Updates

This year, skip the socks and surprise your loved ones with a truly boring Christmas present — a gift that funds an essential part of the new borehole water supply system for the Tikondane transit shelter for street children in Malawi!

Every contribution helps us reach the total project cost of MK 22,652,140 (approximately £10,000) for this hugely important water system.

£40 could buy part of the tank and pipes

£25 could buy a bag of cement. (We’ve said it before, but nothing says Christmas like a bag of cement)

£15 could buy all the brickforce wire needed

You can donate via justgiving.com/campaign/boring-christmas or directly into our bank account with the reference ‘Christmas’.

Once you have bought a boring Christmas present you can download a gift certificate to put under the tree.

We are pleased to announce our newest project: funding a borehole water supply system for Tikondane, the transit shelter in Malawi’s capital that NWT has supported since 2007.

Tikondane provides shelter, meals, counselling, and support to children who have been living on the streets. Tikondane’s social workers try to reunite the children with their extended families or their home village. On an average day, the shelter cares for about 25 children, and this number can rise to 60 during school holidays, serving over 700 children a year.

Currently, the project faces frequent water shortages, with the Lilongwe Water Board supply often being insufficient for the large number of children and day-to-day activities like cooking, washing, and cleaning. The transit shelter, which runs 24/7, views poor water supply as a risk that could lead to child sickness.

Our support will help fund the new borehole system, which will:

• Ensure proper care: Provide enough water for the proper care and safety of the children.
• Protect health: Help prevent the outbreak of diseases caused by water shortages.
• Support sustainability: Provide water for their demonstration vegetable garden and for soaking paper to make sustainable briquettes for cooking.
• Reduce costs: Help the project avoid high institutional water bills, freeing up funds for their main budget.

We are excited to help Tikondane secure this essential resource with your help, providing a reliable source of clean water and a healthier environment for the children in their care.

On May 30, 2025, the Nick Webber Trust will be 20 years old. In that time, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we’ve raised an incredible £917,397, and spent every last penny of it on helping the people of Malawi.

That money has gone an astonishingly long way. Unlike at bigger NGOs with sizable staffs and overheads to pay, donations to the Trust are spent exclusively on funding our projects. And because all of these projects are partnerships with the communities in Malawi we support, the value of every pound is multiplied.

In our first 20 years, we have

• Built 20 brick classrooms in five rural primary schools
• Built classrooms, a science and computer laboratory, a teacher’s house and a hostel at a secondary school, plus a nursery school, library, children’s centre, kitchen, toilets and vocational skills training block in the same village.
• Funded several hundred places at state boarding schools for children who had been living on the streets, and for others from disadvantaged backgrounds, having paid 1014 years’ worth of school fees, and 63 years’ worth of fees for college and university courses.
• Built a safe house for women and children fleeing domestic violence.
• Funded distributions of over 1200 reusable sanitary packs to female school pupils.
• Provided a fully-stocked law library to Malawi’s Legal Aid Department.
• Sponsored five students through the full four years of their law degrees.
• Helped establish the first palliative care centre in Malawi.
  …and much more. It is simply impossible to put a figure on the transformative impact of the Nick Webber Trust’s work in Malawian communities.
  
  With huge cuts being made to foreign aid budgets, in the UK, US and other developed nations, charitable giving is more needed than ever. Help us reach £1 million in the Trust’s 21^st year – we need to raise £82,603 in the next 12 months to reach our target.
  
  Sr Marie Sakana, project co-ordinator at the Tikondane Centre for Street Children, in Lilongwe, describes the Trust as “a partner we can rely on,” in an ongoing 18-year relationship.
  
  “We have seen a lot of changes in the lives of the children who had once lost hope in their life but found another meaning to life with this support,” she says. Read more from Sr Marie Sakana.
  
  In recent years, enabling more girls to remain in education has been a major focus for the Trust. We have built safe hostels and provided desks and reusable sanitary packs. Esther, deputy headteacher of Mzuzi secondary school, says that the sanitary packs have reduced absenteeism, promoted menstrual hygiene, reduced menstrual poverty and empowered girls to stay in school. “Girls are able to attend classes regularly as their menstruation hygiene needs are met leading to improved educational outcomes,” she says. “Managing their menstruation with dignity and confidence allows our girls to focus on their studies.”
  
  In December 2023, Malawi’s Women Lawyers Association (WLA) launched a safehouse for gender-based violence survivors in Lilongwe, built by the Trust. The house has four large bedrooms, each capable of accommodating a family while they make more permanent arrangements. “The legal assistance we provide is not enough if the survivors are not in a safe space,” says Pachalo Mwenelupembe, a member of the WLA. We are thankful to the Nick Webber Trust for funding this project and we look forward to further collaborations in all matters advancing the rights of women and girls.”
  
  Many of the graduates of the educational programmes we support have gone on to have successful careers and continue to give back to the community. Tadala Chinkwezule, for instance, one of five students whose undergraduate studies were funded by donors to the Trust, is a notary public, commissioner of oaths and certified International Arbitrator, and sits on several NGO boards. “When I was awarded the scholarship I was greatly honoured and delighted to be selected for such a prestigious award,” she says. “It was of great assistance especially as I was unable to personally cover for my tuition as at the time of pursuing my law degree both my beloved parents had passed on. I am forever grateful to the Nick Webber Trust Scholarship and for the many opportunities that it has given to others for them to advance their education for a brighter future.”

Come to help us celebrate the Trust’s first 20 years at our annual garden party on June 14th, from 2pm at 1 Apple Tree Walk, Clymping, West Sussex, BN17 5QN.

Sister Marie Sakana, project co-ordinator at the Tikondane Centre for Street Children describes the impact of NWT funded school places for the former street children they support in Lilongwe.

“We have seen a lot of changes in the lives of the children who had once lost hope in their life but found another meaning to life with this support.”

“Some of the children have managed to complete secondary schools, others have graduated from different colleges and universities. Some of them are now employed while others are doing different businesses and have become reliable citizens.

“Over the years Tikondane has witnessed some of the former children (now grown up) coming to support the children at the transit shelter, encouraging them to never lose hope, and even donating items to Tikondane to show their appreciation. Their lives will never be the same again!”

We have been funding school places at boarding schools, which provide these children with somewhere safe to be as well as an education, for the last 18 years. With your help, we will continue to do so.

Come and celebrate 20 years of the Nick Webber Trust at our annual Garden Party. As well as delicious cakes, tea, and sunshine the afternoon will feature a bring and buy stall, a plant stall, and a raffle for the famous Malawi Gin and other exciting prizes. And a chance to catch up on all our innovative projects in Malawi. (We think this might be our last garden party so do come and enjoy the ridiculously tasty cakes and wonderful atmosphere while you can.) As always, it will be held at 1 Apple Tree Walk, Clymping, West Sussex, BN17 5QN. No need to book, unless you would like a free pick-up from Ford station , in which case text Pauline beforehand on 07906243191. Do come, bring your friends, family, and/or dogs for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.We are so grateful for the huge amount of help we have received each year to put on these garden parties – from putting up marquees, making cakes, jams, tea and coffee, growing plants etc – you are all wonderful!