Sunday, January 10, 2010

Malima Primary School/ The Malima Project Annual Report

EL PROYECTO MALIMA
THE MALIMA PROJECT
CIF: G97910012
C/- General Pastor, 36, 46183 L’Eliana
Aptdo 168,46183, L’Eliana
(Valencia)


ANNUAL REPORT
For the period September 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009
13th NOVEMBER, 2009

The year for The Malima Project Charity has been one of success, but not without problems. We have continued to function in the normal manner of raising funds to support Malima Primary School. It was our hope that during this past year the final building to house two classes might have been completed. This did not happen, although we did open dialogue with two new potential contributors.

One of these is in Cameroon, and time will tell what comes of our initial contact. For the time being we would like to keep the name confidential until we have their authorizaton to do otherwise.

The one thing that is absolutely clear is that we have to add another method of fundraising as the idea of education has caught fire with the children in Cameroon. As a consequence costs of maintaining the children in both primary and secondary is skyrocketing. Now, those in secondary are talking of going into university and working in the professions.

We have been associated with the village of Gouria for ten years, and looking over what has changed since we came on the scene truly takes our breath away. The village has gone from being a place where only about 25% of children were receiving a regular education to 99% plus today. There is health care, electricity, a village borehole with year-round water, Malima is the very best primary school in the extreme north, and there are secondary schools in the near proximity. Malima Primary School has been featured on the travel program, Lonely Planet, and the Cameroonian government is now taking a little interest in doing its share to educate its citizens.

The village now has a fledgling economy with shops, and motorcycles providing a link to the outside world, as does the mobile telephone network. Electricity, made possible through a generous grant from Graham and Lynne Hunt of Valencia Property has changed everything that is fundamental about the village, and has provided a giant leap toward the 21st century.

This year we are in the midst of selling lottery tickets for Malima for the Loteria de Navidad for the second time. We are grateful to a suggestion from one our school dads who has acted as facilitator. Naturally, Malima has bought tickets for itself and we hope to be winners in some substantial way, which might go some distance toward solving our immediate financial needs.

We have an outstanding receivable from Western Union this year in that a payment of 1,500 euros that was sent to Cameroon was paid to a third party by Western Union. They seem to accept the mistake is theirs and we are now awaiting settlement of the receivable.

We look forward to the next twenty years with enthusiasm and hope. The fact that our students now have ambitions and dreams is a wonderful thing. That was completely absent ten years ago.


El Proyecto Malima/ The Malima Project