St Michael and All Angels Church, Helensburgh, in conjunction with The Rotary Club of Helensburgh, continues to raise £5,500 towards a ‘Building Malawi‘ project. The project aims to create educational opportunities for impoverished and underprivileged children in Malawi.
The 22-acre site will become the biggest sports complex in the country. It includes a library, police station and netball court. Work on building a school started in April 2020.
Any donations collected at the local level will be matched by The Rotary Foundation and Rotary International. The cost of providing a double classroom at one of the city’s newest and largest schools, Lingadzi Academy is £16,500.
Reay MacKay, Rotary Club of Helensburgh’s International Convener, said: “Ultimately, I hope we will end up with a classroom in the Lingadzi Academy that will benefit future generations…”
The Rev Dom Ind, Rector of St Michael’s, said: “Reay and I both have tenuous links with Africa and thought it would be good if, as a church, we could do something in that continent and involve others. I suggested Malawi, primarily because of its strong links with Scotland… Since then the project has taken off. Rotary are committed. We have a solid, tangible project, which will bring benefit to many young people in an area which has considerable socio-economic challenges.”
Sixteen classrooms are planned for the new Lingadzi Academy, holding 40 children each. This means more than 600 young people could benefit from the scheme.
In November 2019, a successful Malawi supper was held in Helensburgh. Participants added £625 to the near £400 collected by the church congregation at that time.
Organisations and individuals are encouraged to hold fundraisers in support of the cause. Cheques can be sent to St Michael’s Church, 16 William Street, Helensburgh, G84 8BD.
