I remember when Chikonde (Chiko) Mbewe, RiseMalawi’s Youth Coordinator, was a fellow at UrbanPromise Ministries and made his presentation to the UrbanPromise International board for seed funding for a project he had in mind to promote sustainability when he returned home to Rise Malawi.  Pigs.  Really?  Yup – raising pigs.  Who knew that in Malawi, the price of one pig was enough to send a young person to university for a year?  Thanks to Chiko’s vision and follow-through, looks like quite a few years’-worth of college running around in those pens!

Za’s long-standing vision, now finally coming closer to fruition, is for a corn mill on some nearby property.  They have largely finished with the building and are awaiting delivery of the milling equipment in order to set the floor and connect the power.  God willing, within about a year they will no longer have to transport their own maize all the way to Madisi for grinding – they’ll do it right on-site.  Not only that, they will make money by grinding the maize for the people in the local community, who will still be able to get that done more cost-effectively closer by, and won’t have to spend anywhere near as much time traveling as they otherwise would.

Finally, with encouragement and support from Za’s team, one of the former students has set up his own stand right on campus where he cooks and sells french fries!  At the same time the school makes a small amount of money from the rent they charge him, he has learned a cooking skill and continues to learn how to run a business – both of which will serve him well as a way to move out into the community and earn a living.