Raising $515,000 to reach 15,000 children and their family members in Malawi, Uganda and Zambia—that’s Thriving Kids Africa  immediate, urgent goal. But it is part of a much bigger picture, and much longer story.

“Thriving Kids Africa is not a year to year campaign,” says Zach Oles, Cross International’s Director of International Programs. “It’s a commitment, and that is most displayed in the Tanganyika Village with our local partner, Ambuya Development Center.”  

Ambuya Development Center is a family-run Christian organization whose mission is to empower the women and children of rural Malawi and improve the livelihood of their communities. Their holistic development work is fueled by love and Jesus’s command to:

 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Luke 10:27 (NIV) 

Ambuya was started by Dr. Victor Madziakapita and named in honor of their mother: Ambuya means “grandmother”. Dr. Victor grew up in the same community he know serves. His family worked hard and sacrificed much to send him to school. He earned his doctorate in development and worked for World Vision before beginning Ambuya to help meet his home village’s needs.

And the needs are great. Eighty-five percent of the population Ambuya serves lives on less than $1 a day, far below the international extreme poverty line (currently $1.90 a day). The HIV/AIDS pandemic has left orphans in need of care, many villagers struggle with drug and alcohol abuse, and the area lacks easy access to the basics: clean water, food and education. In addition, Cyclone Idai destroyed 300+ homes this spring, leaving many homeless.    

“Dr. Victor totally relates to all of it because he lived it and suffered through it like these kids,” Zach says. “But this next gen doesn’t have to because of Ambuya.”  

Dr. Victor’s family works together to lift their community up. One of his brothers, a pastor, is the board chair. His nephew is in charge of purchasing and logistics. His sister Esther is known as the heartbeat of the program, and the vegetables for their feeding program are grown in her backyard. It is a truly grassroots organization built on world-class development principles and genuine faith. 

“Dr. Viktor is the success story for this community,” Zach says. “We get this high-caliber leader in the most local, most authentic Christian ministry that exists. That’s a win-win for us.”

Eighteen months ago, Cross International came alongside Ambuya to help install a clean water system to provide water for Thanganyika and other smaller villages in the area. Access to clean water was transformational. Cross International is now helping to support Ambuya’s projects, all designed to provide interconnected basic needs that can help break poverty cycles. 

• Cross International and the center feed 311 school children six days a week, using local food grown in the community.
• They help pay schools fees for vulnerable children and provide educational and spiritual support. 
• They are teaching women entrepreneurial skills and funding business-launching microloans—143 so far.
• They are rebuilding homes destroyed by Cyclone Idai.
• They are building a Fellowship Hall to house their feeding program, host worship services and small groups, and provide a gathering place for the community. 

Zach says Ambuya’s work and philosophy aligns perfectly with Cross International’s strategy. On a recent trip to visit Amubya and other African partners, Zach got to meet some of the people whose lives have been changed by Dr. Victor’s organization. 

There’s Fanny and her baby sister, abandoned by their mother and being raised by their teenaged uncle. Their home was rebuilt by Ambuya after the cyclone, and Fanny receives food and school assistance as well. There’s Patricia, who became a mother at only 11. Twenty years later, she’s now in the microloan program, learning to run her own business. Tamala, who has four children, including one who has special needs, has a home and hope for the future thanks to Ambuya’s programs. The stories go on and on.

“Our partnership is based on long-term thinking,” Zach says. “It’s based on knowing the locals have the answers, not us. It’s based on respect and Christian attitudes. It’s based on love and kindness.” 

Bring more love and kindness to Malawi’s women and children by giving to the Thriving Kids Africa campaign.

In rural Malawi, where Esther Fabiano lives, only 10 percent of rural Malawi students complete secondary school. But Esther has big dreams for her son. She wants him to graduate, so he can go on to attend college. Esther knows education is a powerful tool for fighting poverty. But in order to get her son the schooling he needs, Esther needed to earn money for his tuition. She had to go on her own learning journey as well. 

Eighty percent of Malawi’s population relies on agriculture for its income and survival. Storms, droughts and accidents can destroy a family’s security in seconds. Esther was trying to earn extra money—and stability—for her family by selling cakes and grilled meat, but she didn’t have the resources she needed to make her business profitable. 

Women in Malawi struggle to gain access to capital and markets. Tools that American entrepreneurs might take for granted (access to electricity, credit cards, business loans and the Internet) aren’t readily available in Malawi’s villages. Other barriers—including gender-based violence and a lack of representation in governmental leadership roles—make it even harder for Malawi’s female entrepreneurs to get ahead. 

Thanks to donations to Cross International, Esther was able to take advantage of an empowering program run by one of our partner organizations, the Ambuya Development Center. The program teaches local women how to run a profitable small business at an average cost of just $39 per participant. Esther was welcomed into a supportive network of female entrepreneurs and given access to a two-year cycle of microloans to help her increase her earning potential. 

Esther began by borrowing $13 to buy a pig. Through a system called kuvuula, she loans the pig to her neighbors to breed and receives half the piglets. She sells those piglets for cash to pay for her son’s school tuition. Following business best practices, Esther then diversified. She began purchasing and reselling food and took out a second microloan to buy two cows. She used some of her profits to buy and install solar-powered security lights to keep her growing business safe. 

Because of your generosity to Cross International, Esther can afford to educate her son. That education will have a life-long impact on their family and their community. When you give to the Thriving Kids Africa campaign, you are giving to proven church-based programs that help families like Esther’s escape poverty—and know God’s love.  

Help support other female small business owners and their children by giving to the Thriving Kids Africa campaign. 

Sources: “Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equality: Malawi.” USAID. Accessed 12 November, 2019. 

“The World Bank in Malawi,” The World Bank. Accessed 12 November, 2019. 

“School Completion Rates,” Unicef. November 2019.