VIP Named Finalist in Global .ORG Impact Awards
Since our inception, VIP has kept a simple promise – to work side-by-side with our brothers and sisters in rural Malawi, listening to what they need and helping them build their own future. That is why we’re so excited to be named a finalist for the 2024 .ORG Impact Awards in the Hunger and Poverty category. This honor isn’t just for our organization – it’s for everyone who has been part of this journey together.
VIP was chosen as one of just 35 finalists from more than 1,700 organizations across 87 countries. This October, we joined the other amazing finalists and special guest Alan Cumming at the awards ceremony to celebrate groups making real change in their communities. We are humbled to be counted among such incredible changemakers from around the world.
Our work shows what can happen when we truly partner with communities. Working together with families in rural southern Malawi, we’ve helped bring clean water to thousands of people through more than 140 water points that local residents maintain themselves. The Khanda Health Center, once just a dream, now treats children for malaria and other life-threatening diseases, serving thousands of patients every week with medical care, eye care, and a maternity ward. And at One Heart Secondary School, young people who used to have few options for education are now following their dreams, with test scores among the highest in the region.
We’re especially excited about our newest project that tackles hunger and food insecurity head-on. We’re creating a 55-acre research/demonstration farm that will be a learning center for local farmers. Here, they will learn new ways to grow food even as climate change affects their growing season. Agricultural experts will test different farming methods to help families grow more food, not just for today but for years to come.
All our work is about more than just building things – it’s about giving people the tools they need for a better life. We focus on developing six basic resources with the communities: water, education, food security, healthcare, economic opportunity, and infrastructure. Our Malawian partners tell us what their communities need most, and they lead the way in making changes happen. We are proud to walk with them and are continually impressed by the hospitality, resilience, and faith of our Malawian siblings.
Being chosen for the .ORG Impact Awards shows that working as true partners really does make a difference. To everyone who supports us, works with us, and especially to our friends in Malawi: this honor belongs to all of you. Together, we’ll keep working until every community has what they need to succeed.
Want to be part of this exciting work? Learn more about our work, sign up for a life-changing Friendship Trip to Malawi, or make a donation today. Every action, big or small, helps create lasting change in partnership with our friends in Malawi.
