Rose’s mother was the second of nine children, and Joyce the sixth child in her family. When parents die leaving behind large families, it places a nearly impossible responsibility on older grandparents who are already struggling to find enough food, clothing and shelter with which to survive themselves. The arrival of 10 or 12 more mouths to feed, and bodies to cloth is insurmountable.

In an effort to cope with this national crisis the Malawi government, through a decentralization process, gave power to local communities to organize, identify, and assist needy people in their areas. According to Wilson Tembo, the Director of the Malawi Project’s southern warehouse distribution site in Thondwe, “These community based organizations are providing a positive alternative where the needy receive aid,” he notes. It was during a recent distribution of clothes and other supplies that Tembo came upon little Rose. After learning of her plight he continues, “Rose is the best symbol of many orphans who are left with only grandparents to care for them. These children lack essential things like clothes, school fees, food and housing. Because such a large gap exists between the need and the ability to get these resources to the children, the Msamba Community Based Organization came into existence at the grass roots, local level. Malawi has thousands of orphans who have no hope for the future. Many are innocent and many are orphans because of a 13.5% HIV/AIDS rate in the country. The Namikango Mission and Maternity Hospital is pleased to have the support of the Malawi Project, the Universal Aide Society, and Compassionate Resources Network in being able to help these community based groups, and especially to be able to make a difference in the lives of children like Rose and Joyce.”

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At five years of age, Chisomo attends an orphan nursery school near her village. But, it takes more than Mary can provide. Not only can she not keep up, the problem is getting more serious. The family is running out of money and resources. She looks at the visitor with deep concern. There is no work in the area for the older children. Malawi has an employment problem with 50% of its people out of work.

“You can see I have stopped baking the scones,” she says. “I do not have the capital,” She was embarrassed that she could not provide food for the visitor during his visit to her home. She had no food in the house that day for anyone, not even the children. “What will happen to them? Who will provide what I cannot give?”

“I understood her problem, and was unable to answer her question and the plea it contained,” noted Wilson Tembo as he left to prepare his report for the Malawi Project web site. “I don’t know what is to become of her, and the children, including little Chisomo.”

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I met a 9-year-old village boy who has a burning desire to be educated and crawls to school.  Fredson Mtentha of Nkanda Village is the boy, and  he has never walked. While some of us complain of worn out shoes, old-fashioned clothes, and boring channels on television, Fredson’s worries about how he can get to school. His burning desire propels him to crawl a 4-kilometer stretch of dusty road in order to reach school each day. Even though he tries in his classes, he lags far behind, and at the age of 9, Fredson remains in the first grade of a primary school. His case is a symbolic representation of many young boys and girls who are struggling with being unable to attend classes due to mobility issues and a lack of suitable wheelchairs.

At Namikango Mission each day is different from the others, and each day brings its own new challenges. Today I had to tell a 9-year-old boy that, at least for now, we do not have a wheelchair for him to go to school.  It’s been a painful day.

Report by Wilson Isaac Tembo

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“Having a picture of a small health facility like Msipe, one may think the situation is better in some main hospitals of the country,” Wilson starts his report. “But contrary to expectations, these government run centers are in a critical situation with many challenges when it comes to acquiring drugs and equipment that are needed to deliver health care to the masses.”

“A few days after visiting Msipe in central Malawi, we made some donations to the southwestern district hospital of Mwanza. This hospital serves a population of 94,000 people, near the Malawi-Mozambique border. Like Msipe, it has a massive task in trying to serve the needs of the people because of inadequate supplies. The District health Officer, Dr. Bwanali Jereni confirms that with a 250-bed capacity, the hospital has over 350 patients at a time. This means that over 100 people sleep on the floor without beds and mattress.”

“Dr. Bwanali Jereni explains why there is such a high population count of patients at this hospital. ‘More patients come from neighboring Mozambique, and other districts like Chikhwawa and Neno, because of the geographical position of this area. It is impractical for patients to walk to the Chikhwawa District Hospital, or to other centers in Neno. As a result they flock to Mwanza, because it is accessible. The roads are poor and hilly in the other areas so people prefer to come to our hospital. This increases our count, and the need for more supplies goes up.’”

“Like Msipe Health Centre in Central Malawi, Mwanza district Hospital has a high number of cases of malaria, HIV/AIDS related cases, pneumonia, tuberculosis, measles and malnutrition. There is a critical need for oxygen concentrators, mattress, beds and Elite glucometers.”

