Magic Moment

On every trip I always have one or two profound moments. They invariably last just a few seconds but, in those times, I’m reminded that God made us all equal and we have a simple responsibility to love and respect our neighbours – rich or poor. Mary Mtambo is 40 years old, married and a mother of 6 children.

Mary has built a maize and cassava flour business in the main Mzuzu market. “People always need to eat” is her thinking. A small loan from Opportunity International has enabled her to scale the business up and generate more turnover and improved profit margins. The long and the short of it is that she can care for her 6 children. She’s even managing to save £15 a month for a rainy day – she saves, of course, with the local Opportunity International bank.

AIDS looms large like a Harry Potter story book character who should not be named. But it's tragically all too real here. Mary's business success enables her to also care for 4 orphans and her sister.

After the discussion Mary and I said good bye. It was only a split second but the language barrier was breached by our eye contact. In that moment we were both parents doing the best for our families; we were both appreciative of each other’s kindness; and both equals because of that connection. I held back an unexpected tear.

I’ll probably never meet Mary again.

Thank you to all the donors who have made this possible for Mary and the countless others who have similar stories.

Dreams can come True

I made my way to Mzuzu today, in the north. Three years ago the Malawi team dreamt about bringing our operation up here. They put a plan together. We shared that plan with some special friends of Opportunity who backed it with their generous support. The Mzuzu hub opened in March 2008.

It was wonderful to see it in action. Our target was to be serving 20,000 clients by the end of 2010 and that was reached two months ago. 9 months early.

From that hub the team has pushed out satellite operations to Livingstonia, Nkhata Bay and Karonga. The pioneering bank-on-wheels has been a triumph too. It’s helped us to reach even more remote areas and decide which communities can justify a kiosk of their own. The overall impact in the region is hard to describe. The numbers are impressive but, as they say, not everything that counts can be counted. The attitude and passion of our team is hard to describe. They are so committed to the poor clients they serve and they do that by building caring and respectful relationships.

It’s impossible to measure dignity too but it’s evident that poor people’s dignity and self esteem has been boosted by the “Hand Up” that Opportunity has given them.

Set to Double Again

The operation has really shifted a gear since I was last in Malawi. The numbers tell their own story but nothing could have prepared me for the confidence, professionalism and ambition of the local team. They’ve doubled our impact in the past three years and are set to do the same again by 2012.

Success will be down to our staff as well as our donors so I was delighted to see the visionary new learning centre emerging from the building site in Lilongwe. We already employ about 450 staff in Malawi and their expertise will be all important as we grow. It’s vital that we invest in them and the learning centre will be a central to the drive for quality.

Then a short drive to our Malangalanga satellite centre. It’s been one of the many success stories and it was good to see the throng of poor clients waiting to be served by our client relations officers. Our services are evidently hitting the spot. I’ve never seen such a popular office. People were depositing savings, collecting loans and repaying earlier loans in turn. They were having to wait up to 20 minutes for service – which isn’t great – but all the people I spoke to were in good cheer. I think they were simply thrilled that we were in town and in business just for them.

Then on to meet some of the borrowers at their small businesses in a nearby bustling market. I loved this chap – Innocent Bondo Chifaka. With his third loan – of around £150 – he buys paraffin in bulk. 300 litres at a time. The locals buy it in small affordable units to light their home at night time. With no electricity this is the only way that life can carry on into the evening. It’s often when the children do their studies.

Innocent sells paraffin in 5 litre and 1 litre units as well as a smaller one-night only sachet. Many of his poor clients can only afford to pay for their fuel by the day. He’s making about £4 a day. He’s started saving with Opportunity International. And be plans to diversify by starting up a grocery stall soon.

He is a very impressive young man. But he left his biggest surprise until we started to head off. He took me aside and said he supports Manchester United.

Seeing it in Perspective

It's been too long. It's good to be back. As the plane approaches Lilongwe my heart for this place swells again. From 1,000 feet you can see so much detail and all in slow motion. Small groups of simple dwellings linked by faint tracks and red-earthed "highways" are a world apart from the sophistication of home. Small holdings punctuate the slopes near to water. The occasional corrugated iron roof flashes under the brilliance of the mid day sun. Perhaps it's a school, a community centre, or even a farmer who has managed to make a half decent living from his land. But the norm in rural Malawi is a small, mud-walled home with a basic thatched roof. A man pedals along a track with his partner sitting side saddle on the back. It's probably his wife. I wonder if they're returning from church - they seemed to be wearing their Sunday best.

I can almost smell the smoke, sweat and dust already. I can't wait to meet more of these wonderful people. They have so much to teach us about community, respect for the weak and care for their neighbours. And it's so good to know that we have something to offer them which honours their spirit and hard work. A simple Hand Up from Opportunity International gives a poor family dignity and allows them to dream dreams for themselves and their children.

There may be times when they need a hand out but they want and deserve so much more. I'm so proud that Opportunity employs a methodology that gives people a working chance to take control of their own futures.

Malawi - Planned and Delivered

I cast my mind back a couple of years, ahead of my visit to Northern Malawi.

In 2007 we had a dream and put together a plan to take Opportunity International up to Mzuzu for the first time. It was an ambitious move. Then we had to fund it. The Challenge Fund we presented to donors was effectively our prospectus - see the vision here http://bit.ly/cXsr3o

Many people and organisations placed their faith in us and responded very generously and the money was raised. The plan swung into action and we've achieved the targets 6months ahead of schedule.

I can't wait to see the result for myself. I also want to apply my head-held-high test. We can measure lots of things but not this. Opportunity does what it does to bring hope and dignity to poor people. To empower them to lead a full and abundant life as God intended. We know we've succeeded when thousands upon thousands of people can hold their heads high in their families and the wider community.

Northern Soul

Just heard that my itinerary will take me up to the North of Malawi next week. That's very exciting.

Our wonderful supporters have put £1million into the expansion up there. The Mzuzu branch has crashed through its targets recently - 8 months earlier than planned.

We're serving over 20,000 first-time savers already and we are backing 6,000 microenterprises with small loans. Those small businesses are supporting in excess of 30,000 poor people. Can't wait to meet some of them and hear their story. I'll share some with you and snap some pics.

Warm Hearted

The warm heart of Africa is calling me back. Can't wait to see the progress that's been made.

Lots more still to do but to be serving almost 10% of poor households in Malawi, from a standing start 6 years ago is some going.

I'm so grateful to Phil, Chandrima, John, Vanessa, Mark, Issy, David, Ann, Brian, Betty, Meg, Hugh, Ewan, Christine, Wiet, Carien, Martin, Helen, Robert, Margie, John, Mel, James, Charlotte, Tim, Dede, Alan, Alison, Amanda, Morfydd and countless more. You've made it happen. You've built something that will last and is now ready to move to the next level.