The Country of Malawi is known as “The Warm Heart of Africa” because of the friendliness of the people. It is among the world’s least developed countries and the economy is based on agriculture and largely rural. Experts believe that education is the driving force to alleviating poverty in Malawi and critical in helping move the country toward development. The typical yearly salary is only $7,000. Although Malawi provides primary education, secondary education is not free. Families have no ability to pay for secondary school, let alone college.

I first visited Mangochi, Malawi in 2009 and have been there nine times. As the nonprofit I represented closed during the pandemic, I felt compelled to continue the mission by starting Warm Heart Education Foundation Malawi. This organization will provide scholarships to worthy students to enable them to fulfill their dreams of becoming nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers and more. Board members, Mark Burnett and Judy Zorilla have also visited several times.

I have been supporting a young man through four years of secondary school and two years of college as he enters his junior year in September. His mother, father and grandmother have died during this time, and I am all he has. Supporter, Susan Kelly, visited for the first time two years ago and is helping a young woman named Catherine through nursing school.

It is immensely gratifying to see how the students progress through my yearly visits. I have learned that it is most beneficial to all to purchase student supplies from a local store. The cost of mailing anything from the U.S. ameliorates its helpfulness.

We have a representative in Mangochi, John Masumba, whom I have known for ten years, and worked with the previous nonprofit. He personally meets with students, families, teachers and school officials to find good candidates for our assistance and to follow student participation and progress. We also visit primary schools encouraging the young students that if they study hard, they can go on to secondary school and college.

Each year, I host a luncheon at a local restaurant for all our scholarship students. This has been the only time they have ever eaten in a restaurant, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Many students live so far from school, that they must be housed, and we provide room and board and school uniforms. Recently, we discovered the need for the girls to have access to feminine hygiene supplies. A teacher brought to our attention that the girls would fall behind in their studies because they would miss a week of class every month.

I am dedicating the rest of my life to this project and if you will join me in offering hope and opportunity to motivated young people, we can change the world.