Page 47 - The Old Ratcliffian 2015 Magazine

OLD RATCLIFFIAN NEWS 47
ALICE PULFORD (07) & HER SISTER, NINA,
GAIN TOP AWARD FROM DAVID CAMERON
FOR THEIR WORK IN MALAWI
Alice Pulford (07) with the children in Malawi
Having won the much-coveted National Volunteer of the Year
award last year, Alice and her sister, Nina, have recently received
the Prime Minister’s Points of Light award, which recognises
outstanding individual volunteers - people who are making a
change in their community.
Alice set out for Malawi on her gap year in 2009, initially as a
volunteer teacher, not knowing precisely where in Africa she
was going. Deeply affected by the poverty she saw, she became
dedicated to getting help and support to the children who needed
it the most, and was later joined by her sister, Nina. She used a
small legacy left to her by her grandfather - a great influence in
her life - to build the first stage of the Tilinanu orphanage on a
clearing donated by local landowner, Mercy Mkandawire.
The sisters returned after Alice had finished her first year at
university, with funds raised at home in Leicester, to extend the
orphanage. It is now home to thirty-six of the most vulnerable
girls, giving many of them their first opportunity to attend school. even more exciting news in the pipeline!
It offers medical support, skills and educational workshops to all,
and day nurseries, micro-loans and business advice to young
parents, with a view to increasing employment in the community.
Through the formation of the orphanage, Alice and Nina
set up the Love Support Unite Foundation. The Foundation
and volunteers provide much-needed support and further
development projects within the Lilongwe region, reaching
out to thousands of families; a team of volunteers recently
built the first sustainable school, which now educates over six
hundred children. To date, they have recruited over one hundred
volunteers and are working with the Malawian government to
make lasting change.
Prime Minister, David Cameron, said: “Alice and Nina have turned
a gap year project into a Foundation that has transformed the
lives of communities across Malawi. The orphanage they support
gives dozens of girls the chance of a better start in life, and the
opportunity to get an education. Their innovative approach sees
them inspire volunteers to support local
projects across the country, and I am
delighted to recognise them as the UK’s
396th and 397th Points of Light.”
Alice said: “We feel it is our duty to ensure
that all humans have fair and equal rights.
We see ourselves as a helping ‘leg up’ to
those that are suffering through lack of
education and nutrition. We look at our
work and projects as an empowerment
of people. Our story and journey is
of transformation, and we have been
allowed to accelerate, purely through
the belief and support of the people who
surround us; without them, we wouldn’t
be able to do all that we do.”
Alice said that this would not have been possible without the
support that she and Nina have received, not only from friends,
family and the local community in Leicestershire, but also from
further afield, including support from the international band,
Rudimental. In addition, ‘Love Specs’ helps to fund and support
the Foundation. They have launched a range of men’s clothing,
made by Hype, that is stocked and sold in Topman, and there is
Alice said: “We’re growing at an organic, but really effective,
pace - the younger generation will make the change! We have
now had several Ratcliffe students over to visit, including the
amazing Monaghan family, Lilly Thomas (14), Alice Gilbert
(14), Ryan Hughes (07), Sophie Mulligan (09), Laura Birtwistle
(09), Hollie Stone (07), William Bentley (06), Katie Gerighty
(11), Sophie Riley (15), Emma and Kate Scarborough, along
with many members of the Leicestershire community, ranging
from eleven to seventy years of age! We are also very grateful
to P H Construction for all their help. We work directly with
communities and local resources to create projects that are
sustained and maintained by local people, and we provide much-
needed healthcare, education and skills training to those who
need it most. We create small-scale projects to trigger large-
scale change in Malawi and, in the near future, across Africa. We
are Love Support Unite. Join us on our mission.”
Nina & Alice Pulford (07)
Register online at www.ratcliffianassociation.co.uk