Jaap Offringa, former board member and also founder of the Foundation, first came into contact with Malawi at the beginning of 2000. In his work for the missionary committee of the Reformed Church in Bunschoten, he came into contact with development activities in Malawi. During a visit in Malawi Jaap came in contact with Dr. Bram Sizoo, medical director of Mulanje Mission Hospital, who shared his experiences about the miserable circumstances in Malawi, both socially and economically. Once back in the Netherlands, Jaap and his wife Ali decided to set up a foundation to offer support and help.

We as a foundation have put the primary focus on education, whereby we are committed to significantly improve the level of education. Such as building schools, supplying school materials, transferring knowledge and active participation in maintenance.

Yes, Stichting Vrienden voor Afrika meets the requirements set by the Dutch tax authorities for an 'Institution for General Benefit', or ANBI. The application for the CBF-seal is currently underway.
This approval is important, because as a donor you can only deduct donations from taxes if an organisation meets the requirements of ANBI. It also means that we do not have to pay any gift and/or inheritance tax on the gifts and inheritances we receive. So everything actually benefits our work for children in Malawi.

We are entirely dependent on donations. This means that individuals and companies support us financially and enable us to carry out our work. Fundraising is therefore an important part of our work, and we use social media and our website for this. Are you already following us on Facebook?

No. All donations are charged to the projects. In addition, an ANBI is not allowed to make a profit on activities that serve the common good. Furthermore, the board does not receive any financial reward for their efforts. For this reason, 100% of all donations are used for aid in Malawi. The foundation is helping to build a sustainable Malawi, and its aim is to stand up for its neighbours on the basis of its Christian identity.

Yes, the directors receive no remuneration for their work and work 100% voluntarily.

Because you too can make the difference! Malawi is one of the top 3 poorest countries in the world. More than 65% of the population lives below the poverty line. The average age expectancy is around 55 years, due to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Of the 21.2 million inhabitants (in 2021), there are an estimated 2.5 million orphans, many of whom have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. In addition, the majority of the population does not live in or near the major cities and has virtually no access to education. With every donation you help directly.

Results with impact and a sustainable character. In our current project, 1,500 pupils will receive education every day. This results in fewer illiterate people, less backlog and better opportunities on the labour market, which in turn contributes to boosting the local economy.

This can be done in various ways:

1. Become a donor;
2. Become a volunteer;
3. Become a sponsor.

As a donor, you can do that in four different ways:

1. Weekly via a SEPA mandate;
2. Monthly via a SEPA mandate;
3. Annual donation, based on invoice;
4. Once through:
   a. IDEAL;
   b. Credit Card.

We communicate quarterly through our newsletter and also post monthly news items or projects on our website. In addition, we post weekly on Facebook and Instagram.

We are sorry to hear that you wish to cancel your membership. Of course you are always free to temporarily freeze your membership and start up again later. You can do this by sending an e-mail to info@vriendenvoorafrika.nl.

We are pleased to hear it! Donations can be made through our donations page or can be transferred directly by bank to NL32 RABO 0312 4356 06 in the name of Stichting Vrienden voor Afrika.

You can do this on our donations page or by bank transfer to NL32 RABO 0312 4356 06 in the name of Stichting Vrienden voor Afrika

This is certainly possible, you can choose to receive an invoice which you can use to enjoy the tax benefits. You can contact us by telephone or send an e-mail to info@vriendenvoorafrika.nl.

You can contact us by telephone or send an e-mail to info@vriendenvoorafrika.nl.

At Stichting Vrienden Voor Afrika, you can also donate anonymously. You can do so by making a bank transfer (NL32 RABO 0312 4356 06 in the name of Stichting Vrienden voor Afrika) , so do not use the website or contact us via info@vriendenvoorafrika.nl.

Yes, you can use our donation tool. Please use https://www.rabobank.nl/particulieren/betalen/service/betalen-en-opnemen/bic-swift-iban/ to fill in the correct details.

Every two years, we organise a symposium or other similar event at which we thank the sponsors for their support and share the results achieved. In addition, we bring sponsors into contact with each other during the event.

As a volunteer, you can help Vrienden voor Afrika with the execution of events and activities, for example:

• Door-to-door collection;
• Devise, plan and execute (large) actions;
• Online campaigns, such as share & like actions;
• Educating about development work at schools and other public events;
• Organisation and support in projects.

Currently, about 25+ people are working to achieve our goals.

Our volunteers are all people with passion and love for people. It is important that you have energy, patience and a good portion of perseverance. When you join as a volunteer, we take your personal qualities and ambitions into account as much as possible, and above all we have fun.

What you get back for your work as a volunteer is priceless! Working as a volunteer with us means having a lot of fun and learning a lot; about children but also about yourself. You can translate these experiences into your daily living, learning or working situation.

When you make a one-time donation, you can do so anonymously, but when you become a member, we record personal data such as name, address, place of residence and e-mail address. We provide your data only to parties who perform services for our foundation, such as printers for printing acceptance giro's and labels and banks for processing direct debit mandates, and only those data that are necessary for the relevant processing. All information entrusted to us is treated confidentially by us and by our suppliers.

Your e-mail address will only be used, with your permission, to send you information concerning our foundation, such as newsletters about started and finished projects.

Your data will only be used for the purposes for which it was obtained.

You can always email us at Info@vriendenvoorafrika.nl.