Project Malawi 2025

The Likhubula-Dunblane partnership is a link between the community of Dunblane and the community of Likhubula, a rural community in the Mulanje district of Malawi. Since June 2005 the partnership has directly supported projects focusing on clean water supplies, agriculture, and education, as well as maintaining friendship links between the two communities.

The Boys’ Brigade 25th Stirling (Dunblane) Company are next year giving 17 boys and 4 officers the opportunity to visit Malawi and support the work that is being done there. In order to help fund Project Malawi 25 and the work the boys hope to do, each person going has been given a challenge of trying to raise £1000 or more.  In order to do this, boys and officers are taking on lots of different challenges to raise the money, including busking, mountain bike racing, running races and climbing Ben Nevis.   Collectively, 25th Stirling (Dunblane) are also putting on lots of fundraising activities to help raise money including

 coffee mornings, whisky tasting, golf tournaments, quiz nights and many more fun events.  If you would like to find out more and help us in our venture, more details can be found here.

Malawi 2025 Update (November 2025)

Malawi 2025 – working together for a better future

• A Strong Partnership

Our BB company has built a firm friendship and strong connection with Dunblane’s partner community of Likhubula in Malawi since 2015, when we began making plans for Project Malawi 2016. This saw 17 young people from Dunblane BB and GB go to Likhubula where, in partnership with Scottish charity Classrooms for Malawi, they helped local tradespeople to refurbish and repaint 18 classrooms in Nansato and Pasani primary schools.

Three years later, another generation of BB senior boys took part in Project Malawi 2019, during which two brand new classrooms were built at Pasani school to help with ever growing attendance. In addition, roofs and rainwater drainage was improved and repainting work was completed on a number of classrooms.

Since that time our partnership has been based on regular small-scale fundraising to meet the needs of a community that is very much in the grip of the worst effects of a human induced climate emergency. Our support has included food aid in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Freddy and funds to repair the badly damaged Mary’s Meals cooking shelter following the devastating Cyclone Idai. We have also paid for the refurbishment of toilet blocks and purchased desks for Nansato school.

• Malawi 2025

The pandemic delayed our plans to return to Malawi but we are now well into our planning for Malawi 2025 where our new team of 17 young men and 4 BB officers will return to Likhubula to build on the partnership we began in 2015.

To help us identify where we can make the biggest difference, the focus of the trip will be on meeting and spending time with people their own age in Malawi. This will include high school bursars receiving support from Dunblane, students at Green Malata technical college, the STEKA school in Blantyre and one of the several Boys’ Brigade companies in Mulanje province. In addition they’ll take part in a two day global citizenship workshop looking at their place in the world, all led by Malawians.

• How you can support this work

Malawi 2025 will be lifechanging for those who take part and the fundraising for the trip is structured to ensure that all 17 boys can take part, regardless of individual families’ ability to pay.

The support of the church family in helping us to deliver this work is invaluable. From coffee mornings to prize draws to concerts, there are many ways of showing this support.  You can find details of all our events on our Malawi Facebook page bit.ly/malawi25facebook

And this year, for the first time, we are inviting people who are motivated to take a lead in supporting this work to become Patrons of Malawi 2025. Patrons will be invited to a pre-trip dinner with the boys to hear about our plans and preparations and also to a post-trip presentation where the boys will share their insights and experiences. Patrons will also receive a colour photobook of the trip and benefit from discounted tickets to a range of Malawi events in 2025.

The cost of becoming a Patron is £250.

If you are interested in becoming a Patron and championing this work, please email us on malawi25@dunblanebb.org.uk or call me on the number below.

Thank you for any support that you are able to provide.

Graeme McEwan

Officer, Project Malawi 2025

07734974026

Malawi 2025 Update (September 2025)

We are really keen to engage with all of our church congregations and the wider community in our fundraising and awareness-raising. During the BB & GB Dedication / Harvest service on 6th October, we’ll have a chance to tell you more about it.

You might remember in our two previous projects that two big renovation projects coincided with our visit and our fundraising led to this. Now that our BB company is regularly fundraising for continuous small projects in Likhubula, directed by the needs of the community over there and in partnership with Classrooms for Malawi. Our recent smaller but significant fundraising efforts have included our Anchor Boys’ sponsored walk funding 30 new double desks for Nansato Primary School and our Company Section sponsored swim helping to rebuild the damaged Mary’s Meals cooking shelter. While our Seniors are fundraising to support their travel to Malawi, the Junior Section will be spending October cycling to raise money for much-needed fertiliser projects and food aid during the hungry period.