Fairwood Trust funds Wales-Malawi exchange project
By Effective Communication
A community development project designed to engage young people across South Wales will go ahead thanks to support from principal partner, the Fairwood Trust.
WaMa Leap, a new initiative by A Leap, works with young people from disadvantaged areas of Wales and Malawi, preparing them to take social action in their community.
A Leap Directors Ben Joakim and Dan Butler
The Fairwood Trust, which was established in 2008 by Director Charles Middleton and his board, has provided A Leap with £25,000 towards funding the project. The project will be launched across Wales this month, and will begin when recruitment has taken place.
Working through youth agencies across Wales, 25 individuals will be recruited to participate in the residentials. The participants will work together to identify the challenges their communities face, and how they can organise themselves to take action to address them.
Fairwood Trust Trustee Kathryn Durbin, A Leap Directors Ben Joakim and Dan Butler, Fairwood Trust Director Charles Middleton
A Leap’s local partner in Malawi, AYISE, will also deliver a parallel programme with a group of young people in Blantyre, located in southern Malawi. The two groups will share their discussions, experiences and actions using online media, and then participate in reciprocal exchanges in both countries.
Charles, previously CEO of Training Service Wales (TSW), said: “This is the first international project that Fairwood Trust has been involved with and we’re very excited to be a part of it.
“The individuals chosen for the project may not have had a very privileged upbringing, where opportunities to develop skills, networks and inspiration were not available. WaMa Leap offers them the opportunity to be part of a larger network, doing something beneficial for themselves and others within their communities.”
Fairwood Trust Charles Middleton, A Leap Directors Dan Butler and Ben Joakim, Fairwood Trust Kathryn Durbin
Director of A Leap, Ben Joakim said: “We’re really grateful to the Fairwood Trust for their support and investment, and we are looking forward to working with Charles over the coming year.
“This unique opportunity is for those involved to become better prepared to pursue the future they want to see, for themselves and their communities. There is a mutual learning process involved, where those involved will be able to share and exchange their ideas and experiences, influencing each other in the actions they take now, and into the future.”
WaMa Leap has been developed in partnership between A Leap, the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council, and AYISE, Malawi.
To find out more, please contact A Leap at info@aleap.org.uk. For further information on how the Fairwood Trust can support you, visit www.fairwoodtrust.co.uk.
A Leap Directors Ben Joakim and Dan Butler 'building bridges' bewteen South Wales and Malawi
Tags: A Leap, Ben Joakim, Charles Middleton, Dan Butler, Fairwood Trust, Kathryn Durbin, WaMa Leap
