Lilongwe, Malawi … To help Malawi families with acceptable prices, as well as offset some of their administrative costs, ACTION FOR PROGRESS, with the help of the MALAWI PROJECT, and a grant from POWER OF ONE, recently purchased and erected two large green houses on the AfP property west of the capital. The green houses, obtained with grant assistance from Indiana based POWER OF ONE, were seen as a way AfP could offset some of their administrative costs. This would then give the MP the chance to use the released funds to increase and develop other programs to help Malawi groups. The objective of these projects are to help Malawi become more independent of outside aid, and be able to stand on their own feet.
Unlike many organizations who are fully dependent on outside support for their very existence, AfP was born to a mission of helping fledgling groups learn to function independently of outside support. To reach this goal AfP is setting the pace and pinpointing the goal by working to create independence in its own work. Because of the mission of AfP and the MP there are no plans for either of these not-for-profit, faith-based groups to work independently of each other, or change the relationship, but it is important to set the right example for other organizations. Every time one of the AfP/MP programs moves a step toward independence this offers the opportunity to begin supporting a new program, in another area of Malawi.
Over the years both the MP, in its unique approach to missions, and the equally unusual structure of AfP have made an impact on the giving community. It becomes more and more evident that a different structure for success can work in Malawi. Both organizations are presenting the nation with an example that avoids the pitfalls of creating welfare, while at the same offering tools to be independent and provide for their own needs. The greenhouse project is another of these goals.