Temwa hosts Royal Visit at UK Headquarters in Bristol

Temwa was honoured to welcome Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester and cousin of the Queen, alongside the Lord Lieutenant for Bristol, Peaches Golding, OBE, to the charity’s UK HQ in Bristol.

The Royal Visit, which took place on Thursday 13th July, was arranged to raise awareness of the charity’s essential work in remote, rural areas of northern Malawi – where 40% of the population live on less than £1 a day, 16% are HIV-positive, and one in three people struggle to feed themselves each day.

The Duke and Lord Lieutenant were introduced to the work Temwa is doing in northern Malawi, helping to combat the country’s ongoing food crisis as well as facilitating long term, community-owned and community-led projects in education, health, agriculture and forestry. The Royal Visit raised awareness of Temwa’s summer campaign, ‘A Future Without Hunger’ ; a festival ticket giveaway where donors can win tickets to sold out festivals Boomtown, Shambala and Bestival.

The Malawi High Commission in London was represented by Ms. Quent Kalichero, Deputy High Commissioner. Temwa was also honoured to welcome The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Lesley Alexander. Representing Temwa, alongside co-founders Mrs Jo Hook and Mrs Sophie Guise, were Temwa’s Chairman of The Board and CTO of Microsoft UK, Mr Richard Potter, Temwa Trustees, Mr Martin Collins and Mrs Mary Maybin.

Artwork by Malawian artists and Temwa’s ethical gift store were on display at Kambe House, Temwa’s UK headquarters in Bristol, alongside Mr Adam Dickens’ photography, taken for Temwa whilst on location in Malawi.

Malawian music was provided by Mr Mattias Stalnache of Sparedog Records, a Bristol based fairtrade organisation which releases and promotes music from Malawi. The label records a range of original contemporary music from talented artists, in a place where professional recording studios are scarce. Visitors had the opportunity to show off their dancing skills!

Mr Simon Barnes, Chair of the Brunswick and Portland Square Committee, opened the event with an enlightening and highly informative speech about the history and architecture of Portland Square and Kambe House where Temwa is headquartered in the UK.

Temwa’s Managing Director and Co-founder, Mrs Jo Hook, introduced the work Temwa is doing in remote areas of northern Malawi. Founded in 2003, the sustainable development charity runs projects to combat the country’s ongoing food crisis. The only NGO working in the region, Temwa helps to facilitate long term, community-owned and community-led projects in education, health, agriculture and forestry.

A short video demonstrated the life-changing, and in many cases life-saving, community projects in Nkhata Bay North, on the northern shores of Lake Malawi. Further presentations included a speech by long-term donor and Trustee, Mr Martin Collins and Mr Dan Yeo, former Temwa intern and long-term supporter talked of his experience working for Temwa, both of whom have spent time in Malawi.

Mr Yeo pioneered Temwa’s internship programme, which today has strong links to The University of Bristol. His work experience at Temwa was instrumental in providing a sound foundation for his career in Communications, which has gone from strength to strength.

Over the years, Temwa has been supported by a number of corporate sponsors and local partners, many of whom were able to attend on the day, alongside Temwa’s Malawian supporters in the UK. Some of these include Pieminister, Soukitchen, Shambala Festival, Boomtown Fair, The University of Bristol, Pukka Herbs, Chauncey’s Flooring, Yadda, SIFT and Wells Chiropractic and Osteopathy Centre.

Not only was the Royal Visit was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible work Temwa is doing, as well as the significant progress that has been made since 2003 with limited resources, it was also an excellent opportunity to thank supporters and stress the ongoing need and urgency for their work to continue in the future.