About us
What is FOMOE?
Friends of Mangochi Orphans Education (FOMOE) is a registered UK charity which raises money exclusively to educate some of the least fortunate children in a poor country: Malawi. We do this by funding a primary school, the Mangochi Orphans Education and Training (MOET) school, and by paying the fees for those pupils who manage to progress on to secondary schools in Malawi and beyond that, to university.
MOET was set up by Patterson Majonanga, a retired headmaster, who noticed how many children who had lost their parents at a young age and missed out on an education. With funding from the 4 founding members, MOET was formed in 1999. Initially, lessons were taught to just 10 orphans under a grass shelter, but the school has now grown to over 350 children in the primary school, 45 in secondary school and 9 who are currently at university (a rare feat in Malawi, especially for those who have had a poor start in life).
With zero costs in the UK, the charity ensures that all monies raised are paid direct to the school in order to support these students. This means that we do not pay via a third party which might risk the funds being taken up in fees or getting diverted elsewhere. And as a registered UK charity with just 6 volunteer trustees, FOMOE produces audited financial accounts, holds regular trustee meetings and submits annual returns.
Although it has grown, MOET is still small enough to be managed by a small team in Mangochi, and it provides excellent pastoral care as well as a funded all-round education from primary through to secondary and tertiary level.
Why was FOMOE set up?
Since MOET School started in 1999 it has been mainly reliant on just a few generous benefactors.
In addition to this there have been 4 people who have been raising funds in their own communities in the UK independently – all connected to the school in their own way. Early in 2010 they came together to form a charity.
FOMOE was set up to bring those efforts together in a co-ordinated way and to help put the school on a more secure financial footing by widening the donor base.
This should enable MOET School to not only carry on doing its good work but also to develop new initiatives to enhance the lives and futures of its pupils and the communities they live in.
Registered address:
FOMOE, 63 Spirit Quay, London, E1W 2UT
