LOTHIANS police officers raised more than £8000 for a hospital in Malawi by cycling to Paris.
They handed over the cheque to the Malawian consul Colin Cameron at the Scottish Parliament yesterday.
They were met by MSPs Andy Kerr and Robin Harper, and many Malawians living in Edinburgh.
They received a warm welcome when they arrived in the French capital after the 220-mile journey and now plan to make the Auld Alliance Charity Cycle Ride an annual event.
They have persuaded dozens of French and Belgian police to take part next year and hope up to 200 cyclists could take to the roads.
Allan Prentice, the Lothian and Borders force's head of finance, came up with the idea to raise funds for Malawi Ekwendeni Hospital and Nyumbani Aids Orphans in Kenya.
Mr Prentice said: "When we arrived in Paris, we were treated like royalty. We were met by the director of the police and two motorcyclists. We were joined by 30 more officers. They even had a police band playing for us."
Twenty officers and staff from the force, as well as colleagues from Fife and Strathclyde, completed the 220-mile journey.
The cyclists made their journey from the Scottish Parliament to Paris via Belgium - using the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry - in four days in September.
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
We had to do something...
EDUCATION adviser Iain Mills spent a week in Malawi and was shocked by some of the sights he saw, including young children forced to walk barefoot for miles to reach their school.
Some attended lessons because it was the only place they could go to get food. Others were forced to sit on the floor of tiny classrooms crammed with nearly 200 children.
Yet, despite the obvious poverty, the children were all desperate to learn about maths, English and agricultural studies — and they never stopped smiling.
On returning to Inverclyde, Iain and his colleague, enterprise development officer Robert Lamb, vowed they would do everything they could to help.
Having established contacts in the Chiradzulu district of Malawi, they are now building the foundations for links with schools in Inverclyde.
Already, seven primary schools and three secondary schools have been paired with schools in Chiradzulu.
Iain said: “We’re hoping the links will be enterprise links, rather than charity links, with the emphasis being on helping schools there to help themselves.
“We hope to have fair trade events in Inverclyde with goods made in Malawi on sale and all the profits will go back to the Malawi schools.”
Inverclyde kids will also be encouraged to collect goods such as flip-flops and baseball caps to be sent to Malawi for children to sell at local markets. Again, all proceeds will be channelled into school projects decided by the African children.
Iain said: “We would want their pupils to have a say on the projects. They might want to build new toilets, improve water supplies or buy text books.
“What we saw in Malawi had considerable impact on us. Conditions in the primary schools, in particular, were very poor. None of them had electricity, and sanitation and water supplies were very basic.
“Most classrooms had no furniture, other than a blackboard, and pupils sat on the floor in semi-darkness. Some classes had 170 to 180 pupils. They were so crowded you could hardly see the floor. Resources for teaching were almost non-existent.”
HIV and AIDS are causing major problems, with the Malawi Government estimating 14.2 per cent of the population is infected. Unofficial statistics place the adult infection rate much higher, and it is believed more than 30 per cent of the adult population is affected in some areas.
Each school Iain and Robert visited during their Scottish Government-funded trip had an Aids committee battling to provide education on HIV and prevention of the disease.
Their efforts are hampered by witch doctors in the area who all claim they can cure AIDS.
Iain said: “We came away with a feeling we had to do something. If Inverclyde schools can do even a small amount to help their partner schools, it will make a real difference. In a country where people may only earn a few pence a day, what doesn’t seem like a lot of help to us can seem massive to them.” While in Malawi, Iain and Robert handed over luminous bibs that will be worn by pupils during team sports.
THE bibs will also be worn by children who have to walk miles along dark dirt tracks to get home and are in constant danger of being knocked down by car drivers who cannot see them.
Councillor Stephen McCabe, the leader of Inverclyde Council and education convener, is keen to encourage Inverclyde youngsters to do all they can to help.
He said: “Our Malawi Schools Partnership is a fantastic initiative.
“Our pupils will develop social and cultural links with children from the Chiradzulu District, and this will build awareness of global issues and citizenship. The links will be enterprise-based with schools exchanging goods to sell, sharing ideas and working together.
“Inverclyde Council is delighted to support the national agenda of encouraging educational links between Scotland and Malawi. I look forward to seeing our Malawi Schools Partnership develop.”
Cru launches Malawi ethical investment venture
INVESTMENT management company Cru has publicly launched a venture for specific ethical investment in Malawi’s agricultural sector.
It wants to raise £30m in the first half of 2008 to secure 20,000 hectares of land additional to that it has already acquired.
Cardiff-based Cru will use Africa Invest to establish a commercial agricultural business in Malawi, with the aim of making profit and alleviating poverty.
The company has been tested for the last two years to see how successful it could be.
It has been expanding its senior management team, providing for greater operational control of the farms, focusing on crop selection on high-value export markets and a major expansion to its outgrowers schemes.
The company has established 8,000 outgrowers (small scale producers), 6,500 producing paprika and 1,500 producing chillies – and its returns on capital in 2008 are forecast to be between 35% and 45%, with total investments totalling £1.8m so far.
Cru says 50% of the 20,000 hectares of land it acquires in the first half of 2008 will be placed under irrigation and two paprika processing plants will be established to deal with 6,000 tonnes of paprika. It wants Africa Invest to become a major exporter of bird’s eye chillies and herbs – with field tests on mint and basil already in place.
Jon Maguire, CEO of Cru, said, “Investment into Africa Invest has two principal profit drivers; land and food. We create our farming land bank from two sources; leasehold, which is customary land that cannot be sold, and freehold, principally former tobacco estates.
