Blantyre Girls' Home update

Blantyre Girls Home is a new project located in Namiyango, Blantyre which was started in February, 2010, after the preceding project Bangwe House of Hope came to an end because of administrative problems.

Two of the Girls

On request of the Blantyre Department of Social welfare, Rev. Dr. Erwin van der Meer was asked to start a new rehabilitation centre to take care of those vulnerable girls who had been left without support when the former project closed. Rev. Dr. Erwin van der Meer who is a missionary from the Netherlands and a development consultant is also the W&D treasurer in Malawi. With the support of his mission Stichting Afrika Zending from the Netherlands and with the financial support of Word and Deed North America Blantyre Girls Home was established.

Some of the girls playing games

The project is run under the administrative supervision of a local board and under the spiritual supervision of a local church. Currently there are 12 girls in the Blantyre Girls Home aged 14 to 21 of which most have been involved in prostitution to make ends meet. Others come from homes where they have been subject to severe abuse. The vision of the centre is to provide a safe house, a place of healing and a place where the girls get an opportunity to change their lifestyle and make a new start in life.

Making Crafts

Besides the 12 girls in the home there are also 11 girls in a home based care programme, most of whom have been in rehabilitation before and are now assisted in the process of re-integrating in society. As the project is run from a Bible-believing Christian perspective many of the girls become Christians in the process including some from a Muslim or traditional religious background. According to recent research done by a Belgian psychology student the girls find a lot of strength and comfort in their new found faith.

Director Frank Phiri

The current director is Mr. Frank Phiri who has been doing an exceptional job. Recently the home celebrated its official opening after formal registration was completed and the project has been receiving lots of positive media attention in the newspapers and on television. Not only is the project considered to be a model project by the Blantyre department of social welfare but they have also arranged for the further training of girls home personnel in social work with a South African university at the cost of the Malawi government. It is our dream that more centres can be started in all of Malawi’s major cities as child and teenage prostitution is a big and growing problem in Malawi.

Slums near the home