I·HEART Project · Malawi
Who We Are
Every child deserves a place to belong.
We walk alongside vulnerable and street-connected children in Malawi, helping build the safety, relationships and opportunities from which a different future can grow.
Our beginnings
It began with showing up
Before there was a home, there were relationships. Street outreach meant meeting children where they were, taking their concerns seriously and returning. The work grew through that patient presence, not through a ready-made plan.
2019
Street outreach in Malawi began: showing up, listening and building relationships with children.
2021
Satomi joined Daniel and the first centre opened. Over time, children were welcomed into their family home.
2024
The work had grown to three homes, caring for girls, boys and babies.
January 2026
Those earlier homes transitioned to Eden Wellness Foundation. I·HEART began a new chapter with its own Safe Home; it does not currently operate those three homes.
Transformation takes time
A child needs more than a roof. Safety becomes meaningful through dependable adults, ordinary routines and the freedom to learn, play and rest. Safe Home care is a commitment to creating that space, with social-worker support and education woven into daily life.
Listening matters as much as practical help. Counselling and social support can offer room for difficult experiences without defining a child by them. Family outreach keeps connections in view, wherever contact is safe and appropriate. Each child’s journey is different; trust and healing cannot be hurried or promised in a straight line.
Daniel and Satomi Novotny work alongside Malawian colleagues and community partners. Local knowledge, relationships and daily care shape the work. Responsibility is shared, and children’s dignity comes before the telling of their stories.
Care & opportunity
Two initiatives.
A shared commitment to the future.
Care today and opportunity tomorrow belong in the same conversation. Our collaboration connects them while respecting the different responsibilities of each initiative.
I·HEART Project
Our focus is vulnerable and street-connected children: Safe Home care, social-worker support, education and family outreach. Children’s safety and belonging remain at the centre.
Mudzi wa Moyo
A distinct, closely collaborating initiative focused on agriculture, vocational learning and community development. We share a commitment to the future; neither initiative is described as a subsidiary of the other.
Caring for children means thinking beyond today
Current farming work includes irrigation development, growing crops and poultry. Looking further ahead, regenerative methods and careful stewardship of soil and water are part of a developing vision for more dependable harvests.
The intended connection is practical: harvests could contribute to nutritious meals, and farming income could help sustain care. This is an ambition, not a claim that the homes are already self-financing or that these results have been achieved.
In time, age-appropriate learning and vocational pathways could open further possibilities. Farming supports adults’ responsibility to provide care. Children do not have to farm, work or earn their place in a home.
Looking ahead
Where we are growing
Our hope is for stable care, continuity in education, stronger family and community support, and land that offers food and skills opportunities over the long term. These are directions we are working towards, not a list of facilities already built or outcomes already secured.
Change the World Switzerland and Sponsorship Network International are supporting partners. Alongside local colleagues and community relationships, that wider circle helps us keep looking ahead while staying attentive to the child in front of us today.
Be part of what grows next
If this approach resonates with you, we would be glad to hear from you. Share practical skills, explore our work, or start a conversation about supporting this next chapter.