What We Do

Our Programmatic areas

BOHF does the following

Workshops and Seminars: Organize educational sessions on topics like gender stereotypes, healthy relationships, and women’s rights.
Mentorship Programs: Connect young women with female mentors who can provide guidance and support.
Youth-led Advocacy Campaigns: Empower young people to advocate for gender equality in their communities and schools.
Gender-Sensitive Skills Training: Equip young men and women with skills to challenge gender norms and promote equal opportunities.
Leadership Training: Develop young people’s leadership skills and confidence, ensuring a more inclusive representation of genders in leadership roles.
Sexual and Reproductive Health Education: Provide comprehensive and age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education to young people of all genders.
Awareness Campaigns: Raise awareness about different forms of gender-based violence and available support systems. On Youth and Gender We are doing Mentorship Programs, this help to connect young women with female mentors who can provide guidance and support and Youth-led Advocacy Campaigns, through the pilot of youth Shifter drive we empower young people to advocate for gender equality in their communities and schools.

Sustainable agriculture and Water Management

BOHF is promoting composting and organic amendments, like adding compost and organic materials like manure feeds the soil micro biome that improves fertility, and helps retain moisture and promotion of planting cover crops between cash crop cycles protects the soil from erosion, suppresses weeds, and fixes nitrogen from the air.

On Environmental Engagement is a paid-up member of water and Environmental Sanitation network (WESNET)

We are proactively engaging with stakeholders like local communities, government agencies, and NGOs on environmental issues and establish a waste management hierarchy that prioritizes waste reduction, reuse, and recycling before disposal.

We are in the districts mentioned doing similar interventions, the only difference is that we do a lot when we have funding availability
Under water activities Beyond Our Hearts foundation Malawi is doing the following:

Help provide access to clean water and reliable sanitation, and to promote basic hygiene practices in rural and urban areas, including in emergency situations.

We achieve better WASH results for children by:

BOHF promotes community-based hand washing through a variety of media and through district campaigns like district water Day, which reaches thousands of people every year.
Our people-based approach has helped entire communities eliminate the dangerous practice of open defecation, many of whom reached Open Defecation Free status
We work directly with schools and health-care facilities to improve access to basic water, sanitation and handwashing facilities, and to establish protocols for preventing and controlling infections.

Climate Change Mitigation

We are a paid up member of CISONECC and we are doing activities aim to reduce the severity of climate change by addressing the root cause: greenhouse gas emissions.

Some key mitigation activities include Civic education on transitioning to renewable energy sources: Solar, wind and Campaign in protecting forests, encouraging people to be protecting existing forests and planting new trees is vital for mitigating climate change.

Nutrition & Holistic Early Childhood Care and Development

Giving young children under five a safe, stimulating and quality early living and learning environment.

Engaging nutrition activities with families and caregivers equip them with knowledge and resources to support a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development during crucial early years and Nutrition Community engagement raises awareness about the importance of early childhood education and can garner support for initiatives in this area.

Emergency Response

We are currently implementing Tiyende Pamodzi: Transforming Local Institutions through Empowerment for Disaster Management and Climate Resilience funded by Save the Children Italy and HML-Anticipatory Action Protocol Development. The Direct Target groups include 80 District Civil Protection Committees (DCPC) members from the two districts (40 in each district), 10 Area Civil Protection Committees (ACPCs) from 10 ACPCs (5 in each district that have a membership of 20), 850 Village Civil Protection Committees (VCPCs) members from 55 VCPCs (30 in Zomba and 25 in Neno).

The project aims to develop a systematic analysis of the weather forecast that can inform the strengthening of climate-related Anticipatory Action especially through the development of early action protocols in Zomba and Neno districts in Malawi in order to prevent emergencies and respond effectively during humanitarian response.

Health, Nutrition and Livelihoods Support

Ensuring that no child under the age of five dies from preventable disease, and all children in Malawi will grow healthily and have long-term good health. Provision of sustainable and profitable means of livelihoods, training of Income Generating Activities and financial management, support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs’) to attain vocational skills and provision of basic start up tool kits to beneficiaries and children affected by disasters and pandemics in the community.

Education

Improving education so every child in Malawi receives a quality basic education. This is a cross-cutting activity in all the programmes of BOHF. It is an integrated activity.

BOHF is supporting 20 orphans and vulnerable children by provision of scholastic materials, school fees and basic materials from support from well-wishers. We are getting a very big challenge in terms of funding considering the level of poverty resulting from the Cyclones and COVID 19 in the recent years.

There are many OVCs that need support but the financial capacity of BOHF cannot support beyond the 20 beneficiaries.

Child Protection

Working to make sure all children in Malawi thrive in a safe environment free from violence. Formation and training of child protection committees, community dialogue meetings, and support to community led initiatives on child protection, translation of key legal and policy documents into local languages, data collection on violation of children’s rights and supporting formal education for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Malawi particularly in Neno district

Advocacy

Advocating so that all children will benefit from a strengthened child-rights system that advances and monitors the realization of their rights.

Our advocacy work. By advocating for change we tackle the deeper issues which keep people poor and networks.  

As a Local NGOs we play a crucial role in advocating for change within their communities. Their deep understanding of local needs and challenges positions them perfectly to be powerful advocates.

Here are some key aspects of successful BOHF advocacy:

Conduct research and surveys to understand the most pressing issues faced by the community the NGO serves. This could involve issues like lack of access to clean water, inadequate sanitation facilities, limited educational opportunities, or gender-based violence.
Gather data and statistics to support your advocacy efforts. Quantifiable evidence strengthens your arguments and demonstrates the severity of the problem.

Develop a Clear and Compelling Message:

Frame our advocacy message in a way that resonates with the target audience.
Focus on the human impact of the issue and the positive change your advocacy aims to achieve
BOHF have unique insights and experience in developing solutions that are culturally appropriate and context-specific. Showcase these solutions within your advocacy efforts
Identify the most relevant decision-makers, policymakers, or influencers who have the power to address the issue. This could include local government official, community leaders, or businesses operating in the area.
Raise public awareness about the issue through campaigns, community events, social media outreach, or media engagement. This helps generate public support for your advocacy goals.
Network with Other NGOs: Collaborate with other local NGOs working on similar issues, this strengthens our collective voice and allows for a more comprehensive approach to advocacy.