“At the conclusion of our visit, Dr. Bwanali Jereni thanked the supporters for making available the donation of syringes, orthopedic supplies, beddings, walkers, toilet chairs, and other medical supplies. The doctor observed they will make a big impact on the people along the border region.”

Report by Wilson Isaac Tembo

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One is the fact they are using the supplies to help the very, very poor. This is a major reason we choose these types of facilities to receive aid. Second, if we can outfit these rural facilities with supplies the people will attend close to home and not overload the district facilities who are overwhelmed each time the rural facilities run out of supplies. Third, it is in a rural area. When these facilities run out of drugs people are forced to walk, cycle, or go by ox-cart to other facilities. There is a high chance that by the time they get there these other facilities will also be out of supplies.”

The trip through the facility begins to draw to a close, and Tembo concludes his report.

“The nurse said to me, ‘Our challenges are many. We generally lack drugs, gloves, exam couches, beds and mattresses, among other things.’ I noted this facility has only one medical assistant and four nurses. They are delivering 60 babies a month, and they admit 30 patients a week.”

By Wilson Isaac Tembo

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Namikango

Church Building Becomes Distribution Site
Four years ago the Malawi Project established a strong working relationship with the Namikango Mission and Maternity Hospital, near Zomba. Forty-foot trailers of supplies had been directed to three sites in the central region for a number of years, but Namikango became only the second site for distribution in the south. A former church building was refitted to be a major warehouse, storage and distribution facility, and millions of dollars in aid started flowing through this new venue. Wilson Tembo, who had worked with the Project in the central region, moved to Thondwe to oversee the program. Tembo set up an intricate reporting and follow up system in order to track supply distribution. He started accessing various medical facilities in the south, and accumulated their needs lists. He makes site visits that are a vitally important component to this work.

Responsible Malawians Know the Territory
“With these site visits, Tembo can assess where future supplies are needed, and what items should be at the top of the list. These trips are vitally important to the health of our medical supply program throughout Malawi,” according to Richard Stephens, one of the founders of the Project. “Americans cannot be everywhere on site, all the time, in order to track these supplies. Responsible Malawians know the territory, and they are better qualified to manage the program. They form the front line management team who exercise responsible oversight of this program. We have a great team in Tembo, Bisini Mphongolo, the administrator of the mission, and his staff. They are doing a great job.”

“During their visits to the various facilities they are able to gain a better picture of the health situation and need. They can quickly communicate this information to the states, and the most critically needed items can be sourced for future shipments,” reports Suzi Stephens RN, Medical Director for the Project. “It is a great benefit to have them making these first hand, on site, visits to report what these resources mean to everyday Malawians, and how they are being effectively used.”

A Heart Warming Sight
During a recent trip to Malawi, Scott Gordon, President of the Malawi Project, looked in on the team at the warehouse and observed, “It is really heart warming to see the way the Malawi staff has taken hold of this program, and are faithfully executing it to the benefit of the people. It is very different than many other programs where upper staff and management are from the expatriate community, and the Malawians are secondary players. In our programs the Malawians take the lead. For them to be responsible for their own future is the way we think it should be. It is working.”

In coming weeks new information will be posted on this site giving first hand reports of trips by this management team to sites where millions of dollars are being distributed. New stories post every week. Sign up today for an instant email as the stories are posted.

In the picture Wilson Tembo, far right, poses with the staff of a health care facility as they receive a portion of a recent shipment of supplies from the Malawi Project.

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During the same week another 40-foot trailer of medical supplies were unloaded at the Malawi Project’s southern warehouse at the Namikango Maternity Hospital and Mission in Thondwe. The value of the truck shipment has been valued at approximately $600,000.00. This makes the total of the two shipments approximately $ 1,600,000.00. Both shipments had the same destination, and have been made possible through a joint effort of Universal Aide in Canada, World Emergency Relief, and the Malawi Project in the United States, and the Namikango facility.

Within days of their arrival Wilson Tembo, warehouse director, had the supplies and medicines ready for distribution. Medical facilities and doctors were contacted in all three regions of the country, and in spite of a serious fuel shortage, medical groups were able to find fuel and make the trip to Thondwe to pick them up. The event was quite newsworthy, and was covered by Malawi Broadcasting Cooperation, Television (MBC-TV), and the Zodiak Radio, Malawi (ZBS).

