Our Story . . .
Joshua Orphan & Community Care (“Joshua”) was established in 1998 by a small community group in Pensulo Village, which is ten kilometres outside of Blantyre. Joshua’s founders wanted to start a feeding programme for the increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children in their community. When Sylvia Avgherinos, an English primary school teacher living in Malawi visited Pensulo to take books to a Secondary School, the group approached her for help. Through Sylvia’s involvement, interest, and enthusiasm, and with financial backing from friends and family in the UK, the Pensulo CBCC and feeding programme was established. In 2015, Sylvia was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours for her services to Malawi. The name “Joshua” was adopted by Sylvia and the community in regard to the activities being undertaken to support the orphans, vulnerable children and their wider communities to address the inadequate access to education, nutrition and health care services.
Joshua was registered as an NGO in the UK and Malawi and went on from that initial CBCC in Pensulo, to construct and support 22 more centres – now called Community Based Childcare Centres (CBCC’s). Joshua currently supports CBCC’s in twelve isolated rural communities, running education, health, feeding, water and income-generating projects to provide a safe and secure living environment for these rural communities. Joshua operates fully as a non-profit, non-religious and non-political organisation that works purely to serve the vulnerable and disadvantaged.
Who we are:
The Team in Malawi
Sue Cabon – Country Manager
Joseph Chiundiza
Our dedicated team of Field Officers, Office Staff and Caregivers.
Our Trustees in the UK
Sylvia Avgherinos (Founder and Managing Director)
Berry Butler (Donations secretary)
Julie Smallwood (Chair of Trustees)
Sarah Charlton (Secretary)
Laura Hussell (Treasurer)
Mike Ellis
Janie Hargreaves
UK Staff
Lorraine Dunk (Fundraiser)
