The Malawi Project, Inc.

    "At first I was born nicely," says Grace Gondwe as she sits facing the computer screen. It is mid-afternoon and Grace is hard at work as the assistant accountant for the school where she works in Mzuzu, Malawi. Her features are frail, and her voice is soft and gentle. She rubs her hands together in a nervous gesture as she continues with her story.

    "When I was two I fell ill. From my illness I could not move. I was just crawling down. I could not walk again." The year was 1970 and Grace apparently had been one of the many who fell victim to a plague so few understood, the curse of polio. Grace continues her narrative.

I Was So Determined

    "I was determined, in spite of my illness, so I started school in Standard One. I just kept crawling about. I crawled about through each grade up to graduation," she continues. "It was after my graduation and degree in computers that I could be given crutches so I could begin a job. Now I have this job and I come to work each day." Her employer, Randy Judd, an American missionary who operates the school outside Mzuzu, reports, "Grace is one of our best employees. In spite of her difficulty Grace comes to work rain or shine, on time, and does her job in an excellent way."

    Grace continues her story. "I was only married for the time I was in school. That is all. Today I have two girls, Pillirani, age 14 and Glory who is 18. Both girls cannot go to school at this time because we do not have the money for their school fees."

    From the northern Malawi Timbuktu tribe Grace proudly reports she is from M.Nzimba Village in the Mzimba District under the Tribal Authority of T. A. Mtwalo.

    At 40 years of age Grace has suffered more than most people 20 years her senior. After telling her story it is time for the interview to close, as she needs to complete her tasks for the day. 4:30 will arrive all too soon and she will have to struggle down the long, dirt path to the main road where she will catch a bus south to her home near the local airport. Tomorrow she will reverse the trip, coming back to her job in accounting. Day after day, week after week, laboring mile after mile after mile.

    Soon another shipment of wheelchairs will be on the way to Malawi. Grace is on the list of future recipients.

        Day after day, and year after year the Malawi Project turns to its art director, John Clark, in order to properly prepare a picture for publication, create a new introductory piece, prepare a book cover, or design a new and different annual report. The result is always the same. John always comes though, and his results are at the top of their profession. On top of this John holds a full time job with Lifesong Brands, a supplier of coffee products nation wide. John is like everyone that works with the Malawi Project; he is a volunteer, so everything he does for the Project must be fitted around his job, family and other responsibilities and interests.

    John was born in Martinsville, Indiana in 1955, and obtained his degree in Commercial Art in 1979 from the Indiana Vocational Technical College. After an internship with the Indianapolis Advertising Agency of Handly and Miller John worked for a Lafayette, Indiana agency before launching into partnerships over the years with his own agencies. In 1998 he joined Morning Song, a Lafayette, Indiana bird products company, and then later followed its management team when they formed Lifesong Brands, which owns Copper Moon.

    John has traveled to Malawi, and has held a major interest in the work in Malawi since it started in 1993. He is pictured here with his wife, Di Clark. They have been married since 1985.

Meeting Establishes New Drop Site For Supplies
        Mzuzu, Malawi … In early August 2008, a three-hour meeting was held at the Bible College in Mzuzu, next door to the University of Malawi. In attendance were Randy Judd, the Director for the school, Richard (Dick) Stephens of the Malawi Project, and local church leaders Davison Z. Ndhlovu of Ekwendeni, Moster Kanyinji of Mzimba, and C. T. Chirambo of Salima. The meeting focused a great deal of attention on creating a closer working relationship with medical facilities in northern Malawi that are sorely in need of additional medical supplies.

Site Holds Many Advantages
        The campus was selected for a number of reasons. First, it is a central location for the north, positioned on the main road just north of the regional capital of Mzuzu, and next door to the University of Malawi. Second, the campus has an excellent facility with excess capacity in its current status of 20 buildings situated on 18 acres of finely manicured property. Third, its recognition as a major trade area makes it an excellent location for various groups to reach in order to pick up needed resources.

