How we started...
How a Dream Became a Movement
An invitation to preach at a convention in Malawi in July 1998 changed not only the direction of John Searle’s life but also the lives of thousands of orphaned, needy and disabled children.
During John’s 4 week visit, he was extremely touched by the hospitality and kindness of the people of Malawi despite the extreme poverty and hardship they were facing.
In a country of 11 million, more than 1 million children in Malawi had been orphaned by diseases such as meningitis, cholera and HIV AIDS. With no safety net to rescue these children, many took to the streets, dodging trucks as they begged at traffic lights.
Others stayed in rural areas, left in the care of a last living relative, often a worn-out grandmother, with only a small maize garden to feed herself. The result was heart-breaking. John said “Many little families of desperately under-nourished children, without any hope, would gaze wonderingly at the face of the hefty white man as I travelled from village to village.
I thought of home and the leafy, prosperous town of Cambridge. I thought of all the sturdy, healthy children with the prospect of a life of privilege ahead of them ….and my heart ached for the orphans of Malawi. I thought of schools with proper classrooms and books, of hospitals and clinics with free treatment for all who needed it and I couldn’t remove the image of all the sick people in Malawi who have no access to health facilities…..most don’t even have access to clean, safe drinking water!”
John returned to Cambridge and asked his family to support a charity, to be set up and run by himself, in Malawi, called AquAid Lifeline Fund (known as Lifeline Fund). It is to the credit of CoolerAid that, after discussion, they immediately agreed with his proposal.
John returned to Malawi and bought some land in a very rural village, Namisu. There, local villagers made thousands of bricks by hand and work set about building the very first centre to assist orphan and vulnerable children.
These very humble beginnings have now grown unimaginably and there are now 12 children’s centres, 4 schools – 2 primary and 2 secondary, 3 clinics, a girls hostel and a skills training centre. The charity is currently responsible for the feeding and education of over 3,000 children. It employs 280 local staff and has paid the college and university fees for thousands of students……all thanks to John Searle’s vision and the unwavering, loyal support of CoolerAid.
For more information about becoming a customer of CoolerAid and thereby assisting the beautiful children of poverty stricken Malawi, click here: www.cooleraid.co.uk