13/07/2026
Dear Kudimba friends,
It has been an eventful few months at Kudimba and we are excited to share some of the highlights with you.
Our team has been incredibly busy over the past few weeks, working tirelessly to prepare for a number of special events and to welcome the many volunteers who have recently arrived in Lifuwu.
First of all, we are delighted to welcome back the Kuwala Circus Project for its second edition.
This year the circus team is even bigger. Aiko and Elza, who joined us last year, have returned together with six additional team members. Mattis is their assistant instructor and they are accompanied by five enthusiastic young Belgians: Ismael, Lotte, Amelie, Hannelore and Klara, who are here to support the project, learn, teach and share their circus skills.
It has been wonderful to see them immerse themselves in life in Malawi over the past week.
We are also very happy to welcome Manon, Hanne, Florence and Daan who have arrived for the second Humasol project at Kudimba.
Four years ago another team of Humasol engineering students installed the solar power system at Kudimba, a system that still benefits us every single day. This new team is now installing a solar power system at our Sandulika site where they are also staying. They are the very first guests to use our new accommodation there and so far they are loving it.
Reliable solar power is especially important at Sandulika as there is no possibility of connecting to the national electricity grid. This project will be a major step forward for Sandulika and we are grateful for their work.
Interestingly, the Humasol project four years ago also led to our very first connection with the Circolito Circus School which eventually grew into the Kuwala Circus Project. It is wonderful to see how one project can lead to new opportunities and connections.
The Humasol team is also investigating whether a sustainable cooking system could replace the use of charcoal. We will tell you more about this in a future newsletter once we know more about the possibilities of this promising concept.
Over the past few months it has been an anxious wait to see whether all these activities would actually be able to take place. Once again Kudimba was flooded, this time even slightly worse than during the previous floods. Fortunately we escaped the worst case scenario. Many homes and buildings in the surrounding area were lost while Kudimba once again survived with relatively limited damage. Several buildings on our site that were submerged need some restoration work including fresh paint, a few replacement doors, some minor repairs and plenty of work to restore our beautiful gardens. Thankfully there is no irreversible damage.
This is the second major flood in just three years.
Fortunately the water receded just in time before all our volunteers arrived although it really was a very close call.
Luckily we now have our Sandulika site as a backup location for the daycare activities for our Kudimba children. The children and staff have settled in remarkably well and already feel completely at home there. In many ways the location actually seems even better suited to our activities. There is more space, more fresh air and, most importantly, a lot less water.
These repeated floods have made us think about the long term future of the project. At the same time it is difficult to make any final decisions. This could have been the last flood for many years as drought conditions linked to El Niño are currently being predicted for Malawi next year. Or perhaps the opposite could happen and we may be flooded again. Only time will tell.
We are also very fortunate to have Patrick with us again. Patrick is an enthusiastic Malawian friend of Kudimba who helps keep the circus project running smoothly. It is difficult to imagine the Kuwala Circus Project without him. Over the years Patrick has become not only a valued friend but also a part of the Kudimba family.
Our young participant Peter, who lives with severe special needs and autism, is doing well together with his mother and siblings. The family recently received several goats through a donation and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first baby goats any moment now. This marks the beginning of what we hope will become a sustainable source of income, allowing the family to build a more independent future.
Our only challenge now is making sure the goats do not discover the newly established vegetable garden at Sandulika.
That vegetable garden has become another promising addition to our new site, created entirely through the initiative and hard work of the Kudimba staff and participants.
If you would like to learn more about the daily reality of children with autism in Malawi, we recommend watching a recent BBC documentary on the subject. It offers a powerful and moving insight into the challenges these children and their families face while highlighting the importance of understanding, inclusion and support.
Here is the link to the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWE5ZKv08gA
We are also eagerly awaiting the arrival of a large donation of orthopaedic equipment for the Kudimba children. This initiative was organised by our volunteer Karen Slosse who spent three months with us last year as a physiotherapist. The shipment is expected to arrive any day now. Thank you, Karen, for your continued dedication to Kudimba and for making this donation possible.
Finally we would like to update our Belgian supporters.
Those who contribute through vzw Kontinenten and normally receive a tax certificate for their donation have already received a separate email from us. As some of you may know, vzw Kontinenten, together with many other Belgian organisations, has been affected by the suspension of their official recognition to provide tax certificates by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. As a result no tax certificates can be issued for donations made in 2026 and all donations received through that system will be reimbursed.
This is a significant financial setback for Kudimba. Your support remains essential to help us continue covering our daily operating costs.
If you would still like to support the Kudimba project, even without a tax certificate, you can continue donating directly to Kudimba.
Please send us a message if you would like our bank details or visit our website for more information.
Behind the scenes we are working hard to establish a new system that will once again allow Belgian donors to receive tax certificates, through the Koning Boudewijnstichting.
Hopefully we can set this up before the end of this year. We will keep you updated, so watch this space...
Thank you as always for your continued support and encouragement.
Warm regards,
The Kudimba Team
