All proceeds of Mizzou for Malawi are donated to the Pothawira Village, a beneficiary of The Global Orphan Project. Pothawira means “Safe Haven” in Chichewa, Malawi’s native language, and that’s exactly what it is for the orphaned and abandoned children who live there. The Pothawira Village is a 50 acre community that contains homes for orphans, a medical center, and a school. Mizzou for Malawi’s funds support the school.
The village was founded by Peter and Emma Maseko. Peter is a trained medical officer and pastor whose vision began in 2007. He dreamed of launching a village were orphaned children could live safely and obtain an education. Construction began in 2009 and on February 13th, 2012 his vision became a reality when the first children, twins Prince and Prisca, arrived to live in the orphanage. The school opened the following fall, and today 104 orphans call Pothawira their home.
Pothawira children and mama standing outside of their house. Each house contains 10 children and for every ten children they have a mama to look after them. At Pothawira there is 10 houses and 10 mamas. In this photo you can see Prince and Prisca, the first children to occupy the village, sitting next to their mama.
Peter Maseko standing in one of the fully furnished classrooms. Many of the classrooms still don’t have desks, so one of Mizzou for Malawi’s goals is to complete the furnishing of each classroom.