The Unity Foundation in Luxembourg is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year; it works with local partners in a total of eight countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia, to support educational projects in disadvantaged regions.
It supports two main action lines: community schools for young children, and preparation for social action for young adults aged 15+. Projects are supported 66% by the Luxembourg government following approval by the relevant ministry, and the remainder from fundraising by the Unity Foundation - the latter comes from private donations, corporate donations (e.g. Linklaters in Luxembourg), municipalities, schools, LuxCharity (an eCommerce platform) and various fund-raising initiatives and events. Its office in the Val-Ste-Croix is operated by a staff of four.
This week, Mrs. Maina Mkandawire from the Bambino Foundation in Malawi, is in Luxembourg for a series of meetings: On Monday she visited St George's International School and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, on Tuesday she met with the Luxembourg Foundation and on Wednesday she is to visit the International School Luxembourg, as well as liaising with representatives of the Unity Foundation on the progress of the Malawi project. At the schools she is informing students about the life of children in Malawi and how their fund-raising helps.
Her meeting with the Luxembourg Foundation allowed her to present the status of operations on the ground for the umbrella organisation's constituent foundations to decide on future funding above the €30,000 provided in 2015. The Luxembourg Foundation was founded in 2008 as an intermediary between donors (private foundations) and government-recognised NGOs, providing technical, legal and administrative support. It currently is the umbrella organisation for 60 foundations which each have their own management committees.
The current 5-year project with the Bambino Foundation started in 2015 and is the second such project supported by the Unity Foundation since 2011. The total budget amounts to €847k, with €565k coming from the Ministry, €30k from the Luxembourg Foundation, €12k from the municipalities of Pétange and Luxembourg, with the remaining €240 for the Unity Foundation to fund-raise themselves.
Maina Mkandawire explained to The Luxembourg Chronicle that the Bambino Foundation trains a community of school teachers so that they will be able to teach in pre-schools which are organised at a community level in Malawi, for example in villages comprising circa 50 households. The Bambino Foundation employs 10 trainers for this "train-the-trainer" initiative; the teachers (when trained) do not receive payment by the foundation, but do so by the community. Another thing that the foundation does is to bring the unity together of the community, including getting across the basic concept of education. Many girls attend primary school for just three years and then get married, aged 12 years.
In the past 5 years, the Bambino Foundation has trained 122 teachers who now teach nearly 3,000 children in 51 schools across Malawi. The teachers to be trained may not be the most educated but are based in the community; their training also gives them a chance in their community too.
The Unity Foundation is currently planning a number of special events to celebrate their 25th anniversary this year, including a year-end Gala.
Photo by Geoff Thompson (L-R): Petra Penders (Luxembourg Foundation); Maina Mkandawire (Bambino Foundation, Malawi); Yves Wiltgen (Unity Foundation); Claudine Winkel (Unity Foundation).
