It all began when a 10-year-old American boy traveled across the world to meet another 10-year-old boy in a small town in Malawi, Africa. Riley Petitt, from Loveland, Colorado, and Timothy Mahoney, from Embangweni, Malawi, quickly became lifelong friends. Fast forward six years and the two are still incredibly close companions. This type of tale is not uncommon, as anyone who has journeyed to the Warm Heart of Africa can share a similar story to ours. The Malawian people have a way of changing your life forever. Once you meet them, you'll never be the same.

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Timothy Mahoney was an orphan who lost both his parents while growing up in Malawi. Despite this, Timothy was fortunate to have a living grandfather who raised him. Unfortunately, due to widespread poverty in Malawi, Timothy's grandfather could not afford to pay for his secondary school fees. This meant that Timothy, like most children in Malawi, would have to drop out of school after completing primary school, which is equivalent to 8th grade in the US.

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However, Timothy's fate changed when he touched the lives of

many Americans who were traveling to Malawi. One Mzungu, in

particular, named Riley Petitt was deeply touched by Timothy's

story. After returning home from Malawi, Riley was determined

to fundraise to bring Timothy to America to attend secondary

school in Loveland, Colorado.

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Due to various obstacles, it became clear that we could not bring

Timothy to America. Although the news was disappointing, we

decided to adjust our plans and founded Educating Malawi,

along with the Africa Bags Scholarship program. As a result,

Timothy Mahoney was granted a scholarship for two

consecutive years and has recently completed Form Two in

Embangweni, which is equivalent to the sophomore year of high

school in the US. 

 

The demand for scholarships in all Africa Bags villages is high,

with countless children in need of the opportunity to attend

secondary school, just like Timothy. By sponsoring a child, you

can make a difference today.