Temwa - Sustainable Community Development, Malawi

Tuesday, 27 June 2006 00:00

Temwa is the new name for Temwenani. The charity's co-founder tells us why..

“The reason for the name change is very simple,” explains Jo Hook, UK Manager and co-founder of Temwa. “The charity’s original name, Temwenani, was a very hard word for people in the UK to remember and pronounce, and it’s obviously important for an organisation to have a name people can connect with. ‘Temwa’ (meaning ‘love’) is very similar to Temwenani, so hopefully people who already know of us will make the link, but it is much easier to read and to remember. We also feel it is important that the charity’s name is Malawian, as although we fundraise in the UK, the purpose of the organisation is to serve the people of Malawi.” Temwa is still a Chitumbuka word (Chitumbuka is the language spoken in the north of Malawi – the area in which we operate). Its meaning, ‘love’, however, means ‘community’ or ‘family’ love, rather than the broader UK meaning of love.

Meanwhile our project in Usisya, in Malawi, will still be called Temwenani. Only the wider organisation will now be known as Temwa. It has taken a long time to build up Temwenani’s name in Usisya, so to avoid any confusion amongst people already involved locally in that project, its name will remain unchanged.

Temwa has been working hard to make the implementation of the new name run smoothly: the website has been fully updated and our future In Touch newsletter and our press releases will all feature the new name, but will keep the familiar baobab tree logo. A new handout further explains the work of Temwa both in the UK and in Malawi. Look out for it at our forthcoming events.