All about Phunzira


Phunzira's Mission
"To help provide academic and non-academic health and educational assistance
to impoverished children and adults in the north of Malawi"

Phunzira's Mission

"To help provide academic and non-academic health and educational assistance

to impoverished children and adults in the north of Malawi"

Phunzira is a UK-based charity that was founded in 2009 in order to help impoverished children and adults in the north of Malawi to receive better education and health care. Our main objective is to provide resources and materials to the people of Ruarwe and its surrounding villages, and to create an approachable and healthy environment that focuses on long-term, sustainable community development. We believe in the notion of collective responsibility and awareness, and seek to initiate grassroots projects that encourage social and economic growth whilst always maintaining a focus on community and individual empowerment.

Where-are-we?

	Ruarwe is a small fishing village located along the northern shores of lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyasa), roughly 60km north of Nkhata Bay and 500km north of the capital Lilongwe. It is an extremely rural and beautiful part of the country which suffers from lack of infrastructure: there are no roads, no power grids and limited phone reception.
Map of Malawi		Map of Ruarwe

Who-are-we?

Rosa Jacobs (Project Co-Ordinator) Rosa has spent more than 15 years working and operating in the charitable sphere on both a paid and voluntary basis, as well as partaking in numerous youth leadership schemes in England and abroad. After completing a BA in literature (Birmingham University, 2004) and a BSc in mathematics (King's College London, 2007), she went to the north of Malawi to teach mathematics at a secondary school in Nkhata Bay and worked in various educational arenas throughout the year. In 2008 she spent 2 months in Ruarwe before returning to the UK and in 2009 Phunzira was founded. She now works full-time in Malawi co-ordinating Phunzira's projects on the ground.

Rosa Jacobs (Project Co-Ordinator)
Rosa has spent more than 15 years working and operating in the charitable sphere on both a paid and voluntary basis, as well as partaking in numerous youth leadership schemes in England and abroad. After completing a BA in literature (Birmingham University, 2004) and a BSc in mathematics (King's College London, 2007), she went to the north of Malawi to teach mathematics at a secondary school in Nkhata Bay and worked in various educational arenas throughout the year. In 2008 she spent 2 months in Ruarwe before returning to the UK and in 2009 Phunzira was founded. She now works full-time in Malawi co-ordinating Phunzira's projects on the ground.

	Georgina Angel (Health Co-Ordinator) Georgina qualified as a doctor from Birmingham University in 2007. She completed her foundation programme in the South East Thames NHS Training Scheme. Her keen interest in HIV and tropical medicine and strong desire to work in Africa led her to a rural hospital in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, where she worked for a year. She has experience in paediatrics, infectious diseases, obstetrics, and emergency care, as well as community health and outreach projects. In 2011 she visited the project in Ruarwe to volunteer as a doctor and re-open the local health centre, and has since joined Phunzira full-time to work in community health development.

Georgina Angel (Health Co-Ordinator)
Georgina qualified as a doctor from Birmingham University in 2007. She completed her foundation programme in the South East Thames NHS Training Scheme. Her keen interest in HIV and tropical medicine and strong desire to work in Africa led her to a rural hospital in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, where she worked for a year. She has experience in paediatrics, infectious diseases, obstetrics, and emergency care, as well as community health and outreach projects. In 2011 she visited the project in Ruarwe to volunteer as a doctor and re-open the local health centre, and has since joined Phunzira full-time to work in community health development.