Malawi Vice President Visits Indiana
Posted on | June 29, 2010
Malawi Vice President Visits Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana … During a recent trip to the United States the Right Honorable Joyce Banda, the Vice President of the nation of Malawi, made a trip to Indiana to express her gratitude for the work the Malawi Project has accomplished in her nation in recent years. During her time in Indiana she met with a group of businesswomen who have been able to create successful ventures in the Indianapolis area. Sharon O’Donoghue, the Executive Director of the Business Ownership Initiative, organized this meeting.
In late afternoon Dick and Suzi Stephens, founders of the Malawi Project, hosted a reception for the Vice President at their home on the Indianapolis north side. Over 200 people were in attendance during the four-hour reception. The guest list included people from Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee, Michigan and Indiana.
In the evening the Vice-President was hosted by church elders and members of the Board of Directors for MIBI, the newest program in Malawi by the Indianapolis group. The new MIBI campus, now over 200 acres in size, will house an international leadership training school, pre-school and secondary school, agricultural training facility, and a medical facility.
“To Get Help Bring Your Own Supplies
Posted on | May 30, 2010
Senga Bay, Malawi … “Please come to the gate. I know it is holiday, but please see the lady. She has a big sore on her arm. Please help her.”
“I quickly put on a pair of rubber gloves and ran to the gate,” reports Samantha Ludick of the Clinic at the Gate, and the Cool Runnings Resort in Senga Bay. “The very sound of his voice indicated it was serious.”
“When I reached the gate I met a young woman named Hawa Admini. She showed me her arm, and started to explain what had happened. It seems that three weeks earlier she was sleeping fine, except for her dream. When she awoke she felt like she had a mountain on her arm. She discovered a lump on her arm. She did nothing for a time thinking it was just the dream, but the lump kept getting bigger and bigger. She had no money to go to the hospital. Finally a neighbor told her to come to the Clinic at the Gate.”
“When I saw the wound I knew I needed to take her to the Salima District Hosptial. I clearned the wound, and gave her a strong painkiller. At the hospital we were faced with the question, ‘Would they have the supplies to care for her?’ I quickly learned they did not. Only if I could source the needed supplies could they help her. I made a list from the doctor of the things he would need.”
“Back at the Clinic at the Gate I gathered up supplies given to me by the Malawi Project, and made some calls to find other needed supplies I did not have. Before long I was able to go back to the hospital with the supplies, much to the delight of the doctor. He noted how hard it is to help people when you do not have the medical supplies to do the job.”
Ludick concludes, “We are so very appreciative of all who help get the supplies to us that are helping people like Hawa.”
To assist us in providing medical supplies to the Clinic at the Gate and others like it, please click here to contact us.
Deforestation Confronted with Shoes
Posted on | May 27, 2010
With one of the highest populations densities in Africa, and with only 2% of the population having access to electricity, the people of Malawi are cutting trees faster than the forests can grow. Why is such an intense deforestation taking place?
Cooking ~ 98% of the population has no electricity with which to cook. There is no other means available than to use wood or charcoal, both of which require the cutting of trees.
Brick Making ~ In order to make bricks for building construction large amounts of wood is used to fire the brick making kilns.
Shifting Cultivation ~ As land is exhausted from farming, virgin forest is being cleared for new farmland. This deforestation is having drastic effects on the environment.
Building ~ With an ever increasing population, the need for lumber for housing continues to grow.
Tobacco Drying ~ One of the major exports of Malawi is tobacco, and 1 acre of tobacco requires up to 3 acres of woodland to cure the tobacco.
Exports ~ Malawi has a critical need to export in order to help offset the high import costs of goods and services. Wood is a commodity badly needed in other parts of the world, and it brings good prices on the world market.
