Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Exchange Volunteer Ms. Soukaina Bouihi
FOMO (friends of Mulanje orphans), our partner organization in our site Mulanje, has started many income-generating projects to self-sustain and reduce their reliance on funds for the organizational operation of the orphans’ centers. FOMO independent secondary school is a major source of income for FOMO, whereby it charges only students who can pay and sponsor the orphans who come from the different centers.
FOMO Independent secondary school encourages students’ creativity by creating various clubs inside the school. The writers’ club was one of the clubs, we’ve got the chance to work with since Abdellah started his Multimedia project. FOMO has a decent infrastructure, which is favorable in the process of making a solid project with the students including the computer labs and FOMO recording studio. On the other hand, the motivation and dedication the students have showed towards the work they make and they continue making without the supervision of any one, made us see a huge potential and valuable asset, which could be used for creating a project, that enhance their potential and develop their talents.
That is how Mulanje Mag idea come to life. It is a multimedia platform dedicated for the promotion of Mulanje, its culture, its values, its development, demonstrated by its youth.
Mulanje Magazine publishes written articles, photo series, videos, and radio shows, throughout their official website and Youtube channel.
The aim of creating the magazine, is to promote Mulanje and its youth, through covering stories which portraits stories of success, future and development of the people of Mulanje. Having a solid platform allows the youth to express their thoughts, tell their stories and raise concerns effecting their communities. It gives them a voice and shade the light of their potential and talents. Mulanje Magazine also helps them have an open mind and fuel their drive towards creating future opportunities and projects.
Our contribution to this project as CorpsAfrica Volunteers was to help the team with a number of skills building workshops and equip them with basic technics and tools to produce stories about their community and their lives. However they fully grasp the truth, about the only way you learn how to do better at something is by doing it and redoing it. The magazine represents an opportunity for them to practice their skills, develop their talents and discover their abilities and talents.
We are happy to invite you to read their first stories at mulanjemag.blogspot.com
Don’t forget to like Mulanje Mag facebook page. It would be a huge support for us.