Founded in 2006 by Madonna, Raising Malawi is dedicated to addressing the most critical needs of vulnerable children.
Our Programs
Transforming child healthcare at the Mercy James Centre
Raising Malawi built the country’s first-and-only paediatric surgery and intensive care hospital, the Mercy James Centre (MJC). Opened in 2017 on the campus of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, the MJC is a free, public facility that provides the full spectrum of care for infants and children who are critically ill or injured, or who require complex surgery. With three operating theaters, the country's only paediatric ICU, and a 50-bed ward, when a child requires the most advanced medical treatment available, the MJC is at their disposal. Today, Raising Malawi operates the MJC with a coalition of local & international partners, serving thousands of vulnerable children each year and training additional pediatric surgeons, nurses, intensivists and anesthesiologists to improve the quality of care in both Malawi and across sub-Saharan Africa.”
Providing holistic care to orphans & vulnerable children
Raising Malawi partners with the Jacaranda School for Orphans and Home of Hope Children's Home, two grassroots organizations that deliver essential residential and community-based care for more than 1,000 orphans.
At the Jacaranda School, Raising Malawi funded the launch of a world-class music and arts program, constructed the school's first formal dance studio, and supports ongoing programs to help the school’s talented students unlock their creative potential.
At Home of Hope, Raising Malawi supports the facility’s health clinic, primary and secondary schools, emergency and long-term housing and wrap-around services for orphan and vulnerable children residents to ensure they receive the holistic care required for health and well-being.
Developing the next generation of successful student-athlete-leaders
East African youth have few opportunities for their talent to be nurtured, and they are rarely provided a platform to go on a personal journey from ‘good to great.’ In Malawi in particular, there are severe resource constraints at every level of football, which means young players lack access to proper equipment, youth leagues and well-trained coaches - even at the professional level. There are few pathways by which talented youth can develop their skills and pursue an elite football career. Women’s football remains massively underdeveloped as cultural expectations and gender norms limit girls’ access to sport and athletic opportunities in youth.
Raising Malawi is partnering with Ascent Soccer, East Africa’s premiere nonprofit football development program, to work with 100 boys and girls from Malawi, Uganda, Kenya and DRC. Ascent provides young men and women with opportunities for comprehensive education, critical life skills and character development alongside world-class soccer training.
Ensuring Malawian youth access to quality education
Following the release of her 2008 documentary I Am Because We Are, Madonna launched a scholarship & psychosocial support program to empower the children profiled in the film. Providing for their education and professional internships, Raising Malawi has ensured each child has the training and tools they need for a professional pathway forward. Raising Malawi also partners with AGE Africa to deliver scholarships and wrap-around services to academically gifted girls at rural high schools in Malawi
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