Community

We aim to make the space at Butterfly somewhere that everyone is welcomed. We really want to empower and give positive opportunities to the people of Nkhata Bay. Relationships between backpackers and Malawians can be quite destructive with tourists coming, swimming and getting drunk, then leaving without any involvement with our local neighbours. This is not something we will be encouraging!

We want to encourage an integrated place,providing opportunities for all involved that will be of an informative as well as of a creative nature.

We already have a small information room on site (working together with Africa Unplugged Malawi), comprising of many different books and magazines from both within Malawi and abroad, and we will look to expand upon this. This facility is free of charge for anyone.

We also wish to have games room for all ages but mainly in the daytime a place for children to come after school. A free space for them to enjoy the games and to be amongst peers. We will have toys, board games and also things like a pool table and table football table, which will appeal to everyone.

This room, and the information room will be the base for a youth club and we will organise other activities and excursions from this part of Butterfly. Weekly films and documentaries will commence shortly and potentially a drama group with semester performances.

After school homework clubs and English tuition can be established, dancing and singing groups, which are also popular in Malawi, can be formed. Sports teams can be sponsored and organised form this room.

Sport is another thing that is of great importance to Nkhata Bay. Equipment is scarce and is something we wish to fundraise for. Basic sports equipment could be brought over and the introduction of new sports could bring new opportunities and skills that may give the chance for travel and competition. It is another great way of bringing people together.

Another building at Butterfly will be a music room. We will have as many instruments in this room as we can and encourage people to come and play. Nkhata-Bay has a great drumming community who we would love to hear regular performances from. To encourage this we will hold an open mic night once a week, welcoming tourists or Malawians to perform as they wish.

We have had several appearances from friends, and local band ‘Souls of the Ghetto’, who recently won a competition in Zimbabwe which will take them on a tour of Europe. We will encourage in any way possible talented musicians.

Alice Leaper with her 1st class degree in film has been making music videos for some of the local bands, in order for them to promote themselves. This is something she will continue to do. We will also be projecting films and documentaries regularly for education and for fun. Hopefully collecting a small film library that people can choose from. Media could provide a missing link to learn about other countries, history, news, environment and entertainment.