Seed for life

“LET us know if we can do anything to help!”

These were Dave Alsop’s parting words as he and his wife Cath waved goodbye to two dinner guests in the autumn of 2016. Their visitors were Sydney and Dikirani, a teacher and a farmer from Malawi, who were in Argyll on a Faith Exchange. This had been organised by the Global Involvement Group of the Netherlorn Churches, who were in partnership with Bemvu, in the Ntcheu region of Malawi, because of links with their then minister, Ken Ross.

A few months later Dave received a message from the visitors, now back home in Malawi, with a proposal.

They asked if we could provide their local farmers with seed and fertiliser, to allow more land to be cultivated and achieve a bigger yield at harvest. A percentage of the crop would be kept for planting the next year, a percentage would go to the school to provide meals for the pupils, and the farmers would keep the rest to feed their own families.

As a businessman who hails from Liverpool and runs a haulage company, Dave Alsop is a down-to-earth chap. But the extreme poverty of the Bemvu region and the determination of the Malawians to work to make a difference touched his heart, and resonated with his strong Christian faith. He resolved to get the project off the ground.

Although designed by the team in Bemvu, it needed Dave’s business nous to make it a reality. Within the year the newly-named Seed for Life, Feed for Life project had raised £16,500 – far beyond everyone’s wildest hopes. Most of this came from the congregation of Kilbrandon & Kilchattan Church, where Dave and his wife Cath are members, and residents in the wider communities of Seil and Luing, who rallied to the cause with fundraising activities including a pie night, poetry readings, a sponsored walk, raffles, auctions, sales of jam and home baking, and a Malawi evening with traditional food and African songs by our local choir.

We are now feeding up to 1400 schoolchildren per day. The 26 villages in Bemvu cover an area approximately the size of Netherlorn Parish, so the ‘dinner ladies’ need to leave home early in the morning to walk to the school, often from miles away, to light the wood fires and begin to prepare lunch. The food is basic, just a bowl of maize porridge, but for many children it will be their main meal. The promise of food encourages the pupils to attend school more regularly. The ladies now wear Seed for Life aprons and are paid a small but regular wage.

We also give seed and fertiliser to the most vulnerable in the area, most of whom are elderly or widows who have children to feed.

Our third area of involvement is the Scholarship Fund, which currently pays for the secondary education of 16 pupils, and also provides them with their uniform, basic essentials such as pencils, and a bicycle to make the journey to and from school quicker and safer.

Although Seed for Life relies on many volunteers, Dave in particular has worked relentlessly to make it a success and in summer 2019 was pleased to visit to see things first-hand. He shares the aspiration of the Bemvu farmers that the project will be self-sustainable, hopefully by spring 2022.

Schoolgirl with lunch at Bemvu

Till then, we continue to provide for our partners in Malawi. Although now a registered charity, fundraising is difficult in the current situation so we are grateful for all donations. Please visit our website for more information at www.seedforlife. org.uk or donate via this link https://www. crowdfunder.co.uk/httpsseedforlifeorguk to help us complete this amazing project, a testament to faith in action. ¤

Maggie Thorpe is an elder at Kilbrandon Church and fundraising co-ordinator of Seed For Life, Feed For Life.