As Nkhoma Hospital is often without electricity for long periods of time, Kangaroo Mother Care is an essential element of their newborn health program. The program helps new mothers care for their premature babies, suppling warmth, nutrition, stimulation and protection from infection by ensuring babies have skin to skin contact for 20 hours a day.

However, still many babies and their mothers die from infection and preventable complications during and following child birth.

Our Solar Project will bring light and warmth to Nhkoma Hospital. Babies will no longer need to be delivered by torch light, surgeons will no longer stripped of their electricity mid procedure and hospital rooms will be able to be kept warm ensuring many more lives can be saved at birth.

If you would like to be involved and donate towards our Nkhoma Hospital Solar Project visit – click here

100% of the money raised goes directly to the project and regular updates can be found on our website and Facebook page.

Shukulani is 13 years old from Maunda Village. He was referred to Positive Steps Charity by John Port, the former headteacher of Gairloch High School in Highland Scotland who have a link with Mlozi School around 30 km from Nkhoma, Malawi.

During an exchange trip in October 2017 Shukulani was one of many learners who worked and played with pupils from Gairloch High. On returning to Scotland pupils reflected on possible ways of helping Shukulani receive medical treatment.

Shukulani fell into an open fire as a child and now has severe facial deformity. As a result he is struggling to speak and is susceptible to eye infections. Burn scar contractures are where the burnt skin heals and the surrounding skin begins to pull together, tightening and contracting.

Over the years of Gairloch’s Malawi partnership several organisations have assisted in helping develop initiatives, these include The Chaffinch Trust, 500 Miles, Swinfen Telemedicine and us at Positive Steps Charity.

Positive Steps Charity are now working with John Port in Scotland, Daniel Chimutu, Ian Dawe and Thokozani Makina at Nkhoma Hospital to organise surgeries for Shukulani.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Gairloch High School. As an on-going commitment to the Gairloch Mlozi Partnership, they will be supporting fundraising efforts to assist Positive Steps Charity in meeting the cost of further medical treatment for Shukulani.

It is with the kind permission of Shukulani and is family that we share his story and these photographs with you.

Finia, A Heart Warming Story

During a recent visit to Malawi to monitor the impact of Positive Steps work in Nkhoma Hospital, Nick and I returned to the burns ward to catch up with the team to be introduced to a little girl named Finia. Finia had suffered severe burns to her chest and stomach when keeping warm next to the open fire and her clothes caught alight. So often, with the young trauma patients at the hospital, the presenting complaint, in this case burns, is not their only problem. Finia had recently been treated for Malaria, that and malnutrition meant that her haemoglobin level was low and she required a blood transfusion to increase her chance of survival. Sadly there was only one bag of blood in the hospital and it was not Finia’s group, O negative.

During my time working and visiting Nkhoma Hospital, I got used to the staff there rolling up their sleeves and offering a unit of blood but obviously they cannot do this all the time…

As we left the burn ward, Nick commented that he thought he may be O negative and would like to help. Within the hour he had given blood which was then administered to Finia. We visited her daily until the end of our stay in Malawi, a few days later she was sitting up in bed and much stronger. A week after our return to the UK, Finia was given a skin graft and continued to do well – making a full recovery.

Nick said, “ It was nothing heroic, just what most people would have done, but what it does show is how different things are in Malawi – apart from the one I gave there was only one other unit of blood in the whole hospital – I guess we take these things for granted at home.”

It’s a nice story with a happy ending, but does show how much needs to be done to support Nkhoma Hospital – things are very different there!

The Nkhoma Hospital Solar Project has officially been launched and what a fantastic launch party we had, raising just over £3,500 to kick start the project.

Working in partnership with Employ My Ability (EMA), we are looking to raise £100,000 to provide solar powered electricity to Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi. As many of you will know we have been supporting the hospital since 2011. The solar project will result in Nkhoma Hospital being able to double the amount of essential operations and lifesaving activities that are carried out and will make an outstanding impact within the hospital and the Nkhoma community for many years to come.

Daniel Chimutu, Medical Doctor at Nkhoma Hospital commented “Let me wish you well for the Nkhoma Hospital solar project you have embarked. It’s my prayer and hope that you will achieve your goal and make Nkhoma Hospital be in light again and all services will run again without power interruptions”

Over 120 guests joined us at the ‘Nkhoma Hospital Solar Project’ launch event, being entertained by The Bridport Big Band, plus, two nationally acclaimed comedians, Jo Coffey and Andrew White.

We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who joined us and has supported the project so far.

Also, a very special thank you to all of the local businesses came together to support the project by donating towards the silent auction which raised over £2,000 alone; Health & Beauty Express, The Spa at Summer Lodge Hotel, Jurassic Jet Ski Tours, Weymouth Bay Rib Charter, Heritage Automotive, Amelia Rose Bespoke Beauty, Morrish & Banham Wine Merchant, Nostara, Alice May, The Walled Garden Moreton, Stems Florist, Bliss Food Co., The Highbrow Clinic Aesthetics, Margo and Mya, BlueLoop, Gill Donnell Smith, The New Inn, Boutique in a Bus, Plaza Cinema, Fordington Gin, Belle Modelle, Ducks On The Wall, Swanage Railway and The Octagon Theatre.

The Nkhoma Hospital Solar Project is a really exciting initiative and will make a real difference to the way that Nkhoma Hospital is able to operate and, most importantly, it will save lives.

Wow! Thank you to everyone who came and supported our recent Family Fun Dog Show at The Walled Garden Moreton. We were overwhelmed by the number of attendees and gorgeous dogs that came, and it was fantastic to see everyone having so much fun. We raised an amazing £1,109.15.

Also, a big thank you to Employ My Ability (EMA) for hosting the event and for their continued support for Positive Steps Charity and to our fabulous volunteers who put so much into our events and the charity.

Plans are already being worked on for next year’s Family Fun Dog Show and we’ll be sure to make our ring even bigger.

If you would like to keep up to date with upcoming Positive Steps Charity events, follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/positivestepscharity/