Ode to a Plain, White, 5-Gallon Bucket
The Important Things in Life
Paying a bundle for Christmas presents for the grandchildren only to discover on Christmas morning that they are playing with the wrapping boxes instead of what is inside.
Shipping thousand and thousands of dollars in medical equipment and supplies to a medically starved nation only to observe the workers getting [...]
Youth Group Conducts Hospital Program
Mzuzu … Each Sunday afternoon, when supplies are available, the Youth Group from the Mchengautuba Church of Christ in Mzuzu, Malawi go to the Mzuzu Central Hospital to give assistance. They carry out a program of service to the patients and those who come to care for them during their time in the hospital.
[...]
Blowing in the Wind
Fishermen Challenge the Waves
Birds drift on strong winds, women and girls wash ragged old family clothes, and the wind makes it difficult to hold the camera steady in the face of the blustery weather. Fishermen challenge the waves in order to eat for another day, as the sleeves of my sweater drag the [...]
Training the Handicapped Self Reliance
A Visit to KODO
Salima, Malawi … It is late morning when we arrive at the Kuthandiza Osayenda Disability Outreach office in a dilapidated, old, rundown building on the east side of the Salima Trading Center. Outside, because there is not enough room inside, is a row of half a dozen women and men learning [...]
Recent Gathering Brings Tribes Together
From Kingdom to Protectorate and Beyond
A recent gathering in northern Malawi brought together all of the Paramount Chiefs of all of the major tribes in the country, as well as the current President of Malawi for the first time in history. The Angoni were dressed in tribal traditional wear, and it was the largest [...]
It Just Happens
The Pain of Recalling
There is no picture of Lillian Chibaka. The pain of recalling the story can be seen in his face as Doctor Smith Chibaka recalls the events surrounding the last months of the life of his little baby cousin.
Lillian was born in 1999, and was on the way to becoming a [...]
The Girl in the Wheelbarrow
She Goes Everywhere in the Wheelbarrow
Where ever they go she goes in the wheelbarrow. When they go to the trading center, she goes in the wheelbarrow. When they go to church, she goes in the wheelbarrow. When they walk along the road, she goes in the wheelbarrow.
The girl in the wheelbarrow is 19-year-old [...]
Miami University Team Makes A Difference
Miami University Students
& Faculty Make a Difference!
"It was well worth it." This was the conclusion after a group of 21 volunteers from Ambassadors for Children, including 13 students and 1 faculty member from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, endured the 20+hour air flight journey to Malawi. Everyone instantly fell in love with the people [...]
Struggling Against The Odds
The Fishermen of Nguwo Village
Senga Bay, Malawi … The wind was blowing in from the lake with an intensity that caused white caps to lunge on the shore as though they were locked in some sort of grudge fight. The morning sun reflected its blazing rays against the grey-blue water in order to [...]
Not About Money
Don’t Pay Me Anything!
"Don’t pay me anything. Life is not about making money; it’s about helping." With these words Singini Bandawe shrugged off my attempt to compensate him for the fuel and wear and tear on his vehicle that he had expended for me that morning.
I had just met Singini a few [...]
