Newsletter from Malawi
Whilst in Malawi, Helen met Smickey in his home village of Cape Maclear. It is a beautiful, yet poor, village on the shore of Lake Malawi, with a population of about 11,000. Income relies heavily on fishing and tourism— both of which have decreased in the last few years. Houses are made of mud and straw, and the nearest small town is about 12 miles away along a dirt track— sometimes impassable in the rainy season. Electricity only came to the area a year ago; the lake-water is used for washing and drinking water is collected from bore-holes.
Smickey
is from a strong Christian family, all living in close proximity to each other.
The
weekend they met was the week of Smickey's mum's sudden death. His dad works
when he can as a fisherman, and three of his sisters have their own children
to
look after. Another sister is now at high school, and Smickey's only brother
(12) and youngest sister (9) both attend the local primary school. As with
Malawian culture the death of a parent results in relatives having to look
after the young, Smickey's grandma looks after six of her grandchildren.
Education in Malawi has only recently become free for primary education. This has brought on new prospects for many, particularly females, but the teaching and facilities are still very poor. For those who do make it through primary education, they then need to find the money to continue at high school. For families where finding money to feed themselves is a chore, education is not seen as priority.
Last year we asked for help in funding to send youngsters to school. The money received enabled three people to attend— two male cousins at a small town's high school, and Smickey's sister at an established boarding school (something quite a few have to do as there are not the schools near their homes). Two of their stories are on the Church notice board. A huge 'thank you' from them and their families.
To continue to send them, plus others, to school each year, we would need to keep raising money and relying on the goodwill of blessed people. This is not a sustainable task, and does not do anything to help in 'making poverty history'. For a long time we have wanted to allow the family the chance to provide their own income. Choosing an appropriate way of doing this in Cape Maclear gave us really only one choice: a maize mill. A Malawian diet consists of nsima two or three times a day, served with whatever meat or relish may be available. (Nsima is made from maize flour.) People try to grow their own maize (or corn as we know it), and pound it to make it ready for grinding. In Cape Maclear there are only two other maize mills. We are hoping that by giving Smickey's family a maize mill to run, will give them the chance to provide for themselves. This would not just be for daily living, but for school fees, transport, clothes and medical provision.
With the generosity of some who gave money for education fees, wedding gifts and savings, at the time of writing, we have just sent across enough money for this maize mill to become a reality. We are very delighted, and our thanks are passed on to all those who have helped and supported us. It may be three months until the maize mill will be in action (God willing), but we are already excited at its prospect, and really look forward to seeing it running next Easter when we go over for our Malawi wedding celebrations. We will keep you informed. God bless and thank you.
