At its heart, The Sparkle Foundation aims to deliver a future in which every community has equal opportunity to live a life of health and self-sufficiency in Malawi. We have spent years understanding the needs of the community and have developed an innovative approach to charity by delivering a sustainable and replicable best practice model.
The Sparkle Foundation does not believe in operating in isolation. Our integrated approach incorporates four main pillars: Education, Health, Nutrition, and Community, each of which are reliant on each other to be successful. Through the delivery of these four pillars, we support children, youth, women and the community with a range of programmes that are developed based on the needs of our community.
We provide education to vulnerable children, youth and the wider community. We currently have two sites in Malawi: our main Sparkle site, and the Mulunguzi E.C.D Centre in partnership with Passion Centre.
From age two to six, children join our Early Childhood Development programme - an educational, fun, and creative environment. After graduating, the children progress to local schools and return to Sparkle for our afternoon programme.
We provide free medication to the most vulnerable community members. Our onsite medical clinic treats up to 80 patients a day, our outreach clinic provides 17 villages with access to healthcare and free medication, and our Sparkle ambulance ensures any emergency cases can be taken to the nearest hospital within the golden hour. We also vaccinate the community against Polio, Cholera and have facilitated campaigns for the treatment and prevention of ringworm and scabies at our quarterly outreach clinics.
We provide Sparkle children with two meals a day. For breakfast, a porridge made from maize and soya flour which is fortified with protein from soya. For lunch, Nsima with vegetables and a protein such as goat meat, dried fish, eggs or beans. These meals provide the children with the energy for a day of learning and fun.
We run tailored outreach programmes in partnership with our community committee, village heads and government bodies. Each programme actively empowers our members by providing them with tools and knowledge needed to become self-sufficient and food secure. We develop bespoke initiatives based on the needs of each village, ensuring our programmes are community led and in line with the overall national strategy. Our youth and women’s programmes provide individuals with skills and education to ensure they are well prepared for the future ahead, as well as regular social and sports activities. We also deliver training to our women's group, after which members can apply for a loan to set up their own business and become self-sufficient.