We are deeply saddened by the sudden losses of Penjani Kanyimbo and Godfrey Mbizi, who both passed away on Saturday, February 4th in a car accident. Both Penjani and Godfrey were longtime employees of SFHC.
Penjani Kanyimbo was born in Chitipa, a multilingual region of Malawi near the northern borders with Tanzania and Zambia. His natural talent for languages (he spoke at least 4) would eventually have a great impact on our work. Penjani joined SFHC in the year 2000. Over the last 23 years, he played many roles through his multi-faceted work at the organization: from driver, to translator and interpreter, to the Director of the Farmer Research & Training Centre. We will miss his kindness, his gentle humour, and his sincere, generous spirit.
Godfrey Mbizi became a member of SFHC in 2014, during the Malawi Farmer to Farmer Agroecology Project (MAFFA). He first became involved as a member of the Farmer Research Team. Over the next few years he quickly established himself as not only a talented farmer, but a strong community leader with a clear commitment to the goals of our work. He was hired as a community promoter in 2017, and as a member of staff he worked hard with our team to support farmers throughout his home region of Jombo. We will miss his deep knowledge and his dedication.
The losses of Penjani and Mbizi are profoundly felt by the staff, farmers, researchers and wider community of SFHC, as they are felt by all of us who were touched by the lives of these incredible colleagues and friends.
If you are interested in supporting the families of our two colleagues, you can donate here.
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Pictured below: Godfrey Mbizi with fellow SFHC members at a demonstration for seed sovereignty, wearing T-shirts saying "Our Seeds, Our Right, Our Life", 2022;
Penjani Kanyimbo at a tree-planting demonstration, January 2023
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