Urunji Child-Care Trust scales up dental hygiene in Malawi
In Malawi, 98 percent of the 3000 plus children benefiting from Urunji Child-Care Trust programmes have never used a toothbrush at all in their life. From June 2013, they are scaling up dental hygiene among poor communities around the country.
Children in Malawi are amongst the poorest in the world. Being one of the poorest countries in the world and mostly depending on agriculture, the country faces a myriad of challenges. Statistics vary but many children are either orphaned by AIDS or plagued by extreme poverty and malnutrition. Despite gains in good governance, lack of political will, rampant corruption and poor economic strategies hamper the growth and reduction of poverty in Malawi. Urunji is working to put a toothbrush in every child’s hand by 2015.
Upcoming projects
There is a dream called “Urunji Youth Center” that is awaiting its fulfillment. This will be a facility that will empower children and the youth with invaluable skills ranging from carpentry, motor vehicle mechanics, STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics) a library and recreational amenities. This project will be conducted in phases. This is part of Urunji projects that will target many children from birth to 21 years of age. Most information is available on their Facebook page and on their website.
Current Projects
Urunji Child-Care Trust is distributing over 3,500 long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets to children in rural areas of Malawi targeting the poorest of the poor children in rural households.
About Urunji Child-Care Trust
Urunji Child-Care Trust, commonly called Urunji is a registered Non-Governmental Organization in Malawi running several programmes on malaria, climate change, poverty alleviation, child sponsorship, HIV and AIDS and community development. Their programmes are multi-faceted and usually target communities to ensure sustainable development and community participation.
Why is Urunji Child-Care Trust not an orphanage?
Urunji values the great work done by orphanages all over the world. However, their research has shown that in Africa, the orphanage set-up does not work for them. With so many extended families, most of the children in orphanages are not actually orphans but vulnerable and poor children who can easily be supported from the community. This is why Urunji Child-Care Trust is not an orphanage. All outreaches are conducted within a community setup and children are resident within their community.
