Mulanje, Malawi … For anyone who knows Southern Malawi, the term Mulanje recalls the largest mountain in Malawi; Mulanje Mountain. Also known as Mulanje Massif, Mulanje is a massive mountain range that protrudes much higher than any of the surrounding terrain. It is a 9,849 feet high Massif in southern Malawi near the border of Malawi and Mozambique.
As beautiful and magnificent as this famous mountain is, it is not the mountain referred to in this story. This story reflects a “mountain” that lives in the mind and body of 60-year-old Bisket Mashuwana who is physically challenged.
It started when Yusuf Mataka, a minister living in Southern Malawi, met Bisket and learned of his problem. His plight and troubled Yusuf and he could not get the situation off his mind. Being familiar with Action for Progress and the program that offered mobility to so many people Yusuf made a call asking for assistance. A positive response was available and a short time later he was able to take AfP representatives to Mulanje to meet Bisket, and several others who needed help with mobility issues.
Bisket recalled that his parents had told him he was born normal like other children. However, when it was time for him to start walking it was discovered he had insufficient strength to walk or stand. He was taken to a hospital nearby but help for his problem was not forthcoming. Because he lived in a rural area, neither education nor healthcare was readily available to the family, and consequently he dropped out of school. He lives with great regret.
Now that has all changed since someone took action to help him. “It’s like a dream,” he voiced after receiving a blue and green mobility unit. “I have never received such a previous gift all the way back to my birth. May the good Lord give good health and wisdom to those who carry out this ministry. May they reach millions of people like me around the globe.”
Chiyenda Chikuti, relative of Bisket expressed his profound gratitude for the unit. “We have struggled to have access to mobility from other people. They came with their promises but when they left so did their promises. But not this time. Mataka visited us and made a promise. In a few days we could sing a new and joyful song. May the Lord be praised today and forever.”
Unlike Mulanje that continues to stand tall, challenging, and imposing the “mountain” in Bisket’s life has been cut down to size. It is now manageable and the opportunity to overcome it has arrived in the form of a mobility unit from America.
To learn how you can help get mobility units to those in need in Malawi, contact: Malawi Project, 2421 Golfside Drive, Lebanon, IN 46052 or email at: info@malawiproject.org