One day in back in Malawi, I had the privilege of spending time with a family to learn more about their daily life. I saw how much the wife had to work to keep up with the cooking and cleaning. Everything is cooked over a fire and of course the dishes are all washed by hand outside with water hauled from elsewhere. I was given the opportunity to learn and help make the African staple…Seema. This is simply flour from corn or rice that they boil with water until it starts to solidify. They then serve it up with cabbage and vegetables if they can get some. I myself am not a fan of the seema and don’t understand how they live off it. They literally don’t think a meal is complete without it, though!
Besides what I learned from the wife, I got to sit with the husband and listen to his life story. He asked me to share the following letter with whomever I could. It is a letter written to ask for help financially. I don’t think that financial help is really what Africa needs and so am not trying to ask that of you, but I do want to share what he is doing in Monkey Bay…his heart for the people what he is trying to accomplish. I am asking that you please help him spiritually. Lift him up in your prayers. Lift Monkey Bay up in your prayers. Ask that the Lord brings healing to that place.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Joseph, born and grown up here at Nsumbi village, Monkey Bay, Malawi. I am a local farmer.
Monkey Bay is surrounded by local villages and these villages are all along the lake shore.
HIV/AIDS are particularly prevalent here on the lake shore of Malawi because most of the community are involved in fisheries. This means that the men migrate with the fish and spend prolonged periods away from their villages. This provides opportunity for both those at home and those who are away to indulge in promiscuity. For this reason there are many orphans and home based care patients who receive little to no care from the community.
I have been conducting work in 15 villages around my local area. Initially the project was set up with a peace corp volunteer. Her time has come to an end in Malawi in 2003 though I am doing my best to continue with the work that we started together. In above mentioned villages there are about 4,132 orphans total and 1043 home based care patients. The village I am coming from has 315 orphans and 47 home based care patients. In this village there are 2,432 people. I am coming from on the affected families in our village so this has hurt me. It is primarily these people that I am hoping to help.
This work includes-
- Behaviour change- to try and break the cycle of infection with the community by providing educational meetings.
- Caring of orphans- by providing food, school fees, shelter and clothes
- Educating the youth- about the dangers of un-protected sex
- Caring of the home based patients- by providing the medicine and food needed
- Voluntary counseling and HIV testing
- Empowerment of the women- by providing income generating activities such as-fruit drying, jam making, and providing help with records keeping for these activities.
- Designing the community projects and management
- Life Skills training
- Growing and caring for nutritious trees and preparing and cooking of nutritious foods
- Permaculture- production without destruction of the nature.
However, I am doing this work entirely on a voluntary basis and struggle to provide services as best I might. I am looking for funding to assist my work as an HIV/AIDS advisor. Some specific needs are:
- Money to support my family for food, to repair my bicycle for transport and to purchase record keeping supplies
- Materials for my project like, school fees, clothes and other necessities for the orphans
- Monthly support for the project to keep running
I ask that you prayerfully consider what God would have you do to help the Nsumbi Orphan Care Project.
Yours truly,
Joseph
