British college to travel to Malawi to make ‘One Difference’

Those making the journey will be helping local people to construct, dig and plant a sustainable kitchen garden which will make a real difference for many Malawian people.

The Malawi trip follows a kitchen garden competition held by Oxford Brookes earlier this year at the university’s Wheatley campus. Student Ben Wilkins was judged to have had the best kitchen garden plot and he will be joined on the trip by Brookes staff members John Stimpson and Sarah Kerrigan.

Ben, who is currently studying for a Master of Osteopathy degree course at Oxford Brookes, commented: “I'm looking forward to gardening in a very different climate than the UK and identifying and utilising the techniques and crops used in a tropical location. I'm hoping to gain new and varied knowledge from other experienced trip members and the Malawian people, and importantly, help in any way I can.”

The visit to Africa, which was developed in partnership with the university’s caterer Chartwells, will also provide the opportunity to see in action a water play-pump funded by Brookes students and staff. This is as part of the charity The One Foundation’s One Difference campaign.

 The innovative water play-pump works through children playing on a specially-designed merry-go-round which pumps clean water for over 1,300 children and their relatives in the region.

Nikki Armstrong, from The One Foundation charity, said: “The world’s population is now over 7 billion and yet almost 1 billion people don’t have access to clean water and each year millions of people die as a result. Over the last four years Oxford Brookes have been supporting us here at One to help change the lives of thousands of people. The visit to the Nkhonde School water play-pump in Malawi and the planting of a vegetable garden will provide much needed nutrition to the children and their community.”

Sarah Kerrigan, Operations Project Manager for Oxford Brookes, said:  “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to visit Malawi and see in action the projects which Oxford Brookes supports. This work provides clean drinking water to communities in Africa. To be able to learn more about this and actually help with creating a sustainable kitchen garden is an experience which I have long dreamed of.”

Catherine Fleming, General Manager for Chartwells commented, “The Campus Kitchen Garden has been such a fantastic collaboration between Chartwells and Oxford Brookes and we were really impressed by the results. We’re so excited that this initiative is now travelling to Malawi and really hope it will make a positive contribution to the community there.”

Those taking part in the trip will be keeping blog updates and using social media to update on their experiences in Malawi. More information on One Difference is available from www.onedifference.org/