Columbia, MO – April 4, 2018 – Malawi, Africa was recently recognized by the BBC as the poorest country in the world, and a lack of quality education is a primary issue in its struggle for economic development. Ben Higgins believes a great cup of coffee and a bike ride might just be part of the solution to help change this dynamic in Malawi.
Higgins, the former star of The Bachelor, will be the main speaker at an upcoming event on April 16th sponsored by The Global Orphan Project and Mizzou for Malawi, a “students for students” organization at the University of Missouri. He will talk about his latest endeavor, Generous Coffee, and share how an enhanced view of capitalism can help fight social injustices around the globe. He sees education equity as one such challenge to confront in developing countries.
“All children around the world, especially in places like Malawi, should have the chance to go to high school and get the basic skills that will prepare them for life,” Higgins said. “This shouldn’t just be the privilege of the rich or politically connected. With our Generous programs, we want to partner with groups like Mizzou for Malawi to help bridge that gap of opportunity and make a difference.”
Mizzou for Malawi was founded in 2008 by three university students to help develop a primary school at the Pothawira Village outside Salima, Malawi. It is an initiative of The Global Orphan Project based in Kansas City, MO. Since the opening of the Pothawira Academy in 2011, Mizzou for Malawi has continued to support the operation of the school through various fundraising projects each year.
According to Clare Conlisk, current co-chair of the Mizzou for Malawi Steering Committee, the “Benerous” event will help launch and support its newest campaign. “A former Mizzou graduate has organized the Malawi 100, a charity bike ride across Malawi this summer to help establish a secondary school at the Pothawira Academy. We have created Team Mizzou for Malawi as a group of “virtual riders” to help raise funds for the school project. A special campaign called M4M 100 will be announced at the event.” Conlisk and Mary Ann Landolt, current co-chairs for the organization, along with Ellen Schnelle, who will be a co-chair next year, will travel with the Malawi 100 team to Africa this summer.
Schnelle believes Higgins is the right person to help kick off the group’s newest initiative. “We are excited for Ben to share his message of social entrepreneurship at Mizzou. It will hopefully challenge us as students to look beyond ourselves and develop a life style of generosity. The M4M 100 will give us an immediate opportunity to apply that principle and support a cause that can be transformative for both students and Malawi. Working together, we can help change a nation through education.”
In addition to Higgins, the April 16th event will also feature Mebble Maseko. She is the daughter of Peter and Emma Maseko, the founders and directors of the Pothawira Village. Ms. Maseko is currently enrolled in a master’s program in Kansas City and will talk about the general challenges surrounding education in Malawi.
The event will be held at Café Berlin, 220 N. 10th Street in Columbia. There will be two identical sessions, one from 6:30 – 8:30 pm and one from 9:00 – 11:00 pm. In addition to the speakers, the event will include a raffle for prizes such as a new Giant hybrid bicycles, Southwest Airlines gift cards, Amazon gift cards, Generous Coffee and other items.
Tickets are $15 for Mizzou students and $20 for the general public. Each event ticket includes three raffle tickets. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.malawi100.com/benerous. There are 200 advance student tickets and 50 advance general public tickets available for each session. Each session is limited to 250 individuals. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door on a first come, first serve basis.
Both of the event sessions will be live streamed at www.malawi100.com.
The doors will open 30 minutes prior to each session. Proceeds from the evening, as well as the M4M 100 initiative that will be announced on the 16th, will support the Malawi 100 initiative through The Global Orphan Project.
ABOUT POTHAWIRA ACADEMY
The Pothawira Academy operates a primary school for almost 300 students. It intends to construct two new primary school blocks and convert the current facility to a secondary school, complete with science and computer labs. Construction on the new school facilities is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2018. Pothawira Academy will eventually educate 600 students each year. It is part of the Pothawira Village, a comprehensive community based orphan project that is operated under the direction of a Malawian NGO. In addition to the Pothawira Academy, the village includes orphan homes for 120+ children and a medical clinic that serves hundreds of patients a day.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL ORPHAN PROJECT
The Global Orphan Project is an international orphan care and prevention organization that helped developed the Pothawira Academy in partnership with the Malawian NGO. It continues to support the operations of the project on a monthly basis. It is based in Kansas City, Missouri.
For more information, please visit www.goproject.org.
ABOUT GENEROUS COFFEE
Generous Coffee is a for-profit, for-purpose company started by Ben Higgins, Drew Scholl and Riley Fuller in 2017. Their goal from the beginning has been to get more people and more money invested into creating life changing opportunities for people who need it most.
For more information, please visit www.generousmovement.com.
ABOUT THE MALAWI 100
The Malawi 100 is an initiative of the Global Orphan Project organized by Chuck Wolfe, a Mizzou graduate. He and his wife Debi have served as volunteer project coordinators for the Pothawira Village since 2008. Their daughter, Libby (Wolfe) Moss graduated from Mizzou in 2010 and was a co-founder of Mizzou for Malawi.
For more information, please visit www.malawi100.com.
Media Contact
Company Name: The Global Orphan Project
Contact Person: Chuck Wolfe
Email: Send Email
Phone: 8135455441
Address:6122 S. Russell Street
City: Tampa
State: FL
Country: United States
Website: www.malawi100.com