Thurso woman prepares for third Malawi trip
THREE is the magic number for a local woman who set up a charity to help those stricken by poverty in Malawi.
Thurso woman Reay MacGill, along with her close friend, Chrisanne MacLeod, are packing the final few essentials for their third annual three-week trip to help three groups their charity, the St Mary’s Hospice Malawi Trust, supports.
Reay, who attended Mount Pleasant Primary School, has spent the last two summers with Chrisanne and Anglican monk Brother Michael visiting various organisations in Malawi and finding out how the trust could help support them.
The pair will set off next Friday to join Brother Michael helping out orphan daycare centres and nurseries in Mzuzu.
Reay explained this year they will be putting the finishing touches to their work over the past two years and seeing what needs to be done in the future, including at a school built and run by AIDS widows.
"At Chamalaza we are hoping to put a roof on the building the widows built last year. The building was built for 10 orphans but it is now supporting 90," she said.
"We are going to buy them basic resources – plates, spoons, mugs and basic reading and writing resources. We are also hoping to buy them a couple more pigs – one of the pigs we bought last year is about to have piglets so it is the intention to keep these for some time and then sell them to generate some income for the group."
At Thandazga, Reay and Chrisanne hope to put two doors on the building they upgraded last year and at Chatata orphan care nursery they are going to build a pig sty and buy two pigs. Their suitcases will also be packed with as much knitwear, toothbrushes, toothpaste, books, pens, pencils, crayons, soap and clothing as possible – all of which has been generously donated by groups and individuals from across the Highlands.