Blog: July 2009
We spent one more day with the children of ChristCares Ministry on Monday, sharing a meal, chit-chatting, getting to know them better and watching them sing and dance. You can see that they love the program and that it is having a holistically positive influence on them. It was wonderful to catch a glimpse into their lives and be moved by their smiles. Speaking of moved, on Saturday we visited the nine young women who are attending high school due to ChristCares. They are attending boarding high schools, meaning they live on the school compounds and only go home over breaks. When asked if they miss their families, they all responded “no” and giggled because this opportunity is so great. To have a safe place to get an education where meals are provided and there is time to study is priceless. Prior to the opportunity at these boarding schools, if these girls wanted to attend school, they had to travel great distances every day. One girl said that she had to walk 7 miles each way! The truly sad thing is that attacks and rapes are all too common among the paths that they have to walk. So, not only would she be required to walk 14 miles every day, but the constant threat of being raped is a heavy burden to bear. Could you make the trip? Not to mention you don’t get lunch (nor did you have breakfast), when you get home you need to help wash, cook and care for your brothers and sisters, then find time to study and do homework, all with the expectation of doing well in school. The obstacles are just too great. It is true that America is the land of opportunity. If you have the desire and ambition, there is a way to seek your dreams and better your future. In Malawi, if your lot is not right, it doesn’t matter how bad you may want it, it is impossible; unless there is something there to break the cycle, a catalyst to jump the track of despair . . . a mechanism like ChristCares. In a world where there is so much, it is amazing to see what so little can do. Meeting these girls and seeing the relief and hope in them was inspiring.
But now we have said our goodbyes, and although we are staying in Lilongwe, we are moving on to YouthCare Ministry, where we are meeting up with Gibozi Mphanzi. YouthCare has been established for five years, so it has had more time to grow roots and extend its branches. Lindsey and I will also meet up with Roger and Kristin Nielsen, who will be traveling with us for the remainder of our stay. That means we are at the two week/half-way marker of our visit. Traveling is funny, because there are so many new experiences, the days seem full and long, yet ‘time flies when you’re having fun’, so the weeks go fast. We will continue to soak up each and every moment.
Chisaleka is a village of roughly 2000 people. It sprawls over gentle hills across from a tobacco factory and corn mill on the outskirts of Lilongwe. The factory and mill employ some of the village’s men; nevertheless, it is a very poor area. Families of 8 can live on as little as (or as much as, depending on how you look at it) $1 a day. The conditions are difficult and survival depends on the crops you can grow. HIV/AIDS is prevalent and devastating. The cycle of poverty, though, is not predestined, nor does it need to be inherited from generation to generation. There is promise amongst the villagers and it lies in two young women. Melifa and Edith are the only children out of the entire village who are attending High School. The costs of school, the hardships of life and a broken education system have prevented thousands before them and will continue to prevent many after them. ChristCares Ministry, however, has targeted Chisaleka and its four neighboring villages, to holistically develop its youth through afterschool programs, HIV/AIDS awareness, and employment for potential leaders like Melifa and Edith to continue their education. Not only are these two young women able to afford an education due to ChristCares, but support, tutoring and encouragement are helping them flourish, in an otherwise impossible task. Their accomplishments so far have already inspired countless elementary and middle school students, placing them as role models in the village. To us, an education is taken for granted. Yet, something so seemingly simply, is incredibly powerful.
ChristCares, initiated by Robert Manda, has only been established for one year, yet its impact has profoundly touched the villages and families involved. Yesterday, we walked through Chisaleka and Chatata, meeting some of the afterschool children’s families and seeing their homes. We then saw the afterschool program in action, consisting of a feeding program, recreation, academics, and spiritual growth. It is obvious that the children love it, and many encouraging reports are coming back from their parents and teachers who say that the children are being transformed. The afterschool program is currently working with 40 children; yet, if there were doors, children would be breaking them down to participate. The demand is incredibly high. And as of today, nine young women are working with ChristCares to pay for their high school tuition. In addition, ChristCares has been confronting the HIV/AIDS pandemic by bringing leaders of the communities together and educating them through trainings and workshops so that they can in turn, educate the youth of their communities. As Peter and John return to join ChristCares, its capacity will increase, furthering opportunities for children and young leaders.
