Hannah Graves, our contact in Malawi, wrote a letter to say thank you and update our parishes on how the Lenten Almsgiving funds, that our parishes raised, are being used since they were received in June. We sent more than $21,000 to the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic girls school, which equaled a total of 22,606,457.91 Kwacha. To best divide it in line with the parish’s wishes, Hannah said they designated 15,000,000MK towards tuition at Our Lady of Lourdes and 5,000,000 towards the school bus fundraiser. A donor also designated an additional amount specifically for college scholarships, so 2,606,457.91 is going towards the scholarships for graduating girls.

Hannah said that once the entrance exams were graded, the school planned to identify the girls in need of the tuition assistance. They are also keeping some of the tuition funds in reserve as unexpected hardships can sometimes happen and then families aren’t able to pay tuition. She said this year a student fell behind in payments because her mother is a widow and the brother who was paying her school fees unexpectedly lost his job, and her other adult siblings couldn't cover them. So some funds will be reserved for situations like that.

The Catholic Parishes of South Stevens County continue to raise money for our ongoing Malawi Fund, and some donations are still coming in every week. Thank you again to everyone who generously donated to this fundraiser, it's really made a difference for many! “We are so, so grateful, thank you!” Hannah said.

As this fundraiser continues, Hannah suggested that maybe next year's fundraiser could mainly focus on the school bus and some more help towards college scholarships for graduates as well. She said the school bus has increased significantly in price since they started raising money for it.

Here's a little about Malawi, according to Wikipedia.com: Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south and southwest. Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 19,431,566 (as of January 2021). The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name for the Chewa people who inhabit the area. The country is nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" because of the friendliness of its people.

If you are interesting in hearing more about Hannah's experience in Malawi, visit her blog at https://gloriaegratiae.wixsite.com/ofrockpilesandcathed