Infrastructure
Providing clean drinking water and shelter
The Theresa Foundation also provides funding for larger infrastructure projects in the village of Mnjale, and its surrounding villages. These infrastructure projects have included:
- A community centre: In 2011-2012, the Foundation provided funds for the building and the electrification of a community centre in the village of Mnjale. Now, the community centre serves many important roles for the village, such as simply providing the villagers with a place to gather. When a grandmother is sick, the centre serves as a warm and dry place to keep her safe and cared for. In the rainy season, it sometimes serves as a place to store maize if necessary. As one of the only buildings with electricity in the village, it now serves as a place to go if any work needs to be done after dark. Most recently, it now houses a kindergarten every morning where the village children gather.
- A borehole well: In 2014, with the help of the funds raised by the Social Justice Club of Royal West Academy (a Montreal high school), the Foundation funded the construction of a borehole well in the village of Mnjale in order to provide clean drinking water to the villagers.
- House repairs: Every few years, the small huts belonging to the grandmothers in the villages of Mnjale, Fuse and Chilundu deteriorate and require repair. In August 2015, the Foundation sent funds for the purchase of plastic sheeting for rain-proofing the thatch roofs of the grandmothers’ huts.