Jackson’s African Safaris would like to introduce you to Fisherman’s Rest. The following will give you an insight to opportunities and vacations in Malawi available through Fisherman’s Rest.  Fisherman’s Rest work closely with their community in building relationships and supporting projects with the goal of creating bridges that connect people with people.  Fisherman’s Rest encourage and facilitate as broad an understanding and experience as practicably possible. Malawi has much to offer, a friendly people, delightful countryside, stunning topography, unspoiled and diverse parks, the ‘Lake of Stars’ and much more.  Here are a few projects Fisherman’s Rest are involved with, that any group visiting Malawi can become involved with, this could be for a day, or perhaps the start of a lifetime’s venture.

Mission
Fisherman’s Rest at its roots is a Christian organization and offers opportunities for people to get involved in Churches, Youth work, Children’s work and evangelism if this is what you desire. You could run programs in prisons, churches, orphanages & community centers.  We at Jackson’s African Safaris want to stress that if you are not a member of a church or follow another faith, this door with Fishermans Rest is not closed to anyone.  The experiences at Fishermans Rest are open to all.  Talking with us will give you the assurance you need that the door is open to making this experience what you have always dreamed it to be.

Forestry projects
Forest regeneration is a twice annual project, catching the right time of year to re-plant seedlings and collect seeds. In Malawi this is August to collect seeds and Jan-Feb to collect seedlings. Schools in the area have a school day out doing each of the activities and taking part in classes with the Malawi Forestry department here at Fisherman’s Rest. We then deliver the trees and the Children with their teachers plant them into designated areas in the school and community.

People can:

  • Help organize the children
  • Help cook porridge
  • Join a team and help them collect trees and replant them…

Porridge: The Good Food Project
Get involved in the Good food Project, our feeding program partnered with Mary’s Meals. We have 22 Schools in the area, 4 fed by Mary’s Meals and 4 fed by the Good Food Project, 13 remaining. The Good Food Project provides children with one cup of porridge a day in school. For some it is their only meal of the day.

People can:

  • Raise money to build a school kitchen
  • Raise money to feed a school for a year
  • Come out and see the Kitchens and help cook and serve the porridge to children here in Malawi
  • Be practical and help to paint, collect, sand and help build kitchens

School development: Buildings & Bridges
Most of the schools we work with are brick buildings with no windows and doors, most of them crumbling. The biggest issue is many classrooms are outdoors under trees or in grass shelters, when it rains school does not happen.

People can:

  • Raise money to refurbish classrooms, toilets and Libraries
  • Raise money to build Classrooms, toilets and Libraries
  • Come out to Malawi to help refurbish, build and open classrooms, toilets and Libraries

School development: Teacher training
Teachers have two years to study in Malawi, and they are then put in a school with very few resources. Local government authorities offer training and monitor standards, feeding into these programs with skills and knowledge on teaching, student engagement, behavior management and special needs is always much appreciated.

Chicken projects
The Chicken projects are currently run in local community, and orphanages. Helping farmers to learn how to manage chickens and run a business for themselves. Another aspect of the Chicken projects under development is getting school chicken projects started, so children have a practical opportunity to learn to keep chickens and run a business.

People can:

  • Help train farmers
  • Help build chicken houses
  • Experience Malawian subsistence farming

Water projects
So many people in rural Africa walk over an hour to get to freshwater, Local streams become washing and cooking water, and the precious freshwater is stored to drink.  We put in school and community boreholes where the need is most.

People can:

  • Raise money to put clean water into a school & community
  • Be a part of drilling the borehole & attaching the pump (if the time of year is right)

Agriculture & irrigation
In Malawi people have been growing Maize for years, to grind down into maize flour to make the staple local food ‘Nsima’.  On the edge of a valley we see huge effects of soil erosion and poor crops from bad growing methods. There are new methods of growing maize to enrich the soil and yield a better crop over time, this can only be beneficial through re-education and by example.

People can:

  • Bring out skills in permaculture, irrigation and run programs in the community with Fisherman’s Rest.

And bespoke design your own…..

All the projects go on at Fisherman’s Rest throughout the year. You do not have to pick one project to get involved, in you may want to see a few.

If there is some unique skill or desire, you would like to fulfil in Malawi Fisherman’s Rest can usually accommodate it. The links and relationship they have built with the community mean lots of different opportunities can be created.

For example:

  • Donating desks in schools
  • Experiencing how to make local pottery
  • Donating clothes to orphanages
  • Donating football kits (for example) and running sports programs
  • Teaching children music
  • Running girls groups & art programs
  • Business training & classes
  • Teaching English, and more.  Contact us here at Jackson’s African Safaris to design your experience at Fisherman’s Rest.