WESTFIELD – Educate Malawi, Inc., a local non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness and support for the country of Malawi, Africa, has recently been a guest of Westfield State University. Connie Daniel, a Professor at the University who has been teaching at Westfield for 24 years. She was interested in Educate Malawi because she is interested in anything that helps alleviate poverty, and is especially interested in education and vocational training as a way to escape poverty. She liked that “Educate Malawi was in our community – I like the phrase “Think Globally, Act locally,” – though I also like to act globally”. She currently teaches courses in Microfinance, Strategic Planning for Nonprofits, Organizational Behavior, and Business Policy and Strategy. Students in her Microfinance Class are beginning a club that will continue to look at microfinance and other forms of social justice. They are naming the club “Bankers for the Poor.”
Educate Malawi, Inc. is a locally run non-profit who have been operating in the area since 2008. Their mission is to support the country of Malawi in the area of education by providing funding for building projects including classroom blocks, teacher housing and scholarships for secondary school tuition. The organization was started by Karen and Stephen Hardy, and Karen’s daughter, Shannon Massey as a result of 2 visits to the country. The first trip was made by Shannon when she was 16 years old; she traveled to the country with 7 other students for one month. Upon her return, her enthusiasm spread to Karen, who identified a volunteer opportunity in the country. The women spent 2 months there in the Fall of 2007 and upon their return started the non-profit organization, along with Karen’s husband Stephen. Educate Malawi, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) organization that has completed the funding for one classroom block and is nearing completion of a teachers house. In addition to these projects, they have supplied scholarships for 2 young women studying to become teachers and are currently sponsoring 2 girls who are attending a secondary boarding school at the Bakhita school in Balaka, Malawi. Karen has traveled to the small African nation several times to establish the building projects, assess progress and interview students for scholarships. During these trips she has supplied elementary schools in MA. and CT. the opportunity to participate in a pen pal exchanges with students in Malawi.
Educate Malawi operates on fundraising events and donations and is currently moving toward providing micro-financing loans to women entrepreneurs specifically in the tailoring with the recent participation with Westfield State University and Connie’s micro-finance class. Some young women in Malawi, who are in a tailoring school, have been sewing bags made from Malawian textiles. These products have been utilized in craft fundraising events by Educate Malawi. Due to the assistance of Westfield State University and Connie and her classes, the small non-profit is taking steps toward furthering their mission.
