RIPPLE Africa would like to wish all of our friends a very Happy New Year, and although 2012 has only just begun, we already have lots of exciting RIPPLE news to share with you. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll be telling you about some of the amazing volunteers, donors, partners, and projects that have dominated RIPPLE life as of late, and we have lots of exciting videos from Malawi which we hope you’ll love. Make sure and check back to our blog frequently so you don’t miss anything, or join us on Facebook or Twitter!

First up to report is the story of Rob and Nikki, a husband and wife team who worked in Malawi as a volunteer doctor and physiotherapist for the last couple months of 2011. As a husband and wife team, Rob and Nikki had a unique volunteer experience being able to work together in a health scenario in Malawi, where there would be little room for cross-over in their home of Australia. You can read all about their story by clicking here. Rob and Nikki’s story is the second we’ve posted as of late, having also recently published the story of Patrick, who volunteered in the first half of 2011. You can read about Patrick’s story by clicking here.

Check back soon for more RIPPLE Africa news!

Vicki, one of RIPPLE Africa’s previous healthcare volunteers, has organised an event to raise money for RIPPLE Africa and for MAN (Malawi Association Northamptonshire) which will be held tonight, Saturday 10 December 2011, in the Function Room at the Cripps Recreation Centre at Northampton General Hospital, from 7:30pm to 11:30pm. Tickets are £10, and the evening features:

• Jerry Elliott: Professional African drummer from Northampton’s Ginger Pig Band
• Silvaa King: Zimbabwean rapper who will be singing at the Olympics 2012
• Malipenga Dancers: Traditional dancers from Malawi

Matt Round will be DJing, and there will be a bar all evening plus a raffle and a curio stall selling traditional African carved wooden items.

If you are in or around Northampton tonight and want to start your Christmas celebrations, then do come and join us!

Mother and son combo, Nicola and Will Adams, recently volunteered for RIPPLE Africa during the month of October.  The pair are our first mother-and-son-team of volunteers who have travelled to experience volunteering together- Nicola as a healthcare volunteer, and Will working on education and environmental projects.  The pair signed up to RIPPLE Africa just 6 weeks before beginning their volunteering, however in such a short time, they managed not only to organise themselves to prepare for their time in Malawi, but to organise a fundraising campaign too.  The pair have raised over £3000- an AMAZING feat in such a short space of time- and the money has been put to excellent use including bicycle ambulances, a much needed operation for a child in the community, and support for RIPPLE Africa’s ongoing projects in Malawi.  We just wanted to say a huge thank you to Nicola and Will for their hard work in Malawi, and their fantastic efforts in community fundraising for the charity.

As a thank you to their own donors, Will and Nicola have created the video below showing their time in Malawi and the way their donations were spent:

RIPPLE Africa really values our community fundraisers, who are the bread and butter of our charity’s financial support.  With our new website blog, we hope to feature more of our special fundraisers as they continue to meet their targets and make a huge difference to RIPPLE Africa.

For RIPPLE Africa, our staff are our family and make the charity and Mwaya Beach all that it is.  It is with this in mind that it has been a particularly sad year for RIPPLE Africa, as SIX members of our staff have died since January.  The most recent losses are those of Cheya (gardener and day watchman) and Peter (retired, but previously a gardener and manager) died, and we are asking volunteers and friends of RIPPLE Africa to make a donation in their memory so that we can help their families.

Cheya was born in 1939, and he started work at Mwaya Beach in 1996 with Kristin, the previous owner of the property. He is survived by a wife and eight children, the youngest ones being 2, 6, and 8 years old. He was a lovely man who was completely reliable and honest. He always had a smile, and it was reassuring to have him at Mwaya Beach. Latterly, he suffered some illness and died of heart failure.

Peter had been retired for several years due to poor health, but his son Lawrence (the gardener) has been working in his place. Previous volunteers will remember Peter who worked as a gardener and previously as a manager, and he helped Kristin to build many of the original buildings. He is survived by his wife and we are not sure how many children. He was a gentle, kind man who provided many years of loyal service to Mwaya Beach.

If you knew Cheya or Peter and would like to contribute to their families in their memory, please make a donation here.

Both men will be very sadly missed.

RIPPLE Africa is extremely pleased to announce the launch of our brand new website! It has taken many months, lots of late nights, and plenty of hard work, however our website is now looking better than ever. The new site is packed full of information, photographs, and video and includes lots of new features, such as our own news blog which will allow RIPPLE Africa’s friends and followers to keep up to date with everything happening in the world of RIPPLE. It’s now easier than ever to keep up to date with all the wonderful things happening at Mwaya – and if you can’t get enough of our website – we’re now on Twitter and Facebook too! We hope you have a good browse, and check back regularly to read about the charity’s updates and events as they unfold. We hope you enjoy the new site, and hope this inaugural blog entry is the first of many.