The Malawi Project, Inc.

"My Name is Innocent"

His name is Innocent Banda and in many ways he lives up to what his name implies. First, he has become parentless through no fault of his own. He is "innocent". And "Innocent" was the name his parents gave him at birth. He does not know why they chose that name and will probably never know. His father died and his mother remarried and moved away. Innocent now lives in the Chimwemwe (Joy) House at Mtendere Village and acts as a senior guide and leader to the younger children in the children’s village. Innocent celebrates his birthday each year without fanfare and most often without recognition or gifts on January 5. He is the firstborn of two children. He also has a sister. His original home was in the Dowa District in a tiny village called Mkanile 2. His tribal authority was Chief Chakhaza. Innocent speaks concerning his life before coming to Mtendere, "I lived with my uncle. I slept on a bad sleeping mat, had little food, clothing and no parental care. My uncle fed his kids first, and sometimes there was nothing left for me to eat." Now, after making his home at Mtendere Children’s Village Innocent can report, "My life is very, very good. I am very happy. I have a nice bed and good food. I would like to thank God for bringing me here. My prayer is for those kids who are still living in the villages who are unable to come here."

    During 2007 Innocent found his calling in song leading and preaching at the local congregation in Lumbadzi, Malawi. In August he was selected as one of the speakers at a giant youth rally in Lilongwe. Innocent reports that he wants to grow up and go about helping other people. He is off to a good start.

Dowa District Is North of the Capital
    The Dowa District is the district or state just north of the capital of Lilongwe. It is situated just across the river to the north from the Lilongwe District where Mtendere Village is located. From his home in Mtendere Innocent can actually look over the hills to the north and see his home district. In 2001 the Dowa District had an estimated population of 434,693. The population is expected to reach 526,604 in 2008. The Dowa District is home to the Mponela Trading Center and the Madisi Trading Center where many of the early programs of the Malawi Project originated.

Without Our Help They Will Die
By Smith Chibaka, Sacred Promise Healthcare
        One of the astonishing events in Moses’ life was that he had been sentenced to death long before he was even born. After his birth, his survival depended on his parents’ faith in God. Unbelievably, after 3 months of being secretly hidden in the house, his mother put him in a basket and hid him by the banks of river Nile until that basket came to the attention of  Pharaoh’s daughter.

        When the basket was brought to Pharaoh’s daughter, she opened the basket and saw a baby in it; the baby wept and she had compassion on him. The death sentence was lifted and Moses’ life was then destined for the king’s palace.

        This was the Moses who led the children of Israel out of Egypt; The Moses who received the Decalogue on Mt Sinai.

        Today thousands and thousands of the children of Malawi are born into a hopeless society. Their fate decided long before they are even born. Providentially, some people have extended their arms reaching out to commute the death sentences of these helpless children.

        The world has shown compassion on these children and is determined to give these children a future. Aid is being extended in the form of shelter, food, clothing and school. Some are less fortunate and are only enrolled at day-care centers where they at least get some meals. Shelter is taken care of by some well wishers or next of kin.

        One area that is a burden to handle is that of healthcare. It is quite difficult to walk long distances to some Health Centers where medical help is rendered. The problem becomes unbearably when the guardians are quite elderly and are themselves in need of some assistance as regards activities of daily living. The sick children under their care are left at the mercy of nature. It is worse when those children are parentless.

        Our appreciation for the great work done by thousands world-wide, who have come to our rescue, can only be shown by the role we can play in uplifting the lives and welfare of these innocent children. Our part is to look into the health of these orphans, vulnerable children and elderly guardians.

        This is an enormous undertaking, but we feel the little we can do will make a difference.  Our program at the Sacred Promise Healthcare Center shall target on a few centers that are within the townships of Lilongwe. This is because of the difficulties in transport from place to place. 

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.

                 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.

Zuze Moyo -  A Solitary Man in the Dowa Valley

    It is sometimes strange how your eyes will catch on a single person in a crowded place. Something about them gets your attention; perhaps their attractiveness, or perhaps their outgoing personality, or maybe it is simply because they are the only person directly in your line of vision.

    None of these reasons fit on that morning when we entered the tiny village of Kasitu located deep in the Dowa Valley east of Lilongwe. Of all of the people that crossed my line of sight I found that my eyes had locked on Zuze Moyo. It was not for any of the reasons I have just mentioned, for he was not attractive, nor did he have an outgoing personality. Nor was he directly in my line of vision as I got out of the car and started walking toward the church building where the meeting was about to begin.

    Zuze was stumblingly clawing his way through a high patch of weeds trying, it seemed, to get away from the line of travel of the people going to the building. His crippled features and his tattered clothes made him stand out from the other village people who lived nearby or from those who had come for the meetings. For a long moment I could not take my eyes off of him, then we passed and I was hesitate to look back. We greeted a number of the men and women near the door of the building and then started to enter. A single look back and again he was in my line of sight. He looked bewildered, confused, and alone. Perhaps he was mentally unbalanced, and unaware of the world in which he lived. Or perhaps he knew everything that was taking place and knew he was repulsive to those who eyes touched on his pitiful features.

    For the next three hours the prayers, teaching, and singing consumed my mind and my view of the world around me. Then it was time to go across the road to a house where lunch would be served. I wondered if I would see Zuze again. Just as I stepped out of the building he again came directly in my line of vision. He was sitting in the path that lead to the road and on to the buildings on the other side. We had to pass directly beside him. I tried not to look as we approached. I did not want to embarrass him. His head and eyes seemed to sway with the fluid scene around him and still I could not tell if he was aware of his surroundings or if his world was one that none of us would ever comprehend or understand.
    As we passed him on our way to the meal the pattern of a Bible story began to form in my mind.

    "30 Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."     Luke 10:30-32

    We crossed the road and shared a typical Malawi meal; village chicken, nsima, rice and greens. Everyone was in a good mood and the conversation was upbeat and positive. Yet, the scene across the road still dominated my thoughts. Who was Zuze? What was his real condition? Did he understand that everyone was ignoring him and looking the other way when they passed him?

    Meal complete and time to go back over for the afternoon sessions. I wonder if he will still be there? As we stepped out of the small house my answer was right there in front of me. Zuze was sitting on the ground almost directly in front of us. Still he looked confused, as though he did not know how or why he had gotten there.

    For the next two days I would watch for him. He was always there. And I always felt like we were playing out a continuation of the story of the man who had fallen among thieves. Zuze had not suffered that plight but perhaps his was worse. His would never improve. He was trapped for the rest of his life. No medicine would change his condition. No trip to the doctor would change his status. And too, I was afraid that there was not a Good Samaritan that would come by to help him. By the end of the day I sought and gained some information about him that helped to ease my mind … some.
   
    I learned Zuze has been in this condition his entire life; crippled, confused and helpless. Now he lives with his aged mother. His siblings and his father have all gone from this life and the two of them are somewhat alone. I learned that he fully knows and understands what is taking place around him and he sits along the path to beg for some good person to offer him some substance so he can eat. It was strange the next thing I learned; he likes to watch football (soccer). A crippled man watching his friends and neighbors run freely across a field playing a game in which he will never participate. What dreams go through his mind as perhaps he struggles to imagine himself racing along the field, friends and family cheering him on, then to cross the finish line and score the game winning goal for his home village. I learned he is 48 years old and I wondered if anyone ever recognizes his birthday. But the best news I learned in this story of pain and despair is the fact that the church is helping to support him and his mother. It brought to mind the best part of the story of the man who fell among thieves. Now I can complete the verses in my mind.

    33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" 37 And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."