March 1st 2011
I have now been at ChristCares Ministries (CCM) for a little over a week. Living with Robert and his family has been such a blessing. Their house is very nice and is located right outside of the city of Lilongwe. They have running hot and cold water, a tv, three small bedrooms, a bathroom and shower J. ChristCares runs afterschool program three days a week, and does home visits and office work the other two days during the week. I was able to meet the three full time staff members, Robert, Peter, and Jon, and their four youth leaders and two volunteers early last week. They welcomed me with open arms, and helped me jump right into the program.
At AfterSchool Program over 80 children (grades 5-8) gather at the rented school buildings that we hold program at. We start program with lunch, serving the kids rice, greens, and either a small piece of meat, or beans. The children disperse into the open area roofed pavilion, sit on the floor and eat their lunch. Every day a group of the children are responsible for cleanup of the dishes, and to bring them back to the head teacher’s house where we borrowed them from. After lunch all the children gather in one big group, divide into rows, sing camp songs accompanied by some sort of dance moves. This is one of my favorite parts of program, they have such beautiful voices, and the songs they sing are so wonderful! My favorite song, which I also learned in Chichewa this week, is “my home is beyond the sky’. The children sing this song which about how their home is in heaven beyond the sky, that they are truly strangers here on earth, and that their true home is in heaven with the Lord. I am planning on recording this song on my camera this week and hope to figure out how to post a video of it for you all to see for next week’s blog. It is breath taking to hear the children lift up their voices together, they are so talented!
The rest of the afternoon consists of tutoring time. The children disperse by class into different rooms in the school houses, sit on the floor, and participate in a lesson that one of the leaders or youth leaders teaches. I was able to teach a class this week to some of the children who are struggling with reading English. I help them with word pronunciation, and sounding out certain letters, they really struggle with the difference between the letters R and L. After tutoring, program consists of counseling, bible lesson, or recreation, depending on the day. The children have welcomed me into their lives with open arms, asking an array of questions about the U.S., and my time thus far in Malawi. They come to program with bare feet, ripped and dirty school uniforms, books in their hands, and smiles on their faces. Program is by far the best part of my week here.
On Friday, instead of having program we as a staff took about three hours in the morning to visit the homes and families of some of the children. The purpose of home visits is to build meaningful relationships with the parents and family members of the children, talk to them about their child’s home life, behavior, academic progress, and to hear feedback about program. We walked all morning long down red dirt paths, through corn fields, and into three small villages where we stopped by about 17 of the children’s houses. Most houses are made of mud bricks, with thatched or metal sheet roofs, and consist of two or three rooms. There are chickens, goats, ducks, and donkeys running around everywhere. Most of the time both parents are not at home during the morning hours, they are either at work, drawing water, or at the corn mill, but we were able to meet with about 13 of the parents or guardians of the homes that we stopped at.
It was a very eye opening experience to be able to visit the homes of our kids. To see where they are coming from, and meet some of their parents and families. These children come from circumstances that from the very start of life are very hard. The basic right of education is something that not every child has access to, and the chances of their academic success and future are few. This however, only goes to show me the great need for programs like ChristCares, programs that will encourage and support children both academically and spiritually, to promote their successful future.
However, the success of our programs only go so far. Once the child ends 8th grade they take their high school entrance exams, in which their score determine whether or not they get into high school, and which high school they may attend. Many families cannot afford to send their children, and so their fate is to be a high school drop out, and usually is to work on the family farm. ChristCares is working hard to change these odds for the children in our programs, in which I was able to witness the success of this past weekend. Robert and his team at ChristCares worked hard to find about 18 sponsors for girls who went through the CCM program, and could not afford to continue their education onto high school. These sponsors pay for the girls tuition, in which they attend a boarding high school here in Lilongwe. I am working with CCM to gather profiles and other information about these girls for their sponsors back in the US. The sponsorship program in which I am working with the various UPI sites on, will be implemented beginning with these girls, who already have sponsors.
My visit with the sponsored high school girls at Nazarine Highschool.
The girls were so excited to have me visit. Since they live at school they don’t get to see their families very often, and rarely have visitors. I only wish I could visit them every day, share in their smiling faces, and encourage them in their studies. They bombarded me with questions as I helped them fill out their profiles, and took their photos. They all want to come to the US someday to visit me, and asked if I would please move to Malawi to work at their school. They are the most deserving young ladies, who have so much potential. I praise the Lord for the sponsors who enable them to continue with their high school education, and I know that their future is much brighter because of this program.
The Lord is so good to me, and has allowed for me to humbly be a part of the lives of the staff and children here at ChristCares. What a joy it is to work towards a brighter future for the children and young people of Malawi. This week I look forward to attending program, finishing up some child sponsorship odds and ends with various children, and working with the staff on some fundraising projects.
As I enter this new week, please pray:
- That the Lord prepares the way for the success of the Child Sponsorship Program in the US. That He goes ahead of the work here and moves in people’s hearts to become sponsors for the children and ministries here in Malawi. Pray that He provides time, and a way to successfully promote the program this summer.
- For guidance and direction for me as I begin to think and pray about where the Lord will lead me when I return to the States. That He opens doors, and guides my steps.
- Praise the Lord that the rainy season has been consistent, and that they corn crop which sustains most families is doing very well and should produce a good crop come harvest in May.