Africa Bags visits Malawi

An U.S. non profit Africa Bags is planning a trip to Africa to visit the people it helps. Africa Bags employs people in Malawi to make the reusable shopping bags. U. S. volunteers from the non-profit will make a trip to Malawi to bring school supplies and to volunteer at a village school and health clinic.

From The Reporter Herald, writer Sarah Bultema gives us more details about the trip.

This Friday, about 17 members of the community — from families to college students — will meet in Malawi to volunteer in the villages, train more people to make the bags and drop off supplies for schools.

“We wanted to include volunteers who’ve helped us sell bags, to get them over to Malawi and see the problems of poverty and also to see how the project’s been helping,” Petitt said.

During their two weeks in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, the volunteers will help wherever they’re needed, including at a nursery and a crisis care center.

They also will drop off the 1,000 pounds of supplies that were collected in Loveland, including supplies to improve the schools.

And along with lending a hand, the volunteers will see the progress the nonprofit is helping make for the citizens.

In the five villages that participate with the program, many have used the proceeds from the bags to create community funds that help sustain the village. Some of these projects include raising chickens and selling the eggs, starting a garden to feed orphans and offering micro-loans so others can start businesses.