A trip to Malawi always has me experiencing wonderfully intense and impactful situations that I never forget. Often, I cannot pick one that stands out from the others on any particular trip. This past year was an exception. The most emotionally fulfilling experience for the year was a trip to a secondary school in the […]
HELPING GIRLS GAIN AN EDUCATION Read More »
Fred is a Tinsmith Wikipedia defines the term tinsmith as, “a person who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. By extension it can also refer to the person who deals in tin ware, or tin plate. Tinsmith was a common occupation in pre-industrial times.” While the trade has mostly disappeared in western nations,
MOBILITY GIVES TINSMITH FREEDOM Read More »
It was a busy day, and we had a lot of things to get done. It is always that way in Malawi. No matter how long our schedule allows us to be in the country there is never enough time. Going here, going there. Meeting this group, meeting that group. Planning this, planning that.
THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT Read More »
Indianapolis, Indiana … At a recent meeting of the Malawi Project’s Board of Directors, Suzi Stephens and Jim Messenger listen intently as a budget is proposed for 2019 that will be triple what the budget was for 2018. The reason is the development and construction of a major headquarters hub and distribution center in Lilongwe,
BUDGET TRIPLES FOR DEVELOPMENT Read More »
With Wilson Tembo’s return to the capital to head up Action for Progress, it was quite evident how much Malawi’s capital city of Lilongwe had changed in the eight years he had been in the southern region. While Wilson is originally from a village north of the city, he had been working in and around
CRAWLING NEAR DEATH’S DOOR Read More »
Macheka Village, Malawi … In a land where water never freezes, snow is seldom seen, and few will ever experience an ocean gale in icy weather, Wilson Tembo’s explanation of the plight of 19-year-old Patuma Mbwana, is an interesting way to define the situation. “She is the tip of the iceberg,” he says, and somehow,
SHE IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG Read More »
You will never meet her. In fact, you will probably spend less than a minute viewing this picture of Valentine Waiti, a teenage girl from Malawi. You will never know her family, nor step inside the village in which she lives. You will never hear her voice, meet her siblings, or see her classmates in
A GIRL YOU WILL NEVER MEET Read More »
Let’s see, step one, step two, step three, step four. Wow, 137 feet is a pretty good distance. So is 72 feet wide, and obviously, nearly 20 feet in height is a lot higher than one can jump. Give up? Well, that is the size Action for Progress is proposing for the new distribution hub
What is 137 feet long, 72.18 feet wide, and 19.69 feet high? Read More »
Lebanon, Indiana … The school year was barely underway when Jim Messenger, a board member for the Malawi Project, discussed the need in Malawi for textbooks and school supplies with his son-in-law, Lowell Miller, a teacher in the Lebanon, Indiana School System. Jim highlighted how schools in Malawi had few books, and often an entire
BOONE COUNTY SCHOOLS BOOK DONATION Read More »
Lilongwe, Malawi … As the Malawi Project assists agricultural co-ops, churches and village communities, each step toward independence is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. To plant ideas, wait for them to take root, then take the next step takes time. This is especially evident in the area of agriculture, where old patterns die hard, and new
FROM SEED TO MARKET Read More »
