Oct 16

Dzidaure Community Development Agency

About the Malawi Project

Phot of AmbulanceThe Dzidaure Project is another in a series of new programs being instituted throughout Malawi by the Malawi Project.

    Near the sties that are currently under evaluation the Lintipe River rambles aimlessly through the area near the Trading Center that carries its name, but it offers only minimal assistance to the habitants of the region. Most of the year it ambles as near as 18 - 20 kilometers to the prosperous Dedza Trading Center, then it rambles away like a prodigal child, never giving but only taking. During the rainy season the river rushes off toward the big lake without even an embarrassed look back, carrying with it the life saving ingredients needed for life.

    In recent months a small group of visionaries from Malawi have come together to focus on helping the people in the tiny villages near the river. Most of these villages have little or no resources, no transportation, no nearby medical facilities, and no way for the people to make a living outside of the small family gardens that provide a meager food supply.

Read the rest of this entry »

Oct 08

Kuthandiza Outreach Receives A Boost

About the Malawi Project, Wheelchairs, Medical, Be The Change

       The Malawi Project continues to enlarge its programs of assistance in other districts of Malawi. One of the program additions is the Kuthandiza Osayenda Disability Outreach in Salima, Malawi.

          The Kuthandiza program was started because of the disability of its director, Mr. George Chimpiko Banda who was born with disabled feet and legs. His lifelong struggle with his disability has spawned a focus on helping others who suffer from similar disabilities. George reports, "This conviction caused me to start sacrificing some of my resources to reach out to these people in the form of village to village visits, provision for some second hand cloth, wheelchairs, and tricycles to enhance mobility." George also comments about his assistance to his clients in their spiritual life, as well as a limited amount of aid in cash, and his help in HIV/Aids counseling.

         Richard Stephens, Executive Director of the Malawi Project notes, "We started working with George in 2006 and we were immediately impressed with him and with his focus on his mission to help the handicapped of his nation. In this case where a major disability slowed his life since childhood George is a real life example of someone who has turned lemons into lemonade. George has taken his own disability and turned it into a life long commitment to helping his countrymen."

        As word of his activities spread George reports that the resources he had available could not keep up with the demand, so he started soliciting funds from some well wishers. As the work continued to grow it called for bigger facilities and more funding. The Outreach organization (KODO) was started and facilities were rented on the east side of the main road near the Salima Trading Center in Eastern Malawi.

        The organization has seven trustees and ten committee members, and its outreach is beginning to spread into all three regions of the country.

         In 2006 the Malawi Project, through a partnership with the Free Wheelchairs Mission in southern California sent 100 wheelchairs to George for distribution to people he was working with. Today the Malawi Project is supplying the resources to paint and re-letter the front of his building, and plans are under way to give him additional resources and wheelchairs for his work.

Sep 30

Board Member Credited With Saving a Life

About the Malawi Project, Be The Change

Trotwood, Ohio … At the regular monthly meeting of the City Council for Trotwood, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio Commodations were extended to the Trotwood Fire and Rescue unit and Suzi Stephens RN, the Medical Director for the Malawi Project. The plaque and letter was given to Mrs. Stephens as a result of her life saving assistance to a 48-year-old heart attack victim on July 7, 2007 when he experienced full cardiac arrest. The emergency took place during the wedding reception for the man’s nephew  married only a few hours earlier. As a result of the seriousness of the heart attack, the victim, spent 12 days in Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton and experienced a number of continued cardiac complications before being fitted with an internal defibrillator.

    Fire personnel noted that in less than 5% of the cases where they make a run to a complete cardiac arrest situation do they revive the patient successfully. They accorded the success of this particular situation to the quick action by Suzi Stephens when the man suddenly fell to the floor.

    The Mayor of Trotwood presented Mrs. Stephens with their congratulations and awarded her a plaque in recognition of her efforts. He commented that if he were to fall victim to a heart attack she was the person he wanted standing next to him. Local NBC television affiliate Channel 2 covered the event, as did the local newspaper.  At the ceremony the man met and thanked Suzi in person for saving his life.  He is expected to fully recover from his near death in July.

Sep 25

When We Arrived, Glen Wept

About the Malawi Project, Wheelchairs, Medical, Be The Change
 “He has a gentle and open nature like very few people that I’ve ever met,” reports Mark Thiesen an American working in the southern part of Malawi. Mark has been part of a missionary family in Malawi since he was a small boy. His parents were missionaries in the northern part of the nation and now the mantel of responsibilities has moved down to the second generation. He is writing about Glen Kalitera who suffered a debilitating stroke in 2002. Glen is still in his 50’s and became a widower in 2003 with the death of his wife.
    “Glen’s case is particularly sad,” Mark reports, “because he has no one who is willing to regularly come visit or encourage him.” Glen tells of one son who is working in South Africa and sends him money for living, but Glen is lonely and must stay in his house all day. Another son lives nearby but does not come to visit as Glen wishes he would.
    With the arrival of the wheelchair arriving in Thondwe (just south of Blantyre), compliments of the Free Wheelchair Mission and the Malawi Project Glen now has the freedom to get out for fresh air and to enjoy life again. He can also attend church services. Mark concludes, “When my mother and I delivered it, Glen wept."
Sep 21

Five Years and Nearly Five Hundred Quilts Later

About the Malawi Project, Be The Change

Suzi Stephens and Jenny Church with Quilt for Malawi

    It started in 1998 when Jenny Church from Indianapolis, Indiana USA made a quilt for her employer to take to Malawi and give to a needy family. When the Stephens couple returned that year they brought Jenny a picture of the recipient of her first donated quilt. Her story appeared on the Project’s web site and was also featured in a story in the Indianapolis Star newspaper’s coverage of the Malawi Project’s work in Africa. When people learned the plight of the peaceful, poor people of Malawi they reacted.

    Across the U. S. women started making quilts and blankets for the Project. One of these groups was the Busy Bee Quilting Group in Greenwood, Indiana. The 85 members of the group started working for Malawi in a big way, led by the efforts and interest of Mrs. Suzanna Miller.

Read the rest of this entry »

Previous Entries Next Entries