Planting Malawi December newsletter

Planting Malawi December 2009 newsletter
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Christmas Greetings

From Christmas

Christmas greetings from the VanWoerden village in Malawi! We have decided to include the family photos of the staff that work on our homestead because they are very much a part of our lives here. We had a Christmas party on Wednesday, which is when we took these family photos. Since that day, our village has received the gift of another baby girl in the Musa family. Thank you for sharing in our lives here in Malawi. We wish you a blessed Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Malawi's maize miracle

Agricultural subsidies have helped Malawi feed itself. BBC business correspondent Nils Blythe asks if the miracle can last. (18/11/2009)

On another note, IT'S RAINING!! The rainy season is here, so... time to start planting. Praying for good rains and good harvests...

running on empty

Malawi is in the middle of a nation wide fuel shortage and all transportation is coming to a halt. At EI, we have tanks to hold about 3000L of diesel but they're all dry and our movement is limited and by priority only. Our car ran out of diesel on Friday (but because this is Malawi, things get done when you have connections on the inside so we managed to get a few liters for the weekend). Our rubbish (garbage) hasn't been picked up for 2 weeks because the city has no fuel. I just heard this morning that ambulances haven't been able to transport people from rural health centers -- people are dying and apparently the mortuary is full. So yesterday when a fuel truck brought 8000L of fuel into town, ambulances and other public service vehicles got priority, there were long queues at the filling station with fighting over fuel, and all the diesel was sold out. We went to fill up last night, hoping the queues had shortened but they cars were lined up down the road -- not worth the wait. Hopefully there's more fuel coming. We don't want to have another Zimbabwe scenario... And there is no clear reason for the fuel shortage.

ON THE NEWS

Why is Africa poor? and, Hope for Africa

The BBC World Service has had a few interesting documentaries.

Though the question "why is Africa poor?" is a straightforward one, the answers are not. There are many views on what lies at the heart of Africa's comparative poverty. Tribalism, corruption, and complacency... [And] contrary to the popular view in the West, much of the continent has fertile soil, ample rain and sun. Moreover, the sense of community is good.

So, "Why is Africa Poor?" Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

And another BBC documentary on poverty: "A Dollar A Day" What does it really mean to live on a dollar a day?

Hope for Africa
Most of the world is acquainted with only bad news coming from Africa. Others have given up hope for the continent. But there is hope for Africa.

If you're supporting or following our ministry in Malawi, or you're listening to these BBC documentaries, please take the time to read this booklet. It will change your view of Africa and give you a vision of God's promise for Africa.

"Against All Hope: Hope for Africa"
(60 pages, pdf, 679kb)

Against All Hope: Hope for Africa examines the situation in Africa today from the vantage point of a distinctively biblical worldview and argues that true hope for transformation lies with the rapidly expanding African Church practicing a wholistic ministry and taking biblical truth boldly into every sphere of society. Against All Hope: Hope for Africa is a joint project of the Disciple Nations Alliance and Samaritan Strategy Africa. (download from either site)

Planting Malawi October newsletter

We didn't manage to get a newsletter out in September and I guess technically not in October either, but this is it. We've been very busy with projects that need to be finished before the rains come, which is anytime now, and besides that, my computer quit on me so that slowed me down too. But we're back up and running (with a new laptop) and we're making progress on our projects, as long as the rain holds out just a little longer...

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Planting Malawi October 2009 newsletter
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pictures: river diversion and pit latrines

River Diversion project, Namasalima

Pit Latrines at Misango School, Namasalima

poor farmers to end world hunger

"Poor farmers are not a problem to be solved. They are the solution, the best answer for a world that is fighting hunger and poverty and trying to feed a growing population. If farmers can get what they need to feed their families and sell their surplus, hundreds of millions of the poorest people can build themselves a better life."

- Bill Gates, announcing $120 million for African Agriculture (15/10/2009)

Who's Really Fighting Hunger?

"Who's Really Fighting Hunger," a report by ActionAid, shows "that ability and commitment to fight hunger does not depend on wealth. Some relatively poor countries have made striking progress." Malawi ranks 5th in fighting hunger (2nd in Africa), despite being "one of the poorest countries in the world, and burdened with a devastating HIV epidemic to boot – has reaped rich results within three short years. Through a massive boost of investment to small scale farmers, it has trebled production to halt a famine that threatened to leave nearly a third of its population hungry."

SOWING MIRACLES
“People were so hungry they would do anything,” recollects village Chief Herbert Kamponda as he speaks about the 2005 drought when 30 people died of starvation in his village. Malawi was gripped by a horrific famine in 2005, when 5 million of the 12 million population were starving.

The landscape has changed in three short years. Tito Jestala, one of the village's farmers, proudly shows off his maize store, filled with corn cobs. One hectare, which produced 100 kg of maize three years ago, has tripled its yield.

A new government, led by President Bingu wa Mutharika, believed the problem was straightforward. Farmers were not getting enough support. The government took the brave step of defying the advice of the World Bank and international donors – not an easy risk for one of
the poorest countries in the world - and brought back the agricultural subsidies they had been forced to dismantle through liberalisation. And it paid off. Between 2005 and 2007, a miracle occurred: the country went from a food deficit of 43 percent to a food surplus of 57 percent as productivity increased two-fold. Maize production nearly trebled. Malawians had enough not only for themselves, but also for export.

The government doubled its expenditure on agriculture from 7.4 percent of its budget to 14 percent. It scaled up access and affordability of farm inputs and high-yield maize seeds and fertilisers. Though the scheme increased maize Production, hunger still isn't decreasing among the poorest and costs have shot up to around $180m a year for the subsidy programme - this is unsustainable. The Malawian government this year started scaling up a nationwide campaign to use cheaper – more sustainable – organic composts and manure as an alternative to synthetic fertilisers. Donors and other governments would do well to learn from this approach.

