It’s almost two years on from a devastating fire which “incinerated” a Portadown-based charity’s building and its contents, but today, the charity delightedly announce that they are in a much better place and are actively continuing to “save lives”.
The Malawi Projects – a charity which work to improve the lives of impoverished people in Malawi through medical support, education and financial assistance – lost their “donated” premises on the Clontylew Road, Portadown in the fire which broke out at the end of June 2023.
The shop – which received public donations of bric-a-brac – had been a vital factor in the group’s fundraising efforts and its loss left the charity facing an uncertain future.
However, today Project Founder Brian Smyth announces that the charity – with considerable help from the community near and far – have risen like a phoenix from the ashes as work continues from their new premises on the Cornascriebe Road, Portadown.
Speaking to Armagh I, Brian explained of their move to the new location: “It was formerly a snooker hall with 15 snooker tables in it. We had somebody call us up out of the blue when the last premises was destroyed and offered it to us. We signed the lease in August and moved into it in December.
Related: Portadown charity desperately seek premises after fundraising shop ‘incinerated’
“We were literally going to run out of money and opened slightly prematurely but we just built it up since then and we just keep going.
“Unbelievably, we had immense support from the community and lifted over £11,000 in a GoFundMe page. We have been going from strength to strength and we firmly believe now that we can continue this for decades.
“We have a sound base with a long term lease and we are committed. Things have improved significantly and we hope they will continue to.”
The charity are also in the latter stages of having a celebratory mural painted on the outside wall of their new property which Brian says “tells the story” of the vital work the organisation are involved with in Africa.
Of the mural – which is being painted by Denise from Compact Mural Designs in Dublin – Brian explained: “What we do in Malawi is to provide medical supplies, education to young women and provide people with interest free loans and that is all depicted in the mural.
“Last night we were here to midnight with a projector outlining the mural and today we are perhaps having to take a break with the rain but I’m delighted. I’m excited and it’s going to be spectacular.”
The mural measuring approximately 40ft by 20ft will most notably depict an ambulance, a farmer and a woman reading beneath a tree. Each element symbolic of the Malawi Projects’ work.
The finished mural
Added Brian: “I hope people will understand that this is what we do in Africa. We send £3,600 a month and this is what comes out of it.
“The ambulance sees thousands of people a month, the young woman is working in her own farm, that we have leant her the money to set up and then there’s a young woman under the tree reading a book and that represents the education that we have provided to young people who would have been in an orphanage.”
So secure is the charity’s new situation that they have now made plans to visit Malawi in October – which will be their first return in four years.
Once there, Brian says they have plans to “see what our funding has done” and to work out what they need to do next.
“We can’t decide that,” Brian explained. “We have always been Malawi led and so before we do anything we will ask the people what they need.”
One of their greatest achievements in the last two years has been in their contribution to the construction of a Mother and Baby Unit in the north of the country.
Said Brian: “We funded a Mother and Baby Unit because the babies were quite literally dying.
“We donated a one-off £1000 – because we generally don’t do handouts – but we knew the babies were dying and we said we would give it if they came up with a scheme to make it sustainable in the long term.
“About a year later they eventually came back to us and explained that the women there could have to walk up to 20k to get their grain milled, with heavy sacks on their heads.
“So they said if they had a mill there, the locals would be able to use it and they would pay for the service they pay for anyway and that would make the unit sustainable.
“So we funded that to the tune of £6,500 this year and we are busting to go up and see it. Some of the photos of the babies that are alive today are just incredible.
“If someone comes into the shop to buy today, I can literally look them in the eye and say, “You have saved a life”.”
