consider him as vulnerable anymore so we had to decline this request. We are happy to see him grow and flourish and participate in the community as a normal healthy boy. Obviously we made it clear that the family can rely on Kudimba for emergency help for Issah in case of complications.
Our goal was to extend our group of participants for our daycare activities up to 60, but due to various unexpected reasons this has not yet happened. Currently we still accommodate 41 full time children and provide outreach care for 13 children and young adults, mainly through specialised care such as physiotherapy and assistance with medical emergencies. We support two full time learners with their school fees.
The preparations for expanding our group of full time participants are underway and Kudimba is starting the New Year well with a strong team and a profound structure, ready for growth and expansion. Through regular home visits our outreach team is now also actively involved within the community. Their activity is focussed mainly on assessing children’s living situations, to act upon problems and to have a clear picture of the needs of vulnerable children and young people in the community which we can assist.
The construction works in Kudimba are also continually progressing. As mentioned in the previous newsletter a platform for solar panels has been completed and we have created a multi-functional space underneath. It is located centrally in Kudimba, so that in the future our sustainable energy can be supplied to all parts of the project.
Our chicks and chickens have settled in well in their new home underneath the platform.
Next on our agenda is closing the open garage in the administration building, to turn it into an extra store room, where all our tools and equipment are kept. After that we plan to start renovation works for a part of our staff accommodation. We keep on expanding and improving our infrastructure to accommodate more children in the project and to improve the living standards of the staff members and their families who live on site.
As per annual tradition, Kudimba’s year ended with a Christmas party for the children. The children and staff had great fun with traditional dances, music, games, good food and of course, the obligatory annual Fanta. Kudimba is now closed for a two week Christmas break.
See below the overview of Kudimba in numbers for the year 2021. We are immensely proud of our achievements and we could not have done it without your help. Thank you for your continuous support in 2021. If you wish to support Kudimba’s work in 2022 do not hesitate to contact us.
Peace and joy to all of you this Christmas and a very happy New Year
from the Kudimba Team
More pictures, movies & stories about daily life in Kudimba can also be found on our Kudimba Facebook page:
Kudimba Foundation