Madalitso Vita-Meal Production
It has been said that every cloud has a silver lining. If this is true then the silver lining to the disastrous famine that struck Malawi in 2001-02 might be the creation of a food plant that is processing and feeding large numbers of orphans, widows, and needy people long after the severity of the famine has been forgotten.
The famine of 2001-02 brought with it a new awareness of the nation of Malawi as members of the Malawi Project sought financial and food aid assistance to the starving masses. A number of international agencies responded and the Malawi Project and members of the Blessings Complex in central Malawi teamed up to help to fight the hunger. One of the results of the new awareness was the fact that Feed the Children, Universal Aide Society, Nourish the Children, Healing Hands International, and the Malawi Project teamed up to find ways to fend off starvation in Malawi. After discussions with Nourish the Children, as well as with other agencies the decision was made that Nourish the Children would fund the major portion of the cost for the construction of a food processing plant in Malawi. The plant would not only feed the hungry, but would also support the local economy in giving employment, and in the purchase of the raw commodities from the local agricultural market. In February 2004 ground was broken for the Madalitso Vita Meal Food Plant near Blessings Hospital. In just 9 months the facility was completed. Over 3,000 people attended the Grand Opening, an event that marked the beginning of processing and distributing food to help feed the poor.
As an incubator of such programs the Malawi Project has completed its involvement in the Madalitso Vita Meal plant, and the plant is now fully operational without the need of funding from the Malawi Project.