“The problems that lead to the excess cutting of trees is not an easy one to resolve,” reports Richard Stephens of the Malawi Project. “We find many of the solutions are beyond our ability to solve in the short term. However we can affect the problem by planting thousands of trees. This goes along with the goal of creating Read more
Tags: deforestation > sustainable development
Contractor Hands Over Kitchen
Posted on | May 16, 2010
Guardians Rush to be First
A quiet, overcast morning greeted the morning at the Namikango Maternity Hospital in Thondwe, as a light wind seemed to drift aimlessly with no purpose. People began to gather near the old guardian shelters veranda. Most of the people were there in order to care for a patient in the maternity clinic. Some came just to cheer their loved ones, or to bring food for the expectant mothers. Numbers of children accompanied them.
The Director, Bisani Mphongolo, accompanied by the Contractor, entered the new structure. Inside are fourteen fireplaces with steel rods to support cooking pots. Electrical lights and black painted stands are the final touch.
The guardians watched as the men moved to officially carry out the handing-over ceremony. They posed for the symbolic handshake outside the A-frrame structure. It marked the end of a long construction journey.
As word went out that the kitchen could be used, excited guardians rushed in search of firewood, matches, water and pots, each wanting to be the first to use the new kitchen. The situation could be more fitly called a competition. Each wanted to make a name as “the first woman to use the new Namikango Mission Clinic’s kitchen.” This wasn’t surprising. Every person wished to be associated with the best.
If it were a competition, Rashida M’baluku would have been declared the winnner. She quickly started a fire, and got her small pot ready. Rashida hails from Rifa Village of Tribal Authority Mulambe in Zomba District. She had been at the clinic for the past two weeks preparing food for her younger sister who is expecting a baby.
After using the old kitchen on several occasions, Rashida described the new kitchen as the best. “We’ll not be waiting for one another now.” The old kitchen only had six cooking stations. With fourteen fireplaces the new kitchen
Tags: hospital kitchen Malawi > nami > Namikango
BUV Used for Maize Transport
Posted on | May 7, 2010
Agriculture is the backbone of Malawi. It is a land locked country centrally positioned on the surface of the African continent. It has a population of 13.5 million people. While a stretch of the population near the lake shore depends on cassava as its main food, and the rest of the nation has varied amounts of potatoes, millet, sorghum, and other fruits, the main food commodity is maize (corn).
In a good year, the harvesting season for maize starts in April, and it moves slowly north where planting season started later in the year. It is a happy time as it marks the transition from a time of major food shortage to a time of plenty. Malnutrition levels drop drastically. It is, however, a time when many farmers face difficulty in transporting their produce from the fields to their homes. Farms are normally far from the village. Few farmers own ox-carts, or bicycles, and they must carry the grain on their heads.
In recent weeks the harvest has started. Namikango Mission is in the process of bringing in its harvest of maize. Unlike previous years, when the transportation of grain was a challenge, this year thanks to the Malawi Project and its timely and valuable donation of the Basic Utility Vehicle, the grain is being easily moved from field to warehouse.
The BUV is a multipurpose vehicle that can be used, not only for grain transportation, but also for expectant mothers to be transported to the nearby maternity clinic. In a country where much of the population lives on less that a dollar a day, acquisition of an ox-cart or bicycle is unachievable. This leads to countless challenges in transportation. When one visits Malawi for the first time one is likely to see thousands of people walking on foot, both in rural and urban areas.
The BUV has proven to work exceptionally well where road conditions are not good, and it can also play a role in bridging the communication gap in rural areas. It is a country where 80% of the population lives in extremely remote areas, and in adverse poverty. The major mode of transportation is walking for long distances. The availability of basic utility vehicles can transform people’s lives for the better.
The BUV, one of three units delivered by the Malawi Project, and the manufacturer, is drastically reducing total expenditures for the mission in terms of time, and provision of service that would be delayed with its absence. Maternal related deaths that arise due to delays in getting medical attention from the clinic are likely to be reduced in villages around the medical facility because of the availability of this vehicle.
- Wilson Isaac Tembo
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