Teacher's effort helps children in Malawi

By ISAAC KESTENBAUM, News Assistant
One Maine woman's effort to help a friend in Malawi has grown into a international nonprofit organization.
"It's kind of snowballed," said Hebron Academy teacher Janet Littlefield, founder of Friends of Little Field Home, which provides food, shelter, education and health care to orphaned children in Chigamba Village in Malawi, a country in southern Africa.
Originally from Union, Littlefield taught school in Malawi in 1998 as a Peace Corps volunteer, but had to cut her stay short when she fell ill. Instead of the usual two years, Littlefield spent a little under a year there.
But it was enough time to forge a lasting connection with Shaiebu Kaliati, an orphaned young man who had been one of her students.
In Malawi, high school is not free, and Littlefield began paying for Kaliati to attend.
"It just seemed so unfair to me," Littlefield said of her inspiration to pay for Kaliati's education. "I think a kid should never have to fight for food, shelter or education."
The two kept in touch after Kaliati graduated. Once, recalled Littlefield, "our conversation turned more into a philanthropic discussion of the state of Malawi and the plight of the kids." Malawi has many orphans, in part due to a high rate of AIDS.
Kaliati told Littlefield that it would cost $800 to build a home for 20 orphans in his home village of Chigamba.
"That's when it hit me that you don't have to be really wealthy to make a difference," Littlefield said. "I did a bake sale and a yard sale and raised money to help these 20 kids." The orphanage was named Little Field Home by its builders, in honor of its sponsor.
Littlefield began sending more money for more projects, paying for other students to attend school. "It was just me raising money and working on the weekends and sending money to help kids go to school,"she said.
It was not until last year that Friends of Little Field Home became an official charitable non profit organization, complete with an executive board and a five-year plan to build a medical facility, a school, more homes and send more students to high school. A 14-person committee, selected by Kaliati, runs the operation in Malawi.
Friends of Little Field Home have also planned several fundraisers. A benefit auction will take place at 6 p.m. April 28 at the Nutrition Center in Lewiston, and Hebron Academy will host a "walk-a-thon" at Hebron on 11 a.m. May 6.
This summer, for the second year in a row, Littlefield will lead an trip to Malawi, along with several teachers and two nurses. She's also bringing nine students. "It will definitely be an eye-opener for them," Littlefield said. "They'll see that one person can make a difference."
News Assistant Isaac Kestenbaum can be contacted at 791-6308 or at:
ikestenbaum@pressherald.com.