What makes us different?

We put the village church at the center of our efforts.

In Malawi, communities are organized by villages. Each village has a chief who is responsible for the people in his or her care. Chiefs have the power to give and take away land, which means the development of a church community requires the involvement and approval of local chiefs.

We believe the local village church - with support from local partners - is the vehicle for changed lives and hearts. We train our leaders to seek growth from the inside out, believing in faith that an overflowing, gospel-centered love can transform communities.

Most organizations do all the work, leaving community stakeholders dependent on the organization for growth and change.

When that organization leaves or uninvests…the programs shrivel and collapse.

In Malawi there are university-trained professionals (many that studied in the U.S.) who are currently unemployed or underemployed.

The reason? Malawi’s agrarian economy and infrastructure is so focused on survival that it can’t support higher level positions in medicine, engineering, education, finance, and organizational leadership - the very positions needed to bring about positive change.

Y-Malawi identifies these highly-skilled individuals and positions them within our organization, empowering them to use their knowledge and training to support our partners in local contexts.

Meet Sten, Y-Malawi's nurse in residence. Some days his patients travel to him, while other days he travels to those who need his life-saving expertise (pictured).

Sten's work (and the work of volunteer health professionals who visit throughout the year) is important because gaps in medical history can lead to major problems. By documenting blood pressure and other ailments, Sten can refer his patients to clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies to give them the treatment they need.