Included in the group picking up drugs and supplies was the Kamuzu Vocational Rehabilitation and Training Centre Clinic. This center is located deep in a remote part of southern Malawi. Opened in 1984, the center trains physically challenged people in different vocational venues, in order for them to become economically independent. It’s clinic serves the staff, students and village community surrounding its location, and treats over 200 patients a month. Drugs such as Albendazole, Amoxillin, Doxycline tablets, Multivitamins and SP were among the items arriving on the air shipment. These drugs help reduce the suffering of many people in area villages.

Another beneficiary of the drug shipment is the Malawi Prison system, and its headquarters facilities at the Zomba Central Prison. This facility is the biggest prison in the country, and is home to over 2,000 inmates. Like many other facilities in the country, the prison hospital lacks drugs, supplies and equipment. Unlike other Malawians who have the freedom to choose where to get medical attention, the inmates have little or no choice. This emphasizes the need for a continual flow of supplies to the prison. Moses Chigayo is the Malawi Prisons Services Clinical Officer, and is the official responsible for all prison infirmaries.

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Floor Baby Deliveries in Mitundu
The article , “Floor Baby Deliveries In Mitundo“, written by Stonald Kuphunda and appearing in Zodiac Online in late July, recounts how pregnant women at Mitundu Community Hospital in Malawi’s capital city of Lilongwe are delivering babies on the floor because of the lack of mattresses in the maternity wing at the facility. The story reports the Clinical Officer for Mitundu Community Hospital Mr. George Mtambo has sent an SOS appeal for the donation of mattresses at the hospital.

Mitundu Community Hospital serves 112,000 people in its catchment area. It is also a referral hospital for eight health centres from Traditional Authorities Chadza, Masula, Chiseka and Masumbankhunda in Lilongwe; and Traditional Authorities Chilikumwendo and Kachere in Dedza districts, according to the story in Zodiak Online, and forwarded to the Malawi Project by Wilson Tembo, with the Malawi Project’s medical supply distribution site in southern Malawi.

The Problem Would Be Worse
As the story went to press, two other members of the Malawi Project Board of Directors were in Malawi assessing the needs in future shipments. Scott Gordon, the President of the Project, and Dick Stephens, co-founder, both agreed that if this is the problem in the largest city of the nation, the problems faced with the lack of supplies in the village areas are far worse. Scott, upon seeing the picture of a baby being born on the concrete floor, and reading the report commented, “This is tragic. While the world goes on about its business this poor nation is suffering in ways unimaginable in other parts of the world. It is why we are seeking funds to build a second hospital in Malawi, and to increase future shipments of medical supplies to the country.”  Stephens shook his head in sadness. “How can we get the rest of the world to take note and respond? It is at catastrophic levels, and since these kind and gentle people don’t throw rocks at us that get our attention, we just pass them by without a nod or second notice. The world has to see. It has to learn what is going on in this place. It has to respond to the need. It has to.”

To contribute towards mattresses, and other medical supplies you can contribute online from our homepage at: www.malawiproject.org or mail your check to:
The Malawi Project, Inc.
3314 Van Tassel Drive,
Indianapolis, IN 46240

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Malawi — It is often referred to as the “Warm Heart of Africa”. It is the home of a number of tribal groups. Generally they are scattered throughout the country by regions. The North, Central and Southern regions are distinctively divided by these political and historical backgrounds. Generally there is a demarcation of the main cultural tribes by the three geographical regions. The Tumbuka and Ngoni tribes with the Tonga tribe coming in smaller numbers dominate the northern region. The Chewa tribe is the largest and they live primarily in the central Malawi. The southern region is highly populated by the Yao and Lomwe tribes. However, this does not confine one to its tribe by region or district. Each region and district of the country has patches of people from other tribes living in harmony and unlimited peace. No wonder this is called the Warm Heart of Africa. Inter tribal marriages are not prohibited, and this further enhances the bonds of unity throughout the nation.

Built on four cornerstone principles by the father and founder of the nation, the late Hastings Kamuzu Banda, these principles are unity, peace, freedom and discipline. Although these principles are sometimes forgotten they still help to mold the nation in a friendly place both regionally and globally.

Although this nearly 50-year-old democratic nation still falls near the bottom of the world’s economic rankings, and the poverty level remains near the top, the strides towards a brighter Malawi are still being jointly fought by all Malawians. It is a country plagued with poverty, and few people can afford basic necessities. The lucky children may find a tablet of soap with which to wash their clothes. The unlucky ones must do without. Both are forced to walk many kilometers on rocky ground just to gather food, find firewood, and collect water. School classrooms are inadequate; and many children still access education studying under trees. The literacy rate is said to be at 62.7% of the population over 15 years and old.

