Change and Be Changed, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization, supporting education and healthcare in Malawi in eastern Sub-Saharan Africa. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the Northern Region, where CABC works, is the poorest part of the country. A charitable group of passionate Malawian and North American educators and community workers bring together two worlds – Malawi, the “Warm Heart of Africa,” with North America, the “New World.” Change and Be Changed is headed by Drs. Thomas and Elisabeth Hangartner, volunteers in Northern Malawi since 2006, and an international group of friends and supporters of education in Northern Malawi. This rather isolated area of Malawi is dotted with remote hospitals in need of assistance with renovation of dilapidated buildings and education of medical staff. Many staff members as well as graduating students interested in healthcare-related professions and education are not able to attend tertiary institutions (University and College) due to dire poverty. Change and Be Changed reaches out to these students with the aim of improving basic healthcare and education in the area.
In 2012, the team began the renovation of the Kaseye Community Hospital (KCH). Until 2015, the Hangartners spent every summer in Kaseye. From 2016-2019, their work in Kaseye and other areas of Northern Malawi, supported by volunteers from all walks of life, covered six months per year.