HEEED Malawi

Activities: Multiple Program Types
Country: Malawi
Location: Mangochi

HEEED (Health, Education, Environment and Economic Development) is located in Chembe Village near Lake Malawi National Park (LMNP). LMNP was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1984 due to the high fish species species diversity and biological importance of its fauna. Lake Malawi is home to more than 1000 species found nowhere else in the world (that is more than all the freshwater species found in North America and Europe!). All HEEED projects seek to empower the local community to take respnsibility for their own health and the health of the environment, while promoting their own sustainable economic well-being. HEEED is looking for Volunteers to help with any or all of our ongoing projects. HEEED offers a very flexible programme in which Volunteers are encouraged to participate and initiate new ideas with a particular interest in health, art, education, scientific research and the environment.

HEEED (Health, Education, Environment and Economic Development) is located in the village of Chembe, Malawi, within the Lake Malawi Eco-region –an area formally recognized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) as one of the Global 200 regions with a sensitive ecosystem worthy of conservation. Lake Malawi National Park (LMNP)- (http://heeedmalawi.net/heeed-malawi/locationscontacts/) lies within the Lake Malawi Eco-region and was designated by United Nations in 1984 as a World Heritage Site – in recognition of the high fish species diversity and biological importance of its fauna. Lake Malawi is home to more than 1000 species of fish found nowhere else in the world. The formally pristine Lake Malawi is severely over-fished, threatening to drive to extinction many endemic and endangered fish species. A dramatic increase in deforestation is another threat caused by the fuel needs of the rural communities lying within and around LMNP. With an increased population competing for diminishing natural resources, the task of conservation and environmental education has to include a comprehensive programme that addresses social issues related to the local population. Nowadays, conservation of natural resources, health, environmental and economic development, are all inextricably intertwined. Since 2001, WWF and HEEED have been seeking sustainable solutions for the people living adjacent to Malawi’s two beautiful National Parks: Liwonde and Lake Malawi National Parks. WWF Finland founded and funded HEEED, an NGO, which is now carrying on these initiatives – having received its first 3-year WWF Finland grant in January 2006. HEEED (NEDI), a local Malawian NGO with a Board of Trustees, a Constitution, was registered No. NEDI TR/INC 2053 with the Malawi Ministry of Justice in 2004 and subsequently became a member of CONGOMA. HEEED continues to promote the original goals set by WWF Finland. Specifically, The Chembe HEEED Centre is a 0.6-hectare area located just behind Cape Maclear EcoLodge (http://heeedmalawi.net/cape-maclear-eco-lodge/), which is also run by HEEED. Within The Chembe HEEED Centre lies the Panda Garden – a demonstration garden and centre for environmental education activities that seeks to empower the local community to take responsibility for their own health and the health of the environment, while promoting their own, sustainable economic well-being.