Lilongwe is a unique city in that there are pockets of highly populated areas, spread out and isolated by fields and trees. It is hard to see where the population of one million actually resides. As a result, transportation is an issue. Overcrowded, rundown mini-buses shuttle people on dilapidated roads, lined with vendors and those who cannot afford the buses and therefore walk. It is also a very dusty city. The red dirt that embodies Africa is fine grained and kicks up with the subtlest wind. White is not a recommended color to wear.
More to come . . .
July 6th is Malawi’s Independence Day. This year was the celebration of its forty-fifth anniversary of autonomy from Britain. In the bigger cities, like Lilongwe and Blantyre, activities such as soccer matches and traditional dancing are held in the stadiums. In villages like Luchenza, where we are staying, things are calmer, and families typically celebrate in their homes. This is not, however, the case for Project Teach and its 20 fourth and fifth graders, and six street leaders, who participated in the first annual Independence Olympics. A variety of fun games were organized for the children to compete in as teams. They really enjoyed themselves, and it was fun being a part of it. The most memorable moment came at the very end, when Sullivan gathered his street leaders for a “meeting”. In the meantime, we equipped all the children with water balloons. Inconspicuously we surrounded the street leaders and let fire all our water balloons, methodically soaking each leader. The children were SO excited! Lindsey also captured a great photo of the carnage in action. It was definitely a day to remember.
Tomorrow we are leaving Project TEACH and heading to Lilongwe to visit ChristCares, set up last year by Robert Manda. Sullivan will be driving us up the road to Lilongwe, which I hear is quite pot-hole ridden. Even if the trip is slow, the country side is incredibly beautiful, and there is always a lot of activity alongside the road, like markets, to view.
Visiting Project TEACH and spending time with Sullivan has been wonderful. We are looking forward to what lies ahead. Stay tuned . . .
The flight into Malawi was beautiful. Rolling hills are surrounded by peaked mountains. Rivers and streams cut through the country side between villages connected by winding dirt roads. We could have gone without the attempt to land, then, sudden abort due to something in the runway, but on our second approach everything worked out just fine and we landed with the passengers bursting into applause. We were met at the airport by Sullivan and Vincent (both have finished internships at UrbanPromise). It was great to see them and be warmly welcomed by familiar faces.
We dropped Vincent off at his place in Blantyre, picked up a few necessities at the store then drove the rental car 45 minutes to Sullivans’ house, where we’re staying, in Luchenza. ProjectTEACH, initiated by Sullivan, is actually located at a Primary School in Mulanji, which is just across the river in the neighboring village. He compares it to living in Philadelphia and crossing the Benjamin Franklin bridge everyday to work in Camden. Although, Luchenza is no Philadelphia, and this is no Ben Franklin bridge!
We went to see his ProjectTEACH in action today. Sullivan has really hit the ground running since he returned last year from UrbanPromise. He immediately launched a summer soccer league, drawing in 13 teams. He also coaches multiple basketball and soccer teams at secondary schools, focusing on leadership development. All while establishing an afterschool program for 20 fourth and fifth graders where he has utilized the UrbanPromise model, hiring teenage street leaders, training them in leadership while filling essential needs for these primary students, such as a meal, tutoring, and spiritual growth.
It doesn’t matter where you go, children are always adorable and funny, and Malawi is no different. When the afterschool program was finished, Lindsey and I sat in the grass with a couple children, brave enough to sit by us, watching Sullivan and one of his team’s practices for their game on Saturday. It was fun trying to communicate with the children, making them laugh and having them watch our every move with wide eyes.
For dinner we drove to this new lodge/restaurant that everyone has been telling Sullivan about. It is located up Mount Mulanji (Malawi’s tallest mountain) and has a very nice atmosphere. I couldn’t resist tasting Malawi’s traditional meal of Nsima and Chomba (pictured). It was delicious. Last year, the interns kept saying that if we ever went to Malawi we would have to eat Chomba (fish only found in Malawi). Well, we came to Malawi . . . and we ate Chomba.
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