I Would Die and He Would Be Helpless
Name: James Jonna
Age: 12 years
Sex: Male
School Class 4
Village: Kapire *
Tribal Authority: Nsamala, Balaka *
At the age of 2 James fell ill from some sort of illness. His parents were and continue to be peasant farmers and they were unable to afford to take him to the hospital. His condition continued to worsen. Today he can no longer walk.
Because of his disability James has few dreams for his future, but his farther still dreams of him being able to attend a school for those who cannot afford the regular schools, and of him learning how to look after himself. His father looks toward the end of his own life and fears what will happen to his son after he is gone.
With the help of the wheelchair there is a much greater chance that young James can get around, learn, and become more independent. His father can now rest much easier at night knowing there is some kind of hope down the road for his son.
The Wheelchair was given to James and his family by George Banda and his staff at the Kuthandiza Osayenda Disability Outreach in Salima, Malawi. The wheelchair was possible by contributions from the Free Wheelchair Mission in Irvine, California and the Malawi Project.
* Balaka is an African trading center in the southern district of Malawi. It sits along the paved road from Blantyre to Lilongwe and is the commercial center for the district. The population for the Balaka district in 2001 was 270,441 and is it is estimated that in 2008 it will reach 335,449. The tiny villages that mark the countryside around the trading center are still the ancient mud-hut thatched roof villages of long ago. These villages contain no electricity, running water, telephone service and no paved roads by which they can be reached.
* The nation of Malawi is one of the poorest in the world and its heath care and educational systems are struggling to keep up with the increase in population. The HIV/AIDS scourge appears to have leveled of with about 15% of the population of the nation inflected with the disease.
* For a small boy like James there is little hope for any type of future unless he has some way to get around and fend for himself when his parents are gone. With a life expectancy that is now down to 37 years of age the life span of his parents can very well leave James an orphan in the very near future.