The Malawi Project, Inc.

Trying to Outrun the Torrential Rains

    When the rains begin in Africa’s sub-Sahara construction projects crawl to a near stop. This is especially true when that construction is on the roofs of buildings. It is not unusual for the brick sidewalls of many buildings to just "melt away" from the rain and moisture during the rainy season in the countries of the southeastern portion of the continent.

    The maternity facility at Thondwe was constructed in 1973-74 and for the intervening 30 plus years has been serving an area from Zomba, on the east, and the original capital of Malawi to Blantyre on the west, the commercial center of the nation. Mark Thiesen reports that approximately 60 to 80 babies are born in the facility every month. This fact made the statement from the Malawi government especially hard for both sides to contemplate. Although the facilities, supplies and equipment on the inside of the building were adequate and up to acceptable standards the roof on the outside was a different matter.

    The roof could not pass inspection and if it could not be fixed immediately the government announced they were going to have to shut down the facility. Part of the funding to solve the problem had been made available through Namikango supporters back in the US but a sizeable amount was still needed to begin the work. In August members of the Malawi Project learned of the problem and immediately solicited the needed funds from the Project’s Board of Directors. The funds were released to complete the job and construction started as quickly as the supplies could be purchased.

    There was no time to waste. Storm clouds were already forming over the big lake to the east and the tropical rains were not far away. If the rains arrived before the roof could be completed the problems could be insurmountable and a great deal of damage could be realized.

    All through September and October the work moved at a rapid pace. By early in November with the rains now upon them the problem was solved. Breaks in the weather had made it possible for the roof to be completed before damage was incurred.

   You can see photos of Namikango Maternity Hospital here.

Tuberculosis in Malawi
        Malawi has declared tuberculosis a national emergency. Currently over 27,500 people are being diagnosed with the disease every year, but this figure is estimated to be only 50% of all cases in the country. The USAID estimates the total number of new cases each year to be 52,000. The Malawi Ministry of Health has called for urgent and extraordinary actions to halt the spread and fatalities of TB in the country.

        In March 2007 the visiting WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Luís Gomes Sambo appealed for national and international solidarity to fight TB in Africa. Dr. Sambo made the declaration of emergency while on a four-day mission to the continent with the UN Special Envoy to Stop TB, the former President of Portugal Mr. Jorge Sampaio. At the meeting the Malawi Ministry of Health announced a new five-year plan to address the emergency through increased access to TB diagnostic and treatment services, TB and HIV services and community involvement.

HIV/AIDS Gets The Most Press Coverage
        In spite of the prevalence of the reporting by the world’s press concerning the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa’s sub-Sahara there remains a critical crisis with tuberculosis that receives far less attention. The seriousness of the problem can be seen in the following USAID website report:

    "The Malawi National TB Control Program (NTP) has been implementing Directly Observed Therapy, Short-Course (DOTS) for two decades, achieving nationwide coverage. The NTP also provides for home-based care using community "guardians" to observe and follow up with TB patients. Despite these advances, the high HIV/AIDS prevalence has had an impact on the success of the TB program. Case detection has remained between 36 and 40 percent during the past five years, well below the 70 percent international standard. Treatment success has remained steady at about 73 percent over the past five years, which is below the 85 percent target."

    The report draws a strong parallel between HIV and T.B.

    "In 2004, Malawi had an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 14 percent, and more than 1.7 million adults and children in the country were living with HIV/AIDS. An independent, countrywide survey indicated that 72 percent of all TB patients were HIV-positive, a much higher percentage than previous estimates. High rates of HIV infection led to increasing numbers of patients with difficult-to-diagnose smear-negative pulmonary TB, an increasing case fatality rate in patients with all types of TB, and an increasing rate of recurrent disease."

    According to the World Health Organization the total incidence rate of TB in all forms is 8,811,100 with South-East Asia leading the way at nearly 3,000,000. Africa is second at over 2,500,000 cases.

It Has Been Called "The Eton of Africa"

    The late President Hastings Kamuzu Banda founded the Kamuzu Academy in November 1981. The school has been recognized as an elite facility bringing academic excellence to a highly motivated and skilled student body.

    The school is located in the Kasungu District of Malawi and occupies a large campus close to the village of Mtunthama, east of the district capital of Kasungu. It is situated 150 km north of the national capital of Lilongwe. With its rural setting, far from the distractions of large towns or cities, the pupils can concentrate fully on their educational development.

    The school has been referred to as "The Eton of Africa" and in its early years only accepted the top three students from each of Malawi’s districts. The Academy offers courses in Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Economics, English, French, Geography, Greek, Latin, Mathematics, Music, Physics, and Double Award Science.

    Although the facility has been viewed as an elite school both in its facilities and in its academic excellence the shortfall in national funding makes it difficult for the school to maintain its everyday needs in order to prepare the leaders of tomorrow. The Malawi Project is sending textbooks to this Kamuzu Academy in order to help form the minds of the young people who will be among the future leaders of Malawi. 

                 Last year’s harvest is nearing an end and the new crops are still months away. It will soon be "the time of famine" and it arrives somewhere in Malawi almost every year between January and April before the new harvest can be gathered from the fields.
 
Aid is Shifted When Tsunami Strikes Southeast Asia
                Arriving ahead of the famine the first segment of a planned 250 trailers of rice started arriving in Malawi in late 2007. The agreement to bring the rice was put in place between the government of Taiwan, Nourish the Children, Feed the Children and the Malawi Project in late 2005 when a request was issued to a Taiwan delegation for the assistance. The delegation carried it to the government of Taiwan and action was soon under way to help Malawi, an important trade partner with Taiwan. The ice was planned for  arrival in Malawi in 2006 but was interrupted when the tsunami in Southeast Asia called for the aid to be shifted to the stricken area.
 
Groups Share Responsibility For Cost of Distribution
                 By mid-2007 the plan was again in place for the government of Taiwan to donate the rice and pay for shipping it to the African coast. At that point Feed the Children would supply the funds to get the trailers to the truck docks in Blantyre and Lilongwe. At this point the Malawi Project and various other agencies, including the Malawi offices of Feed the Children, would share the cost of distribution to village sites where harvests were insufficient.The plan is now being carried out with the first of four shipments having been given to Feed the Children, Malawi. The arrival of the next portion of the shipments has not yet been scheduled. The Malawi Project now has sufficient funding to handle the portion of the distribution that will be assigned to the Project.

Hopelessness Seen During An Earlier Famine
                Famine is never far from the minds of people in Africa’s sub-Sahara. Seen on the face of the old woman on the left is the hopelessness that can be seen when the "time of famine" arrives in Africa and there is no hope of expectation of aid being available.