100 ABSTRACTS - NUMBER 58 & FLOWER FRIDAY

As I wandered around our garden this morning, I could see that the flowers seem to have suddenly woken up - after many days of rain and now a few days of sunshine, they are at their blooming best!  

The last couple of days have been quite dull and grey - with the sun just peeping through at times, and it is too chilly to sit in the garden, but Mr. HCB has been working steadily and is getting lots done - now that he is allowed to do heavier garden work.  

We love our Compassion rose, which was given to us when we were baptised on 18th March 2001 - twenty years ago now - by our special friends, Pete and Angie.  We are so glad that it still blooms every year to remind us of our baptism on that day and also because Angie died in 2014.  It’s so good to have these mementos of people we have loved and lost.  

There are two blooms on this rose bush, so I decided that they would be my Blip for today, processed using the Photoscape X app on my iMac - and I have put an unfartnarkled shot in as an extra too, so that you can see how beautiful it is.  Sadly many of our plants and rose bushes have a lot of greenfly, so we have been researching bee and insect friendly sprays for them - ladybirds used to eat these, but unfortunately, there aren’t many of those around these days.

This Blip is not only Number 58 in my 100 Abstracts Challenge, to raise awareness of the Mamie Martin Fund, which helps girls with the fees for their education in North Malawi, but also an entry for the Blip Flower Friday challenge - so two for one.  Poverty is widespread in Malawi and the girls selected by the various schools as being in need of a MMF bursary are amongst the poorest in the school.

SIGELI was a beneficiary of the Fund and attended the Karonga Girls Secondary School.  She did well in her studies there and secured a place at Mzuzu University in Malawi to study for a Bachelor Degree in Land Management.  


Sigeli says she is so grateful for the support she received from the Fund and is also appreciative of the scholarship she obtained from SOKO Fund, which is paying her tuition fees at the university.

As Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries, without the help from various funds, these girls would not achieve all they do since education is essential to its development. By focusing on girls and young women, this enables them to be good role models, not only within their families, but also in their wider communities.

“Knowledge will bring you 
     the opportunity 
          to make a difference.” 
Claire Fagin

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MaureenIles