Member Awards 2019 in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal

On the 5^th September, the SMP was proud to host its 2019 Member Awards ceremony, celebrating the impact our members are having through thousands of individual people-to-people partnerships between our two nations.

This year, the awards ceremony was led by our Hon Co-Patron HRH The Princess Royal, who spoke passionately about the work of the SMP and the impact our members are having.

It was standing room only, with all 150 places quickly selling out, and a fantastic energy on the day.

The Princess expressed how encouraged she is by the strength of the two-way relationship, in which both Scotland and Malawi benefit, reflecting that member organisations are comprised of 'individuals who have a really good understanding of what they are trying to achieve'.

View Alan Jones' video

The awards

Formal awards were given by Her Royal Highness to four SMP members:

• STEKASkills
• Brewgooder
• Tracy Morse
• Jane Gebbie

And a special commendation for their response to the Cyclone Idai disaster earlier this year was shared between 14 SMP members:

• Christian Aid Scotland
• Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)
• Dòchas Education Trust
• FROM Scotland
• MicroLoan Foundation
• Open Arms Orphanage
• OXFAM Scotland
• SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund)
• Tearfund Scotland
• UNICEF Scotland
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Strathclyde
• WaterAid
• The Zambesi Mission

But the day wasn’t just about these members. It served to celebrate the work of all our members.

The Princess was given a special commemorative book with photos and text from all the SMP organisations who entered the 2019 awards, and during the event, she met face-to-face with no less than 75 of our members, learning about each of the links.

HRH also took time to meet with the elected Board of the Partnership to discuss and support our plans as a network for 2020-23.

Zikomo kwambiri to all our wonderful members for making the day so memorable!

View Kirsty Bain's photos on our Flickr album

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