Fifty-Three Percent Below the Line
The basic water sources remain unprotected shallow wells that supply the largest part of the population. Potable water is even inaccessible by many urban dwellers. Water taps are dry for the greater part of the year. Water authorities still depend on old malfunctioning equipment, when the precious commodity can be accessed at all. Despite the fact that 53% of the population lives below the poverty line the country’s inhabitants remain friendly and warm.

A fuel resource for the biggest section of the 13,931,831 inhabitants of the nation remains firewood. Each day starts with the girls actively involved in household chores. For school going girls, the collection of firewood to warm the bathing water is usually the first thing they do each morning. Firewood is needed to cook the breakfast. Although the burning of firewood is done with no feelings of guilt, the fact is that deforestation and soil degradation are on the increase at an alarming rate. The need for alternative means to firewood is coming very late. The direct ‘alternative’ remains the often-interrupted power generation by the only country’s controlled powerhouse — electricity Supply Corporation. Less than one quarter of the population is said to be electrified.

I Met a New Friend
This afternoon, I have made a new friend. Her name is Doricca Somanje. She is a Nyanja by tribe and hails from Mtuweni Village in Zomba. At her age, she might have collected dozens of kilograms of firewood for her family’s use. I asked for permission if I could take her friendly and beautiful face for the purposes of my article. She agreed, but with one condition, “Mutakachapisa mudzandipaseko changa” (After printing, please give me a copy of the photo).

One thing I observed from this little girl is that, without anything except freedom and peace of mind, a person is actually whole. I am not however, concluding that without the basic necessities, one is satisfied, but I have grown to realize that peace and freedom are fundamental properties for any human being, whether they are rich or poor. Despite the fact that she has almost nothing, Dorica still manages a smile that reveals the country’s warmth. Her daily life depends on firewood as a source of fuel. To her and other villagers electricity is not an alternative at all.

Such a Warm Smile
It is such wide smiles that Malawians are blessed with that make the country home to everyone. If one has not visited Malawi, one must be living in an incomplete ‘world’. This is the warm heart of Africa — the nation known for her poverty as well as being a nation of friendly people.

Physical features are enormous in this centrally located African nation. Mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, animals, national parks, all are in large numbers. This is the nation that houses the great African rift valley lake, Lake Malawi, the great Mulanje Mountain, and several attractive destinations that are patiently waiting to be visited. But above all of them, the thing you may take home with you above all else are the smiles of the people.

By Wilson Tembo, Manager Malawi Project Warehouse Thondwe, Malawi

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Sitima village, Zomba, Malawi… In our last story we told you about the Msamba Community Based Organization, and the way it is helping the people in the community. Today, you will meet one of the children being helped. Her name Chisomo, and she is 4 years old.

Accompanied by her aged grandmother, Chisomo Rodrick is one of the beneficiaries of clothes, blankets, pillows, shoes and writing materials that were given by the Malawi Project, and Namikango Maternity Hospital and Mission. Chisomo is the youngest member of her family, and lost both of her parents when she was just two years old. Mary Saikolo, her grandmother, cannot fully support her with the needed school materials, food and clothing. Despite heavy rains, the old granny took little Chisomo on her back to get support from this center. Chisomo’s case is a clear picture of the impact of HIV/AIDS pandemic in Malawi, and indeed in the whole of Africa. Children like her suffer as old weary people like Mary Saikolo are left with the huge responsibility of looking after these orphans.

“This is the first time to receive such a donation since the inception of this organization in 2008. We never thought we could get this aid, because this group is only located in this remote area”, said Group Village headwoman Sitima. She expressed her thankfulness to the sponsors, for extending aid to this community, and indeed to young Chisomo.

Leaving the village that day I could easily see the great need for more aid. Young kids, orphaned and helpless like Chisomo, really need support if their lives are to change for the better.

The coordinator of the organization had this to say, “Today we have witnessed a good demonstration of Christianity by Namikango Mission of the Church of Christ who have come without an invitation and helped these people.” Martin Bernard said the organization has struggled to get the resources to help ease some of the suffering. He was quick to add the need for more support, such as milk for HIV/AIDS members, bedding, clothes and any other help that can make someone’s life better.

By Wilson Isaac Tembo

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