The Orange Habitat staff and volunteers who traveled on a Global Village trip to Malawi in June were briefed about the circumstances they’d encounter in Makambwe, a rural village outside the country’s capital.  

In Malawi, nearly 60% of homes are considered substandard, often built with mud walls and grass thatched roofs. 35% of children under five in Malawi experience stunted growth from malnutrition and one third of households lack access to drinking water. 

Makambwe’s residents face many of these challenges, but when the travelers from North Carolina stepped off the bus for the first time, they were greeted by a group of women singing and dancing.  

To Catherine, a volunteer who took the trip with two of her sons, this moment summed up the whole experience: “Throughout the week, there was this juxtaposition of very difficult circumstances but also the opportunity to admire the strength of the human spirit…there is great need, but there is also joy,” she explained. 

Global Village: A deeply-rooted partnership 

Global Village trips are weeklong volunteer trips organized by Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the world in which volunteers partner with local communities to build and improve homes. Orange Habitat has led a number of trips over the years with our global partners in Honduras, but this was our affiliate’s first trip to Malawi. 

Over the course of a week in late June, the group joined Habitat for Humanity Malawi to build two houses in Makambwe. Constructed with cinder blocks and a tin roof on a tall foundation, these family homes are more durable and flood-resistant than the low-lying mud, brick and thatch homes they replaced. They also replaced dirt floors with concrete, which has been shown in research by Habitat for Humanity to improve health and economic outcomes. 

Among many benefits of partnering with Habitat Malawi is the opportunity to support the careful and intentional work they’re doing to elevate an entire community; it’s not just a case of building a couple of houses and then moving on.  

Orange Habitat volunteer engagement manager, Julia Henn, explained that Habitat Malawi is investing in economic development – not just housing. This includes building water and hygiene infrastructure and teaching women in the village to make and sell soap. “There are a lot of really smart people that are doing really cool work,” she says, “and they’re going to be working in this village for years to come.” 

Sharing cultures and workloads 

Each day, volunteers worked under the tutelage of local artisans as they laid cinderblocks and mortar. They took breaks to play alongside village children before heading back to Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city, for the evening. 

Catherine says the experience made many in the group reflect on the nuance of what makes a good life: there’s no question there’s a deep need for better sanitation and housing conditions in parts of Malawi, but the people in Makambwe have the kind of deep community relationships that are less common in our fast-paced and sometimes disconnected way of life in the U.S. 

She left feeling that “the goal is not to turn their situation into ours but rather to figure out how we elevate a baseline of safe housing and safe water – and not interfere with the beautiful culture they have.” 

Extending the impact: Henry and William’s fundraiser 

Orange Habitat’s impact in Makambwe doesn’t end with this Global Village trip. As part of Habitat for Humanity’s tithe model, U.S. affiliates contribute a portion of funding to international partnerships, allowing our impact to extend far beyond our region. Over the last year, Orange Habitat contributed $68,500 to Habitat Malawi. 

That doesn’t even include a special fundraising project by Catherine’s sons, Henry, 17, and William, 15. As they prepared for the trip, they learned about the families who would be living in the homes our volunteers were building. 

Both were families with children who had lost one or both parents: one, a mother and her children and nieces; another, a grandmother and her grandchildren. 

William explained, “When we talked about the families that were being affected, we really felt the impact that our work would have. That prompted us to think about: how can we further help the community?” 

Knowing they were headed to Malawi to build two homes, they wanted to ensure the organization could build the next two. 

They were given estimates that each home would cost about $7,500 USD to build, so they set a goal to raise $15,000. They shared the project with everyone they came across, in school and in their personal lives. William added, “I talked about it in school clubs and in every class. We handed out flyers with QR codes and even had lemonade stands.” They shared it with friends and family, too. 

They say people were moved to give once they understood the real impact their donation could make in Malawi. Plus, Henry pointed out, only a limited number of volunteers could be a part of the crew traveling across the world to build homes, but anyone could make a donation to support their work. They’re still accepting donations that will go directly to Habitat for Humanity Malawi to continue building homes in Makambwe. 

In the meantime, Henry, William, and the whole crew of Orange Habitat staff and volunteers can reflect on the impact it’s possible to have in such a short time. 

“To me, what was crazy is we just spent a week of our life building a shelter that could house a family for possibly longer than we even live. That’s the legacy,” says Henry. 

We’re grateful to the wonderful team at Habitat Malawi for inviting us to work with them. In the coming year, we’re planning two Global Village trips: Honduras in January 2027 and Guatemala in June 2027. We’re already looking forward to returning to Malawi in the summer of 2028! 

Learn how you can get involved at orangehabitat.org/global.