Welcome to the Malawi Blog for Vision Africa
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(This is a sticky post, please find current news items below) By Bill Sass in General |
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Thank you for stopping by to show your interest. Vision Africa was launched in May, 2007 by Mission Community Church. Mission has partnered with Somebody Cares, an organization in Lilongwe, Malawi, to help minister to widows and orphans affected by HIV/AIDS. In October, 2007, Mission adopted a village called Chikudzulire and has since sent teams to help with medical & construction needs.
This blog will be helpful in keeping up with the team's progress and can be used to get regular updates on Vision Africa.
End of Day 4
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Thursday, 02 July 09 - 11:00 AM (GMT -08:00) By Janet Sass in General |
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At the end of Thursday, this week has been wonderful. Yesterday we spent the morning in Deya, the first village here to build a Community Center, and one of Teresa's favorites. The Center is beautiful...the children are healthy and warm (this is the coldest winter they have seen in years), the HBC Support Group Garden is planted, the teacher is fabulous, there is a playground for the children. This is certainly a model for Chikudzlire to look towards.
We then spent the afternoon in one of the poorest, dustiest villages. It is quite a distance out. The children sit in the dirt under a tree for class, their clothes are tattered and thin, there are runny noses and coughs everywhere, the porridge is prepared on an open fire. Yet their spirits are high. Their faith is strong. Scarlett and Matthew met with 15 of the youth and walked to their garden. Julianne met with the support group leader who is strong now.
Today we had a wonderful day with Teresa and Mr. Sam sitting around her kitchen table dicussing how MISSION can come along side of Somebody Cares to best do what is next with the HBC workers, support groups, and Mobile Medical Clinics. We have wonderful ideas and suggestions. Julianne and I cannot wait to share them with all of you.
I have posted a few pictures in the gallery. Please take a look.
God is good! This trip has been such a blessing to the four of us; Teresa, Keta and the team tell us it has been a blessing to them as well.
In Chikudzulire
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Tuesday, 30 June 09 - 08:51 AM (GMT -08:00) By Janet Sass in General |
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Today we went to Chikudzulire…and is the community center beautiful! Teresa was saying that the only things left were to have the windows and doors put in. Then the stove for the feeding center can be moved in. The rest of the project should take just 4 weeks. The team from Somebody Cares was very excited to see all of the colorful posters and learning materials that we brought and can’t wait to get them up on the big walls of the new classroom.
Scarlett and Matthew spent the day with Diamond…the youth pastor with Somebody Cares. They started by passing out pencils to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders of the village elementary school. They then had some time with ‘the youth’-what we consider H.S. aged students. Diamond spent some time preaching and then spoke on HIV/AIDS. Scarlett and Matthew helped to pass out bibles to them. There were 39 students in the meeting. Teresa praised God for ‘the yield of the true harvest’…these ‘middle aged’ people of this country coming to know God.
I spent the day in Chikudzulire’s nursery/ preschool. The teacher, Mariessa, spent the first part of the time on English. The flash cards she used were on pieces of notebook paper with a-axe, b-ball, c-cup drawn on them. No wonder they were excited about the posters! Then they asked me to teach math (…and those of you who know me know how thrilled I am about math…not). How many times can we count to 10 in English with 72 little ones? The children then had their meal of porridge. And what a blessing to see the children wash their hands, the food be prepared, and the children wash out their cups with water from a pump only a few feet away from the center!
The chiefs and the people here are full of life and are thankful. God has provided what is needed-and have allowed us as a church to be a part of this. God is good!
Home Based Care
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Tuesday, 30 June 09 - 08:24 AM (GMT -08:00) By Julianne Gault in General |
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Especially for the nurses reading this, a story from visits with the Home Based Care workers.
Yesterday we accompanied HBC workers on visits in Mgona, a slum in the industrial area of Lilongwe. We visited a woman who is HIV+ , very thin, very weak, and has been vomiting. There was a blue pile of blankets beside her. I thought it was her pillow and didn’t realize until we had been there for some time that there was a very tiny baby in that bundle.
The baby is a one month old girl. The mother has been bottle feeding her because of being HIV+. But even if she had tried to breast feed, she couldn't. She is too weak and ill, and has no breast milk. However there was no more formula for the baby, and the mother has no way to purchase more as the father has abandoned the family.
The baby is so tiny she looks like a preemie. She is under 2 kilos. Her eyes are moist and are not sunken, but her fontanel is sunken. She has white patches in her mouth and on her lips, and her mouth is dry. She has very poor skin turgor. She is very weak and did not have a good grasp reflex, and had only a weak cry.
Somebody Cares took some emergency supplies for the baby and will follow the mother through the Home Based Care program, but only God knows what the final outcome will be.
I have such respect for the HBC workers. Day after day they go into heartbreaking situations like this and bring the hope and comfort of God's love. When they visit the patient, first they pray together. Then they read a passage from the Bible. After that the HBC workers do the work the patient is too weak for: sweeping the house, drawing water from the well, washing the clothes by hand, washing up dishes, and providing clean water for drinking. They show God's love over and over in word and deed.
Pray that God will strenghten and encourage them in this ministry.
Here safely
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Sunday, 28 June 09 - 07:08 AM (GMT -08:00) By Janet Sass in General |
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Well, we've arrived safely. Theresa met us at the airport with her smiling face and warm welcome from the rest of her team. And does it help to have her here to help move you through customs!
The flights were so easy. 2 long flights and then a short one. We did not make it into London for sight seeing this time as we had planned. We hope to do so on the way back...now that we know our way through the maze known as Heathrow Airport.
We will go to dinner here in an hour to be briefed on what is planned for us for the week. I'm sure that it will nothing short of amazing knowing our Father's hands are in it.
Leaving Today
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Friday, 26 June 09 - 12:35 PM (GMT -08:00) By Janet Sass in General |
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We're about to take off here from Phoenix. The team is excited to go. There's a reason that only 4 of us are heading off on this trip...and we can't wait to see what God has in store for us. Julianne is going to learn more about Mobile Medical Clinics as well as updates on HBC workers. Matthew, Scarlett and I will be learning how we can support the village's needs for early education for the children.
From here we head straight to London- then to Johannesburg- then off to Malawi's capital city. This should be an easy flight for us - God is good! We will arrive there Sunday afternoon. We'll try to keep you updated as electricty and and technology allow us. We will give Theresa and her team at Somebody Cares a great big hug from everyone at MISSION.
Thanks to all of your for your love and prayers and support.
Packing Party
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Thursday, 25 June 09 - 10:51 PM (GMT -08:00) By Julianne Gault in General |
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Wednesday evening was our packing party. We gathered up our donations, extra suitcases, and met to sort out what we could bring and what would have to wait for next time. We're limited to 2 bags per person, with a weight limit of 50 lbs/bag. Each of us is bringing one bag of supplies and one personal bag.
We're bringing three 50 lb bags of school supplies, including soccer balls, this trip. We have individual slates, chalk, pencils, and crayons. We also have lots of laminated wall charts. Although the local language is Chichewa, English is an official language of Malawi. Children begin learning English at an early age, so our wall charts with days of the week, colors, months, and numbers will be very useful.
We have one 50 lb bag of general healthcare supplies. Included are gloves, large jugs of antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer gel, motrin, tylenol, vitamins, band aids, antibiotic ointment, and hydrocortisone ointment.
... More items are available in our News Archive
