"The urgency of containing and defeating the HIV/AIDS
pandemic is one
of the defining
issues of our era."

- Andrew S Natsios, USAID International Administrator

While the WHY WAIT? Truth for Youth Curriculum addresses the AIDS Pandemic by reaching youth and children in the public schools, the ECD/OVC part of SAFE's programs touches the youngest of Malawi's next generation by assisting developing preschool age children in the villages and the grandmothers ("gogos") who are raising them and the children orphaned by AIDS.

Mary Phiri is the full-time staff Coordinator for SAFE's ECD (Early Childhood Development) and OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children). Mary is also the elected president by her peers of the ECD network of Malawi. Her work has taken her to Peru, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda. Mary directed the “lab” preschool at the ECD Center on the University of Malawi campus in Zomba, before joining the staff of SAFE. Weekly, she is “hands on” in rural villages, organizing, evaluating and training preschool workers and helping village leaders launch effective preschool programs. She also organizes Gogo Grandmothers’ support groups for the elderly village “gogos” now caring for the over 1 million orphaned Malawian children—the majority having lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS.

For a full description of our Gogo Grandmothers stragtegy. Click here to view the Gogo Grandmothers Web site.