“We acquire arable land for less than £250 per hectare and by international standards this is extremely low.
“For instance, compared to UK arable land, our land is at a 95% discount. As pressure for farmland grows globally Malawi farmland prices should rise substantially.
“Food prices are rising strongly. Arable land is being put to biofuel, reducing supply for food. Population growth, particularly in developing countries, is increasing demand for food. Thus, with supply falling and demand rising the outlook for higher food prices, and increased profits for us, is bright.”
Mr Maguire said investment in Africa would provide far more positive results than simply donating aid. “In such a short time, Africa Invest now financially engages with some 80,000 Malawians, helping to lift them out of poverty, this includes our outgrower schemes which are family run,” he said. “When I first went to these rural areas the people and their villages had no money, some had never even seen money.
“Now it’s different, money empowers them and this has significant knock-on effects to the local wider economy. Africa Invest is employing 2,400 people, providing them wages three times higher than average and offering a career path to all.
“We have established a feeding programme at every one of our farms, providing nourishing porridge four times a week to 1,450 orphaned and malnourished children, Aids victims and the elderly.”
Cru will raise its £30m by opening a collective fund allowing for charities and institutions to invest as well as offering a structured product allowing for retail UK investors to in-vest.
The product would be capital guaranteed and Cru said it is confident the money can be raised by next May.
It wants to raise £30m in the first half of 2008 to secure 20,000 hectares of land additional to that it has already acquired.
Cardiff-based Cru will use Africa Invest to establish a commercial agricultural business in Malawi, with the aim of making profit and alleviating poverty.
The company has been tested for the last two years to see how successful it could be.
It has been expanding its senior management team, providing for greater operational control of the farms, focusing on crop selection on high-value export markets and a major expansion to its outgrowers schemes.
The company has established 8,000 outgrowers (small scale producers), 6,500 producing paprika and 1,500 producing chillies – and its returns on capital in 2008 are forecast to be between 35% and 45%, with total investments totalling £1.8m so far.
Cru says 50% of the 20,000 hectares of land it acquires in the first half of 2008 will be placed under irrigation and two paprika processing plants will be established to deal with 6,000 tonnes of paprika. It wants Africa Invest to become a major exporter of bird’s eye chillies and herbs – with field tests on mint and basil already in place.
Jon Maguire, CEO of Cru, said, “Investment into Africa Invest has two principal profit drivers; land and food. We create our farming land bank from two sources; leasehold, which is customary land that cannot be sold, and freehold, principally former tobacco estates.
“We acquire arable land for less than £250 per hectare and by international standards this is extremely low.
“For instance, compared to UK arable land, our land is at a 95% discount. As pressure for farmland grows globally Malawi farmland prices should rise substantially.
“Food prices are rising strongly. Arable land is being put to biofuel, reducing supply for food. Population growth, particularly in developing countries, is increasing demand for food. Thus, with supply falling and demand rising the outlook for higher food prices, and increased profits for us, is bright.”
Mr Maguire said investment in Africa would provide far more positive results than simply donating aid. “In such a short time, Africa Invest now financially engages with some 80,000 Malawians, helping to lift them out of poverty, this includes our outgrower schemes which are family run,” he said. “When I first went to these rural areas the people and their villages had no money, some had never even seen money.
“Now it’s different, money empowers them and this has significant knock-on effects to the local wider economy. Africa Invest is employing 2,400 people, providing them wages three times higher than average and offering a career path to all.
“We have established a feeding programme at every one of our farms, providing nourishing porridge four times a week to 1,450 orphaned and malnourished children, Aids victims and the elderly.”
Cru will raise its £30m by opening a collective fund allowing for charities and institutions to invest as well as offering a structured product allowing for retail UK investors to in-vest.
The product would be capital guaranteed and Cru said it is confident the money can be raised by next May.
Malawi grounded in transit
Malawi's netballers are having trouble getting to the world championships in New Zealand for a second time after they were delayed in South Africa due to apparent visa irregularities.
The African side, who open the tournament against defending champions New Zealand here on Saturday night, were expected to arrive in Auckland last night but their arrival has been delayed for more than 24 hours after they were held up in Johannesburg.
A tournament spokesman said it appeared the team had not organised transit visas for a stopover in Sydney.
They are due to touch down about midnight.
The African minnows also experienced difficulty travelling to Christchurch in 1999, the last time the world championships were held in New Zealand.
They were delayed by four days by a hurricane and disembarked without playing uniforms.
Fortunately a local clothing supplier kitted the side out.
New Zealander's generosity has again been apparent after it was revealed yesterday Malawi's accommodation arrangements in Auckland ended a day before they were due to fly out on November 18 - the day after the final.
However, organisers had received about 50 calls from individuals and businesses offering to accommodate the 19 players and seven management for the missing night.
The African side, who open the tournament against defending champions New Zealand here on Saturday night, were expected to arrive in Auckland last night but their arrival has been delayed for more than 24 hours after they were held up in Johannesburg.
A tournament spokesman said it appeared the team had not organised transit visas for a stopover in Sydney.
They are due to touch down about midnight.
The African minnows also experienced difficulty travelling to Christchurch in 1999, the last time the world championships were held in New Zealand.
They were delayed by four days by a hurricane and disembarked without playing uniforms.
Fortunately a local clothing supplier kitted the side out.
New Zealander's generosity has again been apparent after it was revealed yesterday Malawi's accommodation arrangements in Auckland ended a day before they were due to fly out on November 18 - the day after the final.
However, organisers had received about 50 calls from individuals and businesses offering to accommodate the 19 players and seven management for the missing night.
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