Land of the Tumbuktu
        Primarily, the Timbuktu tribe inhabits the northern portion of Malawi, with a scattering of Angoni tribes. It’s major center of commerce and government is located in the city of Mzuzu, which takes its name from a small stream. Its current population is estimated at 175,345. The region serves the districts (states) of Mzimba, Karonga, Rumphi, Nkhata Bay, Likoma Island, Chitipa, and is home to Malawi’s first national park, Nyika National Park. The Park holds what is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful montane plateaus to be found anywhere in Africa. Near the park at its southern end rests the Vwaza Marsh Game Park, home to a high number of wild animals and birdlife. To the east sits Lake Malawi, the 12th largest fresh water lake in the world, and home to one of the largest varieties of fresh water fish in the world. Above it to the west raises the high mountainous plateau that anchors the lower end of the Great Rift Valley. On the mountain above the lake is the historic community of Livingstonia, which dates back to the time of the early missionaries led by the Scottish missionary David Livingston. A short distance to the south of Mzuzu is one of the largest rain forests in the world, Chikangawa.

His Business Card Reads…
    His business card reads "Daniel Shipley, Helping Malawi One Dollar at a Time". Then his address, email address and phone number are listed at the bottom. On the back the card is filled with suggested items that are needed in Malawi; Band-aids, Folders, Paper Clips, Rulers, Pencils, Pens, Tooth Brushes, Tooth Paste and the thing that got it all started several years ago, raisins. The list goes on and on until the back of the card is full with the wish list that Daniel gathers up for the children of Malawi

    In many ways this business card says a lot about this young man from Knoxville, Tennessee. It says he is in it for the long haul. It also says a lot about his mother and father. Malawi has become a vocation for him, and in turn it has involved great deal of time and energy for his parents, Dean and Jamie Shipley.

It started During the Great Famine
    It started in 2002 when Daniel was just 11 years of age, and Malawi was suffering from the worst famine it had experienced since the 1950’s before it gained its independence from Great Britain. His story appeared on the Malawi Project web site after Daniel gathered raisins to send to the children who were suffering during the famine. Most people who learned of the famine helped for a few months until the worst of the famine had past, and then moved on to other programs of service. Not Daniel. He focused in on Malawi and increased his endeavors to assist the people there. After his inspiring story sparked a major food supplier to send an entire trailer load of raisins to Malawi, Daniel increased his own involvement again and again.

    Today, Daniel is 17, and he continues faithfully to serve the people of Malawi. On a recent trip to Indiana to deliver supplies for an outgoing trailer to Malawi Daniel delivered buckets of needed items along with a sizeable check that he presented to Dick Stephens, Director of the Malawi Project.

    You can read more about Daniel and others like him in the "Be The Change" section of the Project’s web site.

    It was an important day for both of them when Yasin Wame met George Banda  (Director of Kuthandiza Osayenda Disability Outreach (KODO)) in 1998. George was working hard to serve the needs of people with physical handicaps, and Yasin had one. Yasin had been born disabled, and his disability affected both his back and his legs. In spite of his problems Yasin was able to attend school up to standard five when he had to drop out because his parents could no longer afford the school fees. He was then trained in tailoring by the "Malawi Council for the Handicapped", but again he was unable to move forward when the program was unable to accomplish its goals, as there were not enough funds for the program to support him and improve his skills.

    When Yasin met George he found a home. It was not a place where he could receive, but a place where he could give. Since he was from the Kapira Village in the Salima District, Yasin was able to begin assisting George to assist others with disabilities. He has been there ever since, teaching, assisting, encouraging.

    The old adage is true: "I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet." It is pretty hard to complain after you have watched George and Yasin  helping the disabled. It appears they no longer realize that they both also suffer from disabilities that would make others grow discouraged and quit.

    Yasin is seen in the left of this picture showing a young woman how to repair a bicycle rim.