Active Africa

Active Africa was founded in 2004 in response to a humanitarian emergency. From the very beginning we have evolved together with the people of Malawi. We could say that we have walked hand in hand with the people...

Mission: Contribute to the entire and sustainable development of communities in Malawi and Kenya, through the implementation of international cooperation projects in the fields of education, health, agriculture and women's empowerment.

Vision: Building fairer and more egalitarian societies with greater resilience in front of adversity

At the beginning, our priority was to cover the most basic needs, feeding people and of course medicines. Currently, our work is focused on improving education, the true engine of change, through the reconstruction of schools and the foundation of new ones. We also have an extensive scholarship project that has a direct impact on academic improvement by supporting the best students.We continue to support the health systems in Malawi and Kenya by building infrastructure and providing medicines and ambulances.

Our priority is children and women, the most vulnerable in society. We have several projects underway to empower women through training and the provision of microcredits to start small businesses.

We are aware of the importance of the environment and have started sustainable agriculture projects and promoted the construction of wells and water supply systems for the population in the impact areas.

We are just one more help. During this long journey, we are learning many things.

It is true that in our beginnings, we did not plan to create any NGO, we just wanted to do what anyone who had the possibility to go to Malawi would have done, that is, to lend a hand to those who suffer. From that moment on, everything flowed spontaneously.

Our current projects are focus in Education, Health and Food security, women empowerment and Environmental Sustainability.

EDUCATION

1. Education buildings

Our challenge in Malawi for the past years has been to improve education in the poorest areas of the country. To achieve this goal, we have refurbished and improved the infrastructure of several the public primary and secondary schools in the Dowa area. We have also created two new secondary schools from scratch. On each trip we visit all the schools that we have been helping over the years, and hold meetings with the educational community and parents to find out about their needs.

2. Scholarship program in Malawi and Kenya

As a result of our support for education, we created our SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, through which we finance the studies of teenagers who, for several reasons, deserve help to continue studying. This is the best investment for a better future and has become a great incentive for these children without resources.

This programme is our essence and the one in which we work the most. We believe that education will serve to improve and change the lives of many young people, both individually and as a society.

3. Other projetcs

Fundació Barça

Thanks to the Barça Foundation, Active Africa and our partner Mawa NGO have launched a new project in Malawi based on the creation of Youth Clubs within secondary schools in Dowa.

HEALTH AND FOOD SECURITY

Elena Barraquer Foundation expedition to Malawi

In the summer of 2024, Active Africa and the Elena Barraquer Foundation joined forces to carry out an eye health mission at Likuni Hospital (Malawi). This hospital was chosen due to our long-standing relationship with it, the result of years of collaboration and joint projects. A team of 11 people, made up of doctors, nurses and volunteers, travelled to the hospital for a week to screen ophthalmic patients.

Expansion of the maternity hospital in Likuni, Lilongwe

Active Africa collaborates with Likuni Hospital to improve maternal care and reduce infant and maternal mortality. Due to the increase in births attended (370 per month), the existing facilities proved insufficient. To address capacity and safety issues, the maternity wing was expanded with the support of the Ordesa Foundation, Mango, Caixabank, and Sabadell City Council.

Purchase of medicines for the Chezi dispensary , financed by the "Farmasol Fundació Barceló" program

FUNDACION BARCELO continues to support the purchase of medicines for the Chezi Dispensary, Malawi. ​

It is a very important action because the centers lack all types of means to fight diseases.

In this area there are many episodes of malaria and pneumonia and, thanks to access to these treatments, many lives are saved. ​

New ambulance for Barsaloi dispensary

Over the past 21 years, Active Africa, thanks to our donors, has been able to provide a total of five ambulances to different hospitals in Malawi and Kenya.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Promotion of women: Training workshops

Women are the most needy group on the African continent. From a young age they look to the future knowing that what awaits them will not be easy. They must support the family and bring money home. However, the good news is that more and more girls have access to education.

Every year Active Africa funds many scholarships to improve the future of these women. However, others, if not the majority, will not have access to higher education.

For this reason Active Africa supports the creation of workshops that give women opportunities to improve their economy and that of their family as well as grow in self-esteem

This last year we have financed literacy and sewing workshops: in Malawi (specifically in Chezi and Kapiri) and others in Kenya, in Tuum and Opiroi.

these projects have been possible thanks to the financing​ by Comercia Global Payments, Mauel Lao Foundation and Maite Iglesias Baciana Foundation.

ECO-WOMEN PROJECT-KAPIRI

Specifically the Kapiri project is carried out in the Mission of the same name in the region Central-West Malawi, under the supervision of Malawian sisters: Sister Patricia and Sister Modesta.

Until 2024, more than 3,000 women have benefited from this training and have improved their lives. Currently the project is carried out in 5 different centers. Every year we are asked to increase the number of beneficiaries due to the great impact it has on their lives.​

Once they finish, many create their own business. Some have the opportunity to buy a sewing machine at a good price and set up shop as seamstresses in their villages. Others open shops in the local market or start small businesses that will mean a big change for their future.

SEWING AND TRAINING in KENYA

As in Kapiri, in the Opiroi region (Kenya), we also run sewing and training programmes for women in the communities.

​​Residence for girls at Nanthomba High School

Over the years, we have built 5 residences for high school girls, with a threefold objective:

1. Their safety, since they are often robbed and raped on their way from home to school.
2. Their studies and training, since living next to the school helps them invest time in studying instead of commuting or working in the fields.
3. Their diet, living in a residence ensures proper nutrition for their development

FANIKISHA Program in Kenya

FANIKISHA is a program piloted by the Kianda Foundation that is aimed at training women through economic courses and the granting of microcredits for the creation of small businesses. It is developed in Kagondo, Kenya and is financed by the Maite Iglesias Baciana Foundation. Thanks to it, many women were able to fulfill their dreams and achieve a better life.

ENVIROMENTAL SUSTAINBILITY

Aligned with several SDGs, concerned about the environment and the various factors that lead to the deterioration of natural resources, deforestation, poor environmental quality, soil depletion, and more, we are taking initiatives and organizing projects to combat this problem. We have begun building with eco-friendly bricks, investing in new wells, supporting renewable energy installations, and promoting actions that lead to more sustainable and ecological agriculture.

One example is our partnership with Mawa NGO , our partner in Malawi, for regenerative agriculture and reforestation projects

PERMEACULTURE - TRANSFORMING AGRICULTURE

Together with Mawa, we want to introduce a new kind of agriculture aligned with the environment that uses available natural resources, to have a sustainable and economic production.

WELL CONSTRUCTION IN MALAWI

Drilling wells in rural Malawi is perhaps one of the projects that best defines the objectives of our association: to contribute to the development of rural communities by providing infrastructures that improve health, nutrition and the improvement of the educational quality of the Poorest children in Malawi.

Water for the Barsaloi community; Renewable energy reaches the Samburu desert, Kenya

Implementation of a system hybrid that allows access to water for the entire population, combining the two types of energy, solar and fossil fuel.

Construtions with Eco bricks

Currently, Active Africa made the decision to carry out the works with ecological bricks to contribute to the environment.

They are compact bricks that are obtained from a mixture of sand and cement.

Unlike those that are produced traditionally throughout the country, they do not require cooking, they are not dried with wood ovens, so their use results in a decrease in tree felling and improves the environment.