Our new schools food growing initiative with WAG seems to working well, though it is early days. Aubrey, who is running it day to day, is putting amazing energy and dedication into the programmes at 5 schools close to Thuma. Over 4000 children attend these.

It’s run as a competition between the schools to create a bit a fun as well encouraging everyone to participate. The pupils get vital skills in growing, tending and harvesting as well as feeding themselves. Education is key to breaking out of poverty, but it’s impossible to learn if you’re hungry. Thanks to Lynn, Aubry and WAG for their enthusiasm and commitment on the ground. There’s more detail here.

Lynn Clifford, our amazing manager and WAG CEO recently met local chiefs to discuss all matters relating to our projects, world climate change and welfare for their villages.

Inspirational Lucy Finch, our great friend and founder of Ndi Moyo Palliative Care in Malawi has been named on BBC’s list of 100 Women of 2016. The list covers inspirational and influential women responsible for all manner of extraordinary achievements from groundbreaking moments of defiance to new takes on fairy tales, stories of octogenarian cheerleading to inside the world of e-gaming. And of course, Lucy - and her remarkable story of vision, energy and above all, compassion.

As the piece introduces her: “Malawi is one of the world’s least developed countries with very primitive health care. In March 1998, nurse Lucy Finch had visited her native Malawi to care for her sister who was dying of Aids, when hearing a young man’s agonising death made her decide to come back and set up Malawi’s first and only hospice.”

We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with and support Lucy and her husband, Tony’s work at Ndi Moyo for several years now; and they’ve been amazing supportive of Tuesday Trust projects. So our congratulations to Lucy - we send her our love and best wishes. The BBC has chosen very well.

We’d like to offer a really sincere thanks to Camara for generously supplying us with a computer for our field staff in Malawi. In particular, Breon Timmons and John Fitzsimons who made it happen for us.

It has landed in Malawi and will be put to good use by our local field manager in running 2 sustainable agricultural projects in villages on the outskirts of Thuma National Forest Reserve Like any other project, success depends on accurate reporting and recording-keeping, and clear communications, and this will be invaluable for us. So thanks again.

Camara uses technology to deliver 21st century skills, and as such improve education in disadvantaged communities around the world.

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We want to send big love to our dear friend, Kieran who kindly MCed our TT fundraising dinner twice. He has had what proved to be a very nasty fall while on a great adventure - as ever - having sailed from Ireland as the final leg of O’Sullivan Beare’s March to complete the Camino Pilgrimage. We send him our very best wishes and look forward to having back with us again. Here he is on happier days on top of Croagh Patrick, full of joy and divilment as ever. #getwellsoon

Worms aren’t often big news. But these are for us. This is our first wormery at Ndi Moyo Palliative Care Trust. A bed of big fat worms have, well, bedded themselves in and they are ferociously good compost makers helping also to breakdown kitchen waste quickly and efficiently. (BTW apparently, a group of worms can also be called a clew, a bunch or clat.) So here’s to our big red composting wrigglers and the goodness they can bring.

We’re sometimes asked why we’re focussing in our small way on women’s projects, with women growing to feed themselves, on educating them too and supporting girls in school. One fundamental is that women’s education is the essential predictor of infant mortality, more than household income or wealth. This is the view of Michael Marmot is his latest book, “The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World.”

He’s only framing an insight that’s revealed itself all around the world:

That Women’s Education is a Key Determinant in their Children’s Survival

According to The UN, available information from 68 countries with data on under-five mortality by mothers’ education indicates that a woman’s education is a key factor in determining whether her children will survive past the first five years of life. A child’s chances of surviving increase even further when his or her mother has a secondary or higher education. This may be at the edge of dreams for rural Malawian women. However, even an extra year of primary school increases girls’ eventual wages by 10-20%, encourages girls to marry later and have fewer children, and makes them less likely to experience violence.

Yet unfortunately, in many areas of the world, educating girls is perceived to be less important than educating boys. It’s not about equality in an abstract moral sense - though it’s that too - it’s about practicality and survival of the nation.Keeping women uneducated is a lose-lose.

And these women are working incredibly hard. Women in Malawi spend over eight times more than men collecting water and fuel. While girls in rural Malawi also spend over three times more time than boys fetching the same. With less chances to stay in school. It’s not behaviour unique to Malawi, quite the reverse - as laid out in this UN Women Watch summary.

So as well as promoting food sustenance projects among women, we’re trying to help upskill them a little, and offer the opportunity for schooling for all to last at least a little longer. Of course, that’s also easier when you’re not hungry too.

Very worth ambitions from Irish Aid are articulated in its recent Humanitarian Assistance infographic below, with admirable goals: to save and protect lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity before, during and in the aftermath of humanitarian crises.

However we Irish apparently don’t think we’re doing enough. A recent Eurobarometer survey, featuring face-to-face interviews with over 28,000 people across Europe, including 1,037 here in Ireland, found 68% of us think developed countries should allocate more money to overseas aid. Moreover we’re found to be the third most likely in the EU to view helping people in developing countries as “very important”. (Though it’s perhaps hard to reconcile this with the situation so many immigrants caught up in our Direct Provision services find themselves trapped in - some for several years - where we seem to be less sympathetic to the poor than we could be. Do onto others…)

So it’s great to see the all positive work that has been done, but our good words, ambitions and aspirations need to be backed up with even more resources and solid commitments. Govt. policy is to help, our people want us to help: let’s do it.

Mphizi and Ndi Moyo Palliative Care Trust patients join up for a day’s traingin at Malawi Basin Project to view new planting and agricultural methods. Everyone is keen to learn and to feel part of a project together. Ava, leader of the Support group is at the positive heart of everthing as ever.

The future with paper and pencil! Here is a site plan for Mphizi for the next planting season starting in April 2015