About

World Camp provides comprehensive health and environmental education to students and teachers in Malawi. World Camp trains interns and teaching specialists from around the world to teach and discuss the subjects of HIV transmission and prevention, stigma, living positively with AIDS, deforestation, erosion, climate change, alternative energies, gender equality and empowerment. Currently World Camp works with 36 Malawian communities conducting informative and interactive programs in a summer camp-like atmosphere. Teaching specialists facilitate education, outreach, and action planning in classroom and community settings.

World Camp works with educators and their communities to prepare young people for the shift toward a sustainable future. Our unique curriculum and innovative approach were founded in the recognition that lasting transformation in education requires innovation at the curricular, institutional, and community levels. Our curricula and programming have been designed to meet local and regional needs. They engage students, teachers, and communities in the process of developing a sustainable future through community partnerships, service, hands-on activities, and project-based learning.

Why HIV in Malawi?

Malawi has one of the highest annual population growth rates, one of the highest rates of urbanization and one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the region. Approximately 930,000 people in Malawi currently live with HIV and AIDS, including 120,000 children. According to the Malawi Demographic Health Survey (MDHS 2004), an estimated 12.8 percent of the population has HIV/AIDS. An estimated 640,000 people have died of AIDS, at a rate of approximately 86,000-100,000 annually. HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death among individuals aged 15-59; those who contribute most to a community’s development and often considered the “most productive age group.” In fact, HIV/AIDS results in 50,000 to 70,000 deaths within this age group annually. Out of Malawi’s one million orphans, 500,000 have lost one or both of their parents to AIDS.

Did You Know?
  • In sub-Saharan Africa, there are currently 4.1 million people with AIDS who are in immediate need of life-saving anti-retroviral drugs. (Source:WTO)
  • Currently more than 11 million children in Africa have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS; that number is expected to reach 20 million by 2010. (Source:UNAIDS/UNICEF)
  • There are 42 million people living with HIV and AIDS worldwide. It is a global emergency claiming approximately 8,000 lives every day in some of the poorest countries. (Source:Oxfam)
  • 1 in every 100 people worldwide is HIV positive: One third of them are aged 15-24.(Source:ActionAid UK)
  • Approximately 40% of the world's population-mostly those living in the world's poorest countries-is at risk of contracting malaria. Malaria causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least one million deaths annually.
Why Environmental Conservation?

The quality of Malawi’s land and resources are intrinsically connected to major issues surrounding poverty, public health and development in the country. Malawi is a small country in which individuals and communities largely depend on subsistence farming for survival. Thus, environmental awareness and protection is essential in the overall well-being of the nation. 96% of the country depends on trees for firewood as a main, and sometimes only, energy source (NSO 2000). In some rural areas, that percentage is as high as 99.6 (NSO 2000). Less than 2% of the population has access to electricity and other forms of cooking and heating. Furthermore, Malawians are heavily reliant on the natural wood resources around them for building and other commodities. Several studies have linked high rates of poverty to an increased reliance on natural resource collection for consumption and use (Kamanga 2008; Nankhuni 2004).

Thus, wood is one of the most necessary and accessible resources, though quickly diminishing. Deforestation in Malawi increases at a rate of approximately 0.25 percent per annum: 2.4 percent over a ten year study period. Among other factors, poverty and small scale agriculture are main aggregates of widespread dependence on forest resources. 63 percent of the country lives below the poverty line (NSO 2000) and more than 80 percent of the population relies on agriculture for a living or has a sole income from subsistence farming (Kamanga 2008). Areas lacking sufficient forest cover result in extreme soil erosion. This has a significantly negative impact on a community’s ability to yield sufficient crops-both in terms of time and quantity.

Did You Know?
  • In our world today around 2.5 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation and some 1.2 billion people do not have access to an improved source of water.
Why Gender Empowerment?

Global prosperity and peace will only be achieved once all of the world's people are empowered to order their own lives and provide for themselves and their families. Societies where women are more equal stand a much greater chance of achieving the Millennium Goals by 2015. Every single Goal is directly related to women's rights, and societies were women are not afforded equal rights as men can never achieve development in a sustainable manner. World Camp’s Gender Empowerment forums work to eliminate gender disparity among our partner primary schools.

Did You Know?
  • Of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around the world, 70% are women. (Source: World Revolution)
  • Women do about 66% of the world's work in return for less than 5% of its income. (Source: Women's International Network)
  • In the least developed countries nearly twice as many women over age 15 are illiterate compared to men. (Source: UNFPA)
  • Two-thirds of children denied primary education are girls, and 75% of the world’s 876 million illiterate adults are women. (Source: AskWoman)
  • Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, produce half of the world's food, and yet earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property. (Source :World Development Indicators, 1997, Womankind Worldwide)

More Information

If you need information, please feel free to use our contact form, send us an e-mail to info@worldcamp.co, or give us a call at 828-254-2339.