The Malawi Project, Inc.

Ronald Jacob’s Story
It was mid-December, and the rains of summer had begun to fall heavily in the central African nation of Malawi. To the farmers in the tiny villages that dot the landscape it is a blessing from God. The rain will bring the harvest in April that will break the time of hunger.

But to one man in the capital city of Lilongwe the rains bring pain and difficulty. That man is Ronald Jacob, and Ronald is crippled. He can only get around by dragging his body across the ground, or during the times he is lucky enough to have a friend who will carry him on their back, or their bicycle. Ronald is from Njolomole Village in the southern district of Ntcheu. He was born with no legs. Though he tries to work he often cannot reach his office, since the distance from his house to his office is 2 miles.

It is December 21, and the torrential rains of the sub-Sahara are falling heavily on the capital. Water is everywhere and any effort to duck the streams that have formed in the streets is useless. But on this day Ronald does not see the difficulty because he sees, in the distance, something that will change all of this for him. A friend comes to pick him up and take him to Blessings Hospital in Lumbadzi. Ronald reaches the hospital, is warmly greeted, and then becomes the first to receive one of the brand new wheelchairs that have just arrived in Lumbadzi. The wheelchair is a gift from Free Wheelchair Mission in America, and has come to him through the work of the Malawi Project and Blessings Hospital. Today Ron is very happy. He offers these words,

"I wish to thank you for this gift, this gift is not for me only, and I am looking after six people. These people will use this wheelchair in a sense that I will be using it to go to work everyday and when I receive my salary I do support them. It is not only us disabled that are benefiting from these wheelchairs, our families are also benefiting from these wheelchairs."

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Patricia Chiluye’s Story
Patricia Chiluye was born in 1978, but is not sure of her birth date. She was crippled from birth, and has never been able to get around on her own. Both of her parents died during 2001-2002 famine, and this has left Patricia with no one to care for her. She has a small business, but she has had to crawl to the market place each morning. The police in the area have advised her it is too unsafe for her to crawl, so she must get another way to work or stop going out into the traffic. If she does this she will loose her business, and there is no one to help her. No one in her neighborhood has the money to help her with transportation. Patricia has two brothers, Chimwemwe 19 and Jim 15. She has one sister, Aginess 32. If she looses her business there will be no one to care for her or her brothers and sisters, since she is also supporting them. She lives in a community of 1,200 people called Chikosa Village in the area of Traditional Authority Chiseka in Lilongwe District. The village area is about 15 kilometers south of the city of Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.

Moses Banda, Communication Director for Blessings Hospital reports her reaction when she was given a wheelchair.

"We could see the tears running down her face. Patricia asked that we tell you, ‘your gift has made it possible for me to care for myself, and my brothers and sisters. We will be able to support ourselves, and not have to be given a hand out by others. Your example of helping me has given me the opportunity to show everyone they can succeed, as I am doing, if someone just gives us a hand up.’"

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Mary Chinomwe’s Story
Mary is not sure about her birthday, but was born some 34 years ago. She was crippled from birth, and has never been able to get around on her own. Both of her parents died a few years ago. Her mother died due to hunger related disease during the severe drought in 2000-2001. Her father had died in 1998. This left Mary Branson with no one to care for her. There were four children in her family, but the other three died due to HIV/AIDS.

Mary has a small business at a store near her home, but she has had to crawl to her business each morning. The traditional leaders (tribal chiefs) in the area had advised her that it was too unsafe for her to crawl, and she must get another place to do her business or stop going out into the traffic. No one in her neighborhood had the money to help her with transportation. What must she do?

Mary has four children, and her husband divorced her because she was unable to work. It was a very difficult struggle as the husband had to carry her at his back everywhere, and he did not want this to continue in his life. If she were to loose her business there would be no one to care for her or her children. The town where they live is Madisi, a community of 1,500 people. It is 80 kilometers north of the capital city of Lilongwe, in central Malawi.

Then the wheelchairs arrived from America. Moses Banda, the Communication Director for Blessings Hospital reports, "We were able to deliver the wheelchair you sent for Mary. When we gave it to her we could see her jumping up and down, though she is not able to stand, she tried her best to do so. This is what Mary asked us to tell you,"

"Your gift has made it possible for me to care for myself and my four children. We will be able to support ourselves, and not have to be given a hand out by others. I was divorced because I was unable to work, but from today I will show him that disability is not un-ability. If you give us chance to do the job we will show you that we are able to do it on our own. Your example of helping me has given me the opportunity to tell everyone that we can all succeed."

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