ABOUT
US
HOW LOVE SUPPORT UNITE BEGAN
Love Support Unite (LSU) began out of the work of it’s sister charity, Tilinanu Orphanage. Founded by Mercy Mkandawire, Alice met Mercy volunteering in Malawi in 2009, and became Founder of the UK side of Tilinanu, helping to build a loving home for the girls. Nina, her sister, joined her in supporting Tilinanu, the same year. Through this work, they became aware of the urgent needs of wider communities in Malawi, and so, Love Support Unite UK was born.
Working on very little budget and resources, Nina and Alice built the charity from the ground up with the intention to empower communities sustainably and elevate them from poverty using their 360 holistic approach to development, Foundations For The Future, this is implemented by granting funds to Malawi based charities such as LSU Malawi, Tilinanu Orphan care, Africa Vision Malawi, Mphatso childrens foundation and Malawi Schools Permaculture.
Alice and Nina created Love Specs, (love-tinted diffraction spectacles that turn points of light into rainbow hearts) as a way to raise money for Tilinanu and Love Support Unite and to build a community of supporters to get involved in projects as volunteers, fundraisers and ambassadors. Love Specs are loved across the world in their own right and have raised over £100,000 since they launched.
Gayle Berry joined Love Support Unite as a volunteer in 2014 to share her knowledge of mother and infant health and quickly became a co-founder of the mother and infant health initiative. She volunteers as a fundraiser in the UK and raises awareness Love Support Unite’s grass roots work.
Alice, Nina and Gayle’s vision and tireless enthusiasm have already helped change to the lives of thousands of people and Alice, Nina and Gayle have received David Cameron’s Points of Light Award for outstanding volunteering.
The Love Support Unite team, donors, volunteers and ambassadors are all one family working together through connection, unity and shared vision to create an empowered future for Malawi.
I love doing what we do at LSU because it isn’t easy, there are many challenges that aren't going change over night. ... BUT the people who we are working with in Malawi and those who support us brighten the world and give me faith in humanity. If you have the ability to help... You should always help.
- Alice Pulford There is so much inequality in the world and a lack of balance of resources. We can only do the best with the information and resources we are given, so surely that should be used to help others. Since becoming a mamma, I believe no mother should have to ask somebody to feed their children or see their children hungry. Sustainability is everything.
- Nina Pulford
Love Support Unite works from the heart with compassion for the challenges of poverty. Our impact is the sum of every person who volunteers, donates and supports us. It’s not an easy task to empower and elevate communities with limited resources and we have challenges every single day, but we believe together we can make the world a better place through love and connection. Working with Love Support Unite has given me the opportunity to do something about inequality and to help others with kindness. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to support and be of service
- Gayle Berry
OUR VISION
Love Support Unite (LSU) empowers people to become self-sufficient, with a leg-up rather than a hand-out. Community-based projects that integrate education, enterprise, nutrition and health, lift communities out of the cycle of poverty into a cycle of sustainability.
LSU is a small grassroots charity. Running costs are kept as low as possible.
Through integrated community-based projects, using sustainable infrastructure and resources, including clean water and energy, we create self-sufficiency and food security, breaking reliance on aid, and disrupting the cycle of poverty.
- Margaret Mead
OUR IMPACT
- Helped local communities to build 4x primary school blocks • 3x collegelet blocks • 1x outdoor classroom • 1x nursery school
- 30,000 patients helped, including 10,649 malaria tests and life saving treatments. Indirectly helping 240,000 people by keeping those they depend on alive.
- 60,000 meals served sustainably each year
- 10,168 children given access to education via our teach to teach programme
- 600 primary school children given access to education
- 695 Mothers trained in mother and infant health
- 703 Students and 11 teachers at our 5 adult literacy centers
- 270 College students in education
- 110 Families with 676 dependants given food security through our sustainable farming programme
- 30 Acre food farm provided to Tilinanu Orphanage
- 2 bore holes sunk giving 6000 access to water
- 2 Sites provided with solar power
- Emergency aid provided in cholera epidemic and during cyclone disaster
- Provide all administrative costs for Tilinanu Orphanage
- 3130 provided with dental assistance in remote areas
- Mahatma Ghandi
OUR AWARDS
Britain's Best Volunteer
Alice was announced as the winner of Britain’s Best Volunteer 2015 in a close result which saw the public cast a total of 3,000 votes for the five finalists.
David Cameron’s Points Of Light Award
Nina and Alice Pulford and Gayle Berry have received this award for their volunteer work in Malawi.
Margarette Golding Inner Wheel Award
Alice achieved this award at the age of 26. The successful Margarette Golding Award recipients have generally been involved with a variety of charities or organisations for a very long time, often involving a great deal of commitment on a very regular basis. This work must be completely unconnected with Inner Wheel membership, Inner Wheel or Rotary fundraising activities. Alternatively or in addition they must have made great personal sacrifices for the benefit of others.
The awards are given to Inner Wheel members as well as members of the general public.
The criteria for success are set high so that the award remains a truly significant marker of an individual’s commitment to others.
- Mother Teresa