Over one billion people – a sixth of humanity - don’t have enough to eat. Almost a third of the world’s children are growing up malnourished. This is perhaps one of the most shameful achievements of recent history, since there is no good reason for anyone to go hungry in today’s world.

“Why should there be hunger and deprivation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is in human will.”

- Martin Luther King, Jr

ActionAid's HungerFREE "Who's Really Fighting Hunger"
read the full report (PDF, 1.8MB, 92 pages)

preparing for rains

We didn't manage to get a newsletter out this month, so just a quick update here.

This is crunch time for a lot of our projects because the rains are coming. Last year it was late November but the signs are showing early rains. Right now is the best time to dig wells and pit latrines because the water level is at its lowest but the holes have to be lined before the rains or else all you'll have is a gross muddy mess. Right now we are building latrines at two schools that had no toilets had all (imagine 1600 students without shoes using a bamboo area and then sitting back down on the floor in the classroom) -- so we have 24 toilets to build before the rains. We also just received funding for a river diversion project in Namasalima (where we rebuilt the dike last year) because the natural flow of the water has been blocked and it's flowing up against the dike, causing damage -- so we're starting that on Monday to finish before the rains. And then there are various other projects that will become next to impossible once the rains come. So, this is crunch time.

People are also busy digging in their gardens, getting them ready for planting. And this is the time for construction -- people are making bricks and building houses everywhere, hoping to have a dry place to sleep soon.

We have also enjoyed some time with Andre's parents, who visited us here in Malawi for 2.5 weeks. We showed them some of our projects and also took the opportunity to see some sights and visit the lake.

My computer died so I can't even post a picture. Sorry!

President 'Determined' to Lead Country Out of Poverty

Malawi is striving to move from poverty to prosperity. How far along the nation is along that spectrum is, of course, questionable but President Bingu wa Mutharika seems to making some right steps towards that. These are some of his comments:

"We are saying we are an economic miracle because, five years ago, we were an economic pariah. The World Bank, the IMF and the donors almost abandoned us, because we were following policies that were not taking us anywhere.

Malawi is not a poor country. The people are poor, and that is where the miracle started..."

"We are saying: why is it that others come out of poverty and the rest stay there? That is what is propelling Malawi. We are determined to come out of poverty. We will come out of poverty and, relatively, in a shorter period perhaps than the others. They invented the wheel. We will not invent a new wheel. We will just make it faster."

allAfrica.com 29 September 2009

why sustainable development is so difficult in rural Africa

Can a community facing grinding poverty and insecurity turn its fortunes around?

There is a lot of debate about how to create sustainable communities, but nowhere is this more difficult to achieve than in poor subsistence farming communities in Africa.

Of course, this is easier said than done. There are multiple reasons for this. One real danger is that development projects create a culture of dependency whereby communities expect things to be given to them and lose sight of their own power to create change.

But equally difficult is the grinding poverty and lack of security faced by the Katine villagers, who are so used to living day by day that it can be a real challenge to think about planning for the future.

If you would like to follow the debate and progress, then I highly recommend that you explore the Katine website. It's a unique project because never before has one development project been monitored so closely and openly in the media, and it gives a real sense of the extraordinary complexity of development.

guardian.co.uk 30 September 2009

Hopeful Signs in Malawi (slideshow)

The number of children dying before their fifth birthdays each year has fallen below nine million for the first time on record, decreasing to 8.8 million last year from 12.5 million in 1990. One of the most vertiginous drops in child mortality has occurred in Malawi, a country in southeastern Africa that is so poor that half the children are stunted by malnutrition. It is so bereft of doctors and nurses that workers with 10th-grade educations dispense antibiotics.
New York Times slideshow // 11 photos

quit smoking

Another good reason to quit smoking.

Child tobacco pickers in Malawi are being regularly exposed to extremely high levels of nicotine poisoning... some as young as five years old, are suffering severe symptoms from absorbing up to 54 milligrams a day of nicotine a day through their skin - equivalent to smoking about 50 cigarettes.

It's not just about your own health.
View the BBC slideshow, 6 images.

EI Malawi website

EI Malawi has a new website, thanks to one of our summer interns! Click on ei-malawi.org to check it out.

Planting Malawi - August newsletter

It's hard to believe that we've been in Malawi for one year already but it's true. We have been extremely blessed being here and being a small part of what God is doing in Malawi. We have experienced a lot, learned a lot, and hopefully given something back as well. Actually, just this morning our gardener said something that's so true. He was reflecting on the book I gave him to read, Irresistible Revolution (which is a must read, really) and he said something along the lines of, we're not just bringing good news to the poor but the poor bring good news to us. It's so true that as we share with the poor, we discover more of God's heart. Hopefully our stories will bless you too. Thanks for your support and prayers, enabling us to be here in Malawi.

Our latest newsletter: Click on the "full screen" button to read it full-screen or download a PDF copy.

Planting Malawi August 2009

August 2009 Planting Malawi EMMANUEL INTERNATIONAL MALAWI INTERNATIONAL MALAWI Isaiah 61.3 an update from the VanWoerdens in Malawi PRAYER & PRAISE: • Praise for a year of ministry in Malawi. God has generously provided for us in health and finances. We are thankful for our strong team of faithful supporters. A Year in Malawi [looking back on our experience] It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in Malawi for a year but we first touched down on Malawian soil a year ago on August 20. We still remember vividly coming in for our landing that day and having that sinking feeling, wondering, What have we gotten ourselves into?! Now looking back, we’ve experienced a lot of things here in Malawi, most of which we couldn’t have even imagined. From stories of poverty to the sound of laughter and dancing and singing to enjoying the best of Malawian cuisine in a rural village, life in Malawi is difficult to imagine, really. We’ve been ambulances, food processing, part of irrigation projects and and village savings and loans. planting drought tolerant Emmanuel International is docrops; we’ve mobilized vil- ing a lot of great work here lages to repair a dike and and we’re privileged to be a prevent flooding, we’ve wel- part of Jesus’ mission of transcomed international teams to forming lives. give a rural school a make[see A Year, p. 2] over; we have built shallow wells to supply safe drinking water and “Suppose you see a brother or sister handed out mosquito who needs food or clothing, and nets to provide protection against ma- you say, “Well, good-bye and God laria, and a host of bless you; stay warm and eat other activities, like well”—but then you don’t give that food distributions, person any food or clothing. What tree planting, beekeeping, bicycle good does that do?” James 2.15-16 • Andre’s parents are visiting us so we’re looking forward to our time together (29/0816/09). Praise for Dad’s amazing recovery. • It’s the month of Ramadan. We work in primarily Muslim areas and we also have a guard who is Muslim. Pray for effective witness for Christ. • The girls go back to school in September. Felista’s New Wheels [a transformation story] Last year when we were fixing the dike at Namasalima, I saw a young girl in the village walking on her knees because her feet were deformed. I didn’t see her again until we were renovating the school in the same area last April. She had a red wheelchair that sat out sid e her c lass room (classroom: brick building devoid of desks or teaching materials except a blackboard). Everyone else sits on the floor so she does too. Besides, with about 350 students in her class there wouldn’t be room for her wheelchair anyway. We discovered that the front wheels of her wheelchair were broken so the chair had to be tipped back on its back wheels so she could be pushed to and from school by a friend, 3km on a rough dirt road. I guess a wheelchair can’t be expected to last very long when it’s only used “off-road,” in dirt and mud all the time. Her name is Felista. She is 13 years old and has 3 younger siblings. Around home she walks on her knees but to go anywhere she’s not only dependent on her wheelchair, but also someone pushing her. [see Felista, p. 2] Felista’s old wheelchair at her family home People in Malawi are very dependent on maize and nsima as a staple food. Food utilization training (above) is about using alternative foods and improving nutrition. Photo album online (53 photos). P L ANT IN G M AL AWI August 2009 Felista’s Tricycle But thanks to a generous friend from Rotary Canada who has remembered Felista, she now has a new set of wheels. Earlier this month I took a health care professional from Malawi Against Polio to assess and measure her for a new tricycle, which we gave her one week later. With a big grin on her face, Felista peddled around her village. She sent kids scattering everywhere as she focused on mastering the technique and not really watching where she was going. I’m sure that next time I go back to Namasalima, I’ll meet her on the road somewhere, off to visit some friends, enjoying her independence. She will even be able to help out with the family chores, fetching water at the well or taking maize to the mill for dinner. Felista’s life has been transformed. And even though I only played a small part, I was blessed to be part of witnessing her story. A Year in Malawi Life for us here has also been, shall we say, an interesting experience. Admittedly, Zomba is probably the nicest place to live in Malawi, but we have learned to live with a lot less stuff. The city has progressed beyond mere survival but we’re a long way from a culture of convenience. Electri- Felista’s tricycle cal outages often leave us in the dark, the bakery doesn’t always have bread, and you can’t count on getting money out of the bank machine. We do have vendors selling wooden carvings at our door, but there are only so many carvings you can buy, especially when they’re all the same. Eager vendors quickly become more of an inconvenience when they insist you need more carvings and “looking is free.” But inconveniences aside, we still have so much more than most people around us. Our white skin attracts strawberry vendors and beggars wherever we go. We’re asked for money several times a day and children call out, “Give me my money.” But you can only help so many people. Before we came to Malawi, we were told this would probably be the hardest part – surrounded by poverty, or rather poverty-stricken people, and not being able to assist them all. “Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing,” Jesus’ brother said, “and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” (James 2.15-16). Sometimes it feels like we’re being targeted for a daily test of our faith. We wish we could do more because the need is so great. But we do what little we can to be Jesus’ hands and feet. And the best place to minister is at home with the people that work for us and we have the opportunity to build relationships with. The need here is great, but Jesus compared the Kingdom of God with a little yeast, a mustard seed, and a cup of cold water. So we do what we can with the resources and opportunities God gives us. Thank you for your prayers and support through the past year!! Andre & Alexandra VanWoerden [Lara, Talia, Ezera] Private Bag 12 Zomba Malawi 265.888.169.380 (Andre) or 265.888.169.382 (Alex) alexandre.vanwoerden@gmail.com vw-mw.blogspot.com Emmanuel International Canada PO Box 4050 Stouffville ON L4A 8B6 905.640.2111 info@eicanada.org www.eicanada.org 

Felista' new wheels (photo album)

The photo album mentioned in the story on Felista's New Wheels in the last issue of our Planting Malawi newsletter can be viewed in our Picasa Web Albums (17 photos). Just click on the photo collage.

1 YEAR IN MALAWI!

1 YEAR IN MALAWI!

mice anyone?

In this June 16, 2009 photo, Joseph Mitengo, from Ntcheu District, Malawi, holds long sticks strung with mice while selling them alongside a road in Lilongwe, Malawi. Cooked, salted or dried, field mice are strung on sticks and sold as a popular delicacy in Malawi in markets or at roadside stalls. The rodents are hunted in corn fields after the harvest when they have grown plump on a diet of grains, fruits, grass and insects. Malawi, with a population of 12 million, is among the poorest countries in the world, with rampant disease and hunger, aggravated by periodic droughts and crop failures. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Click here for original AP article. Slideshow, 7 photos.

food processing (photo album)

Food processing is one of our activities in the communities we work in. People in Malawi are very dependent on maize, so much so that if they have no maize they think they have nothing to eat. So we try to introduce different types of food, or rather, show them what local resources they have available to them and how they can cook them so they can eat healthy balanced meals without being totally dependent on nsima. We even show them how they can make a better tasting nsima made from maize, cassava, and sweet potato. It requires less maize, utilizes other available crops, is more nutritious, and tastes great. We also cook with green papaya or green bananas and other vegetables to make delicious one-pot dishes and people tell us after tasting it, "we've just been wasting our papayas all this time." We also introduce the fuel efficient stove (uses less firewood, produces less harmful smoke, etc.) and the fireless cooker/food warmer: just boil your rice or beans for a few minutes, put it in the fireless cooker, and it will finish cooking on its own. The food warmer keeps food warm for up to 8 hours, which is very convenient when you're busy working in the fields, or so chronically ill patients can help themselves to food even when no one is around to cook. In all, these demonstrations are very successful and people are just amazed at what they can do with what they have. 53 photos in this album.

Mulanje hike (photo album)

I climbed up Mount Mulanje 2 weeks ago with a group of Canadians. It was a great 3-day hike but we were in the clouds for most of it. Which also meant we weren't able to climb the peak we were planning to (Sapitwa) because we didn't want to join our French-Brazillian friend who at the time was 5 days missing and is still missing to date (UPDATE: body found, Aug.5, and here). Instead we climbed up Chambe Peak (Google Earth waypoint), which is a very impressive looking piece of rock (when you can see it that is). We were in the clouds all day so even when it was steep, it seemed less scary with all the white fluffy clouds around us. But the last ascent to the top ended up being too steep and dangerous so we had to stop just shy of the top. But in all, it was a very good climb. And to think that some people run up and down the mountain in under 3 hours during the Porter's Race in July... unbelievable!

Anyway, some pictures of our hike in this online album. (39 photos)

bumper harvests, rockbottom prices

The Daily Times, 22 July 2009, reports:

Ministry of Agriculture says this year’s maize harvest shot to 3.7 million metric tonnes up from about 1.3 million metric tonnes achieved in the 2004 growing season.

During morning hours, eager-faced farmers are seen pushing their produce on bicycles to sell at the markets of Nkando, Phalombe and Mulanje boma. Hours later, at the fall of dusk, they are seen face down returning home with similar loads.

At Nkando market, a trader buying pigeon peas and maize, Kambewa Matemba tells a story of frustrated farmers who see no sense selling their harvest at the local produce markets. The prices, he says, are too low to attract farmers... When they sell, it is not out of joy, rather because they have no choice...

Malawi has attained food self-sufficiency because government has invested in increasing agricultural productivity which is in line with the need to reduce rural poverty... But now, since food security has been achieved, there is need for vigilance to identify more markets for surplus grain harvests which continue to be achieved.

Read the full article (it will give you a good feel for African reporting too;)

Planting Malawi - July newsletter

Thanks for following our adventure with God here in Malawi. Our July newsletter has been published -- click on the "full screen" button to enlarge or download a PDF version. For our friends in Holland, a Dutch translation is available.

Planting Malawi 2009-07

July 2009 Emmanuel International Planting Malawi Isaiah 61.3 an update from the VanWoerdens in Malawi Prayer & Praise: • Malawi boasts a surplus maize harvest this year; pray for wise management No Seed to Plant [coming to grips with extreme poverty] I learned something the other day – a piece of the poverty problem that never clicked before for some reason. Talking with Nixon, who was doing some piecework for us, I asked him, “Do you have a large garden?” He replied, “Yes, but I didn’t have money to buy seed so I didn’t grow any maize this year.” When we were distributing maize during the hunger gap earlier this year, we surveyed beneficiaries. We asked them how much maize they had harvested. Many of them reported having harvested no maize at all or very little. I dismissed such responses as nonsense, especially at a time when there appeared to be a surplus harvest of maize in the country. They’re just hoping to get more maize, I thought. Never had it crossed my mind that there were poor farmers who couldn’t even afford to buy seed and fertilizer to plant in their fields. But when Nixon told me that his garden laid waste because he had no seed, it finally clicked. Extreme poverty. A farmer with a wife and three children, but not even enough resources to grow food for his family. Nixon first came to us looking for work back in January or so, and again some time later. It’s hard turning down people, especially when you can tell they’re desperate. But we can’t help everyone either. So we gave Nixon a day’s wages and called it a day. In June he showed up with a small bag of rice from his garden in appreciation for helping him. It so happened that our other guard was going on holidays so we asked Nixon to fill in. And that’s how we got to know more about him. (Actually, we have developed the closest relationships with [see No Seed to Plant, p. 2] • low maize prices keep people trapped in poverty • we were able to find a nanny to take care of the girls some of the time so Alex has a little bit of free time • our continuing witness for Christ in “our home village” and in project communities • solution for elephant problem Elephants in my Garden [human-wildlife conflict] The people of Makwinja Village are not sleeping much these days because they’re chasing elephants at night. T h e y c o me f r o m th e neighbouring Liwonde National Park in search for water and herbage. A few elephants can destroy a luscious vegetable garden in no time. Tender vegetables or even robust cassava just don’t stand up to the massive beasts. That’s why this year they’ve decided not to do any winter irrigation. Last year they were able to grow and sell enough vegetables to buy 4 goats for their village, even with the elephants damaging their crops. Their goal this year was to buy a bicycle ambulance. But only three days before I was scheduled to meet with park officials about the problem elephants, they struck again. The elephants destroyed Makwinja’s cassava garden, which I had visited only a week earlier and was not far from being mature. With the constant threat of elephants, the village of Makwinja decided it’s not worth the risk to grow any crops during the dry season and attract more elephants – too risky to grow food! So what’s the way forward? I learned from park officials that a fence was built around the park in 1994 but lasted only a few years before the fence was disassembled by people – fence poles used for hoe handles and wire for making snares to poach wildlife. The fence was rebuilt in 2004 and this time all the villages around the park were involved in the process with education about the purpose [see Problem Elephants, p. 2] elephant Liwonde National Park P lant in g Malaw i | July 2009 Problem Elephants of the fence and shared responsibility in its maintenance. Fence patrols were also deployed to maintain the electric fence and ensure that elephants and people stay on their respective sides of the fence. However, despite these measures, elephants are still trampling through the fence. It probably doesn’t help that since the park has been protected, the elephant population has exploded to some $800 elephants, which is beyond the carrying capacity of the park. So what’s the way forward? We don’t know yet. For now all we have is a lot of hungry elephants and a few angry villagers who don’t feel like feeding them anymore. It might be a bit of a random problem to have, but this is Malawi! No Seed to Plant the people that work for us because we see them daily. With our projects, we visit different villages all the time and it’s our field staff that work more closely with the people.) We usually give our guards whatever is leftover from our evening meal. Nixon really appreciated the meat that came with his portion. He vividly recalled the day last December that he splurged and bought 500 grams of meat at the market for his family. They haven’t had meat since then. Six months without meat! (except maybe some small dried fish, like sardines or herring). Not being able to provide for his family, he told us he was ashamed to eat the food his wife prepared at home and he would eat as little as possible so his children could eat. It sounds like his wife had given up hope in his ability to provide for the family. Poverty is many things, but when a man with land can’t even afford to grow food to feed his family, this is extreme poverty. No wonder people get stuck in a poverty trap. irrigation project Randomly Malawi: Maize prices are extremely low right now (MK40/kg) but poor farmers are forced to sell for household income. During the hunger gap, many of them will have to buy the same maize back at up to double the current price (MK80/kg). And the poverty cycle continues. It’s the middle of winter and there’s hardly a mosquito to be found, but one of them found Alex and she got a bout of malaria. Apparently the parasites burst the red blood cells, leaving its host very weak for some time. After our puppy died, we took our dog to the vet for a parvo vaccine. After filling a large needle, the vet asks, “Do I give this intramuscular or intravenous?” After instructing the vet on the procedures, we took full responsibility for the survival of our dog. The city of Zomba decided to run a rabies vaccination campaign. It was announced through a loudspeaker on a truck driving through the city: “Get your dog a free vaccination tomorrow or it may be shot dead without notice” (a rough paraphrase). “Do you know you have a chicken in your house?” an American visitor asked. It’s a little chick that we rescued from our cats. From lunch to pet, Whiskas now shares a plate with the dog and cats. woman with irrigated garden Because elephants are escaping from Liwonde National Park and damaging crops, it is too risky for villagers to plant irrigated gardens that will only attract more elephants. damaged wildlife fence, Liwonde National Park Andre & Alexandra VanWoerden [Lara, Talia, Ezera] Private Bag 12 Zomba Malawi 265.888.169.380 (Andre) or 265.888.169.382 (Alex) alexandre.vanwoerden@gmail.com vw-mw.blogspot.com Emmanuel International Canada PO Box 4050 Stouffville ON L4A 8B6 905.640.2111 info@eicanada.org www.eicanada.org 

Happy Independence Day!

July 1: Canada Day
July 4: USA Independence Day
July 6: Malawi Independence Day

Malawi celebrated its 45th year of independence from British colonial rule on July 6. A lady at church said, "Malawi is celebrating its independence from the British, which is me, and I feel like I should go into hiding for the day or something. (Me, I just went for a big hike up Zomba Plateau straight from our house -- some magnificent views of the country from up there!)

Here in Zomba things went on pretty much as usual but the country had a big celebration in Blantyre, where they packed out the stadium. The independence anniversary celebrations were held under the theme, “From poverty to prosperity”. In his speech, the president, Dr Wa Mutharika, said Malawi has come a long way but more still needs to be done. And the new national budget that was announced at the same time seems to reflect some of those things that are needed. Let's pray that God will raise Malawi out of poverty and that Malawi will take care of the resources (especially the soil) that God has given them.

May-June photo albums

We haven't posted much on our blog for a while so now it's here all at once. Here are some pictures from May-June. One album of pictures from various projects (disaster risk reduction, drought tolerant crops, irrigation, school supplies, etc.). The other album has random pictures of our girls, baby Caden, etc. Enjoy!

Projects May-June

Random May-June

Hazelbank: Church in Action

In our newsletter we wrote about Hazelbank Presbyterian Church and the impact they are making here in the Zomba District. I just realized that I had an album of pictures of their mosquito net distributions uploaded for the church but I hadn't shared it with you. To see some of the pictures of the mosquito nets that Hazelbank has distributed, click on this web album (47 photos).

Planting Malawi newsletter: May-June 2009

Our latest newsletter, with stories about our new baby boy, life around our "home village," a church in action, and some random tidbits. Thanks for sharing the journey with us. Expand the embedded version below (view fullscreen) or download a PDF version.

PlantingMalawi-2009-06

May - June 2009 Emmanuel International Planting Malawi Isaiah 61.3 an update from the VanWoerdens in Malawi Prayer & Praise: • elections went smoothly; pray promises will be fulfilled Our New Baby Boy [it really does takes a village to raise a child] “Congratulations sir, you have a grandson!” was the phone call we got early one Tuesday morning. Probably more like a godson, but a baby boy all the same. We named him Caden Jeshua. So what’s the story behind this latest addition to our family, or probably more like our “village”? Well, our gardener, Isaac, had told us a long time ago that he and his wife, Florence, were expecting a baby, due in April or May. Everything seemed to be going well. April came and went – probably the wrong due date. The whole month of May we were expecting Isaac to bring us news about a baby but by the end of the month, still no baby. Now we’re starting to get worried. Even more so when we discover that she hasn’t actually seen a doctor yet. She has just been going for monthly checkups where they recorded her weight and blood pressure, that’s it. So we decided we had to take Florence in to see a doctor. Alex picked her up Monday morning and took her to “our family doctor” who has no bedside manners, and also happens to be a retired gynaecologist. He affirmed our suspicions – this baby has to early Tuesday, June 2, which is when we got the phone call. When Isaac showed up for work the same day, he just couldn’t believe that he was a brand new father. “She met with Alex in the morning, and now we have a baby!” he said. He was so thankful for our help it sounded like we had given 2 June 2009 them the baby as a gift. Zomba, Malawi Then he told us, “Now the only thing left to do is for Caden: warrior you to name the baby.” A Jeshua: saviour (“Yahweh saved”) little uncomfortable for us, but apparently common The LORD is a warrior; practice here. We were allowed to come see the baby Yahweh is his name! on Sunday and gave him the Exodus 15.3 name we would’ve give our bypass the very long Monday son if we’d had one. And this morning queue to see the doc- is about the closest we’ve comtor. Several exams and an ing to having a son of our ultrasound later, the doctor own. admitted her to the hospital to be induced immediately. A Isaac and Florence with Sophie (4) healthy baby boy was born come now. Without hospital privileges, he writes a note to the practicing doctor at the hospital to see this expecting mother, who is now officially overdue. Note in hand, they • our gardener’s family has been blessed with a healthy baby boy • Isaac’s 14-yr old sister died in April and his 19-yr old brother died in May • project funding for Disaster Risk Reduction was cut short but we’re working with the US gov’t to secure new funding Caden Jeshua • changing mindsets from poverty, dependence, and hopelessness to resourcefulness • the girls are almost done school and will enjoy some holiday time at home • continue witness for Christ in “our home village” and in project communities Boabab tree Liwonde National Park and Caden (5 days).

Liwonde National Park wildlife

We went to Liwonde National Park again in May, soon after it opened up again for traffic after the rainy season. At first the number of wildlife we saw was disappointing (there is lots of water available still so less moving around) but then we discovered a huge herd of about 40-50 elephants -- way cool. There was a big huge daddy elephant that gave us a bit of a scare and wee little elephants. Also the usual impala, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, and assortment of birds. In all a very good trip into the park.

coldness in the Warm Heart of Africa

The weather in Canada has slowly been getting warmer while here in Malawi it's been getting colder, dipping below 10*C at night. It really does get quite chilly at night and the only heat we have is what the bricks of our house absorb from the sun during the day. So we're enjoying sleeping with blankets and wearing sweaters and jackets, things we hadn't really thought we'd be experiencing in the Warm Heart of Africa...

Today was the first time that the weather in our Canadian hometown and our current home were exactly the same (partially cloudy, high of 21, low of 8, according to AccuWeather at least).

before & after

I just wanted to showcase the Rotary project at the school in Namasalima. The paint job has made a marvelous transformation of the learning environment for the students -- still way below any education standards without desks and packing up to 400 students in a classroom but it's transformation nonetheless. BEFORE & AFTER

The community participated in the project by providing bricks and sand for the renovating of the one school block and school office/library as well as the borehole rehabilitation. Some of them also helped with the painting. A big thank you to Rotary Teams 1&2 for all their hard work. Zikomo kwambiri. [check out their team blog]

Planting Malawi - March/April newsletter

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Planting Malawi - April newsletter

March - April 2009 Emmanuel International Planting Malawi Isaiah 61.3 an update from the VanWoerdens in Malawi Prayer & Praise: • Malawi elections are on May 19(ish). Please pray for peaceful elections (the kids’ school has implemented some precautionary holidays) and for the future of Malawi. • We are thankful for the Canada Rotary and the ZAP Ireland donor teams and the great work they are doing here. Pray that they will be impacted and have safe travels back home. • Praise for lives that are being transformed through EI and ZAP projects. Pray that more lives will be changed. • Having guards, gardener, and househelp may sound like a luxury but can also be challenging. We pray for peace in our home. (We do miss the luxuries of home). • Our gardener’s wife is due to have a baby anytime (no actual due date). Pray for a safe delivery. Tackling Poverty [tapping into unrealized potential] I once asked my colleague, and millions of dollars of aid Charles Mukiwa, a long-term money have been poured into development worker with Em- the nation but how much of it manuel International, “If you has really made a difference? could do only one thing to The father of a teacher at address the probLara and lem of poverty in “If you could do only Talia’s school Malaw i, what one thing to address used to teach would you do?” He the problem of poverty i n Malawi told me something in Malawi, what would many years along the lines of, ago. Now visityou do?” “Help people use ing his son, he local resources to work their was asked, “In the last forty way out of poverty.” And that five years, what has is what we are trying to do changed?” His response was, with the Disaster Risk Reduc- “Paved roads, men wearing tion project (DRR) that he and jeans, women wearing pants.” I are working on. Program Essentially nothing has after program has been im- changed, despite years of plemented here in Malawi international aid. But perhaps too much of it has created a dependence on international resources. [continued on p. 2] community woodlot School Makeover [reality change for students in Namasalima] Misango Primary School is a rural school bordering the dike along the Domasi River in Namasalima, where we helped the community to rebuild the dike last year. The school has 1,674 students but only 7 qualified teachers, 3 volunteers, and 7 classrooms (a pupil-teacher ratio of over 200:1). Grade 2 has 475 students. One teacher, one classroom. They don’t fit in the classroom so there are always students outside the windows. Sometimes the teacher stands at the window to teach because there’s no room to move inside. The students sit on the broken concrete floor. The school hasn’t been painted in years. There are no doors so there’s graffiti etched in the dirty paint. The school has 3 pit latrines. That means 558 students per toilet. They had built some temporary grass shelters with a hole in the ground for latrines but they have collapsed with the rains. Kids go to the toilet barefoot and return to their classroom to sit on the floor, which is also their desk. Textbooks are scarce but they share what they have. Teachers live on a meager salary and are provided housing – dilapidated 3-room houses with makeshift kitchens and toilets behind the houses. They must be dedicated teachers. Last year 7 students were selected to go to secondary school. Supposedly that’s a high number. Given the school’s resources it [continued on p. 3] Planting Malaw i | March - April 2009 Disaster Risk Reduction: Tackling Poverty [continued from front] In DRR, we focus on development using local resources. A recent visit to Nyanya Village paints a good picture. The first thing the community showed us was a woodlot – rows of small trees in a landscape where only a few scattered trees remain standing. EI has been encouraging reforestation to address the problem of deforestation and promote environmental responsibility. The trees are grown from local seed and the woodlot is expanded each year to provide a sustainable source of firewood and poles and to provide protection for the soil. can sell them to others and generate income. The last thing the community showed us is how they used the fuel efficient stoves and fireless cookers (food warmers) to prepare a delicious meal from a variety of foods. A typical Malawian is “hungry” if she hasn’t eaten nsima. To change the mindset that food=nsima, EI is training communities in food processing. We can encourage people to grow crops like cassava and sweet potato, but if a Malawian doesn’t see it as food and doesn’t know how to Next, the community prepare it, we have accomplished nothing. But with trainshowed us their gardens of cassava and ing, cassava and sweet potato can be turned into flour to eassweet potato. Most farmers de pend ily make nsima or store for mostly on rain-fed future use, and other local maize production, but foods can be utilized to prewith changing weather pare nutritious balanced meals. patterns, this poses a With a diversified diet, famifarmer showing cassava high risk for food inselies are also much more food curity. Cassava and secure since they no longer sweet potato are drought tolerant crops depend solely on maize production. that are easy to multiply. EI has provided the initial stock of cassava cuttings and There is no simple solution to the probsweet potato vines to plant in community lem of poverty in Malawi – for most gardens, but from there the seed is easily people it’s a vicious cycle. But with a multiplied and cuttings are transplanted to individual gardens and shared with other villages so that lots of households benefit from improved food security and a viable cash crop. Walking back to the village, they showed us the kiln used for making fuel efficient stoves. Most Malawians use three stones to cook over a small fire. EI is not only promoting the use of fuel efficient stoves that use only a fraction of the firewood to cook a meal, but also helping communities make the stoves so they series of small changes using local resources, poverty-stricken families can experience major transformation. Growing drought tolerant crops results in food security. Food processing utilizes local foods to improve nutrition. Preparing meals using fuel efficient stoves minimizes the number of trees that have to be cut for firewood. And reforestation replenishes the timber and firewood supply while protecting the environment. In addition, the alternative crops and fuel efficient stoves offer economic opportunities, which combined with our Village Savings and Loans and micro-enterprise projects can significantly increase the amount of cash flow in a community. Effective community development is holistic and grassroots, and empowers people to utilize local resources to bring change. Seeing a village like Nyanya embracing this kind of development is uplifting and inspires hope for the nation. As one of our field staff put it, “the project can really change the community’s mindset of relying on external assistance because they have realized that there is hidden treasure amongst themselves through their shared contributions.” By helping them realize their potential, lives are being transformed. Andre and his colleague, Charles Mukiwa, enjoying some of Malawi’s finest village cuisine. It’s not even nsima! Planting Malaw i | March - April 2009 School Makeover [continued from front] probably is. Drop out rate is high. With over 350 students each in Grades 1 to 3, each subsequent grade has fewer students. Grade 8 has only 40. There’s not a lot of incentive to go to school – poor learning environment, not enough teachers, few learning resources. Plus there’s work to be done, a matter of survival really, and girls often get married off at age 13 or 14. But all that is changing at Misango Primary School. Thanks to several Rotary Clubs in Canada, the school is being transformed. The roof blew off one of the classrooms about 2 years ago and was never replaced. But Rotary has helped replace the roof so the school has two more classrooms. Already, the government has assigned a new teacher to the school. The floors have been patched so that students have a decent place to sit at least. All the walls have been painted to brighten up the classrooms. They have also installed a small library so that students can actually read books and maybe even read at home. School supplies will be distributed this week so that both students and teachers will have resources for teaching and learnschool soccer team in Tim Hortons uniforms ing. We also had a soccer and netball tournament and gave the school sports uniforms, soccer balls, and frisbees. With two consecutive Rotary teams and several weeks of work, the school has undergone a major transformation. Although the school still faces many challenges, the learning environment at the school has been drastically improved. We’re hoping that other changes will follow, especially the construction of latrines for the school, and Rotary has assured us that this is only the beginning of a relationship with Misango Primary School. THANK YOU, Rotarians and friends from the Toronto area! Pastor Leads by Example EI works in partnership with the Evangelical Baptist Church of Malawi. This case study is an example of this partnership: Reverend Sam R. Kaipa is a pastor of a small rural Evangelical Baptist Church in Kapu Village, TA Mulomba. Rev. Kaipa is also the chairman of the Village Development Committee. He has been actively involved in DRR since 2006, implementing interventions such as crop diversification, seed multiplication, and afforestation. Pastor Kaipa joined the DRR project not only to improve the food security of his family, but also because he has a vision for the transformation of his people in the church and in the larger community. He has a vision for physical and eternal transformation. Pastor Kaipa sees DRR as a way of breaking the cycle of poverty in his village. Rather than depending on handouts, he wants to demonstrate through his own actions how development activities can transform lives. Rev. Kaipa is involved in seed [a transformat ion story] Randomly Malawi: Democracy is very young in Malawi and although campaigning officially began in March, political rallies have been taking place since we got here in August. Elections are taking place on May 19, but it could likely be moved by a few days — you just never know. Most people have harvested their maize by now. The hunger season is over. The rains have slowed down and the dry season will soon begin. May and June are the coldest months — sleeping with blankets is nice for a change. Poinsettias grow up to 15ft tall and bloom during the Easter season, not at Christmas time. I guess Jesus was born a baby so he could die as Saviour. Somehow this beautiful red flower has come to point out the entire good news of Jesus for the world. multiplication and propagation of trees, which he plans to propagate commercially. Through the sale of cassava and other small business efforts he has been able to pay for school for his son who is attending secondary school and purchase clothes for his family. As a pastor, he does not want to live on the support of his congregation, but he wants his congregation to imitate his development initiatives. He also envisions Muslims and Christians being united through working in development together. However, this has not been without challenges as some Muslims had to be convinced that the interventions were not targeting any particular faith groups. The DRR project has been strengthened by working with Pastor Kaipa because he knows the people and their needs and being in a position of influence, he is able to promote DRR interventions. Empowering local churches and CBOs significantly enhances the project’s impact and sustainability. Planting Malaw i | March - April 2009 Irrigation Project Benefits Entire Village [a transformation story] Mr. Wild Fayala’s household suffered from poverty and hunger and he joined various DRR activities to change the future of his family. Mr. Fayala lives with his wife and five children in the village of Mbalwe in TA Nyambi, Machinga District, where they practice subsistence farming. Joining the irrigation club in his community has made a drastic difference in the life of his family. Mr. Fayala is now able to realize a surplus crop, which he has been able to sell to buy school uniforms for his children and provide basic household needs. Thanks to wintercropping, his family is now less dependent on rain-fed agriculture and more food secure as a result. Like Mr. Fayala, most members of the irrigation club who were trained in the community demonstration garden are now practicing irrigation in their own plots and realizing surplus crops. Others in the community who have not used irrigation are able to buy crops from the project participants instead of buying expensive produce at the market. In this way, the whole community has benefited from greater food security. In addition, some crops from the community garden were sold to purchase bricks to line the new community well so that the Mbalwe residents have access to safe drinking water. Transformation Despite Disaster Mr. Saizi Mwalinyu, also known as Atcheya, has been actively implementing DRR activities since EI first introduced DRR in his home village, Mwamadi. In 2006 Mwamadi had experienced flooding and the community was assisted with treadle pumps, seed, and fertilizer to start irrigation. Harvesting enough food to feed his four children after experiencing a disaster convinced Atcheya to adopt DRR as his friend. Since then he has been involved in food processing, fuel efficient stove making, conservation farming, micro-enterprise, and adult literacy. Before his wife passed away, they were able to operate a small business that significantly improved their household income. Since his wife’s death and being solely responsible for his children, he has not managed to run the small business but he has continued the various agriculture interventions to look after his children. Through these interventions, Atcheya [a tran sformat ion story ] has experienced major transformation. He has managed to build a house with an iron sheet roof for his family and he has bought a bicycle, a radio, and clothes for his children. With a smile on his face, Atcheya was pleased to testify of the women in his village who are to take care of their families through the same interventions. With a little training, the com- munity has become aware of resources that they have within their village that they can utilize to improve their lives. New pictures of hippos, the school makeover, and more on our blog! Your prayers and support are enormously appreciated! Thank you! Andre & Alexandra VanWoerden [Lara, Talia, Ezera] Private Bag 12 Zomba Malawi 265.8.169.380 (Andre) or 265.8.169.382 (Alex) alexandre.vanwoerden@gmail.com vw-mw.blogspot.com Emmanuel International Canada PO Box 4050 Stouffville ON L4A 8B6 905.640.2111 info@eicanada.org www.eicanada.org 

ZAP Coleraine visit of EI projects

With a visiting team from Coleraine, Ireland, the donor community for ZAP, Alex has been busy with project visits and working dinners. On Thursday the ZAP team visited a sampling of the development projects that Emmanuel International has implemented: shallow wells, fruit trees, mosquito nets, fuel efficient stoves, bicycle ambulances, etc. With Alex being the host for the ZAP team and Andre leading the field trip for EI, we actually got to work together for a day.

More about ZAP at www.colerainezomba.org.uk.

Rotary teams do school makeover

We've had two consecutive teams from Rotary Canada spending a couple weeks here on several work projects. One of their projects was doing a makeover on a rural school, which was my project. Some of the work was done before the team arrived and they did the finishing. The makeover includes: a new roof and floor in one classroom block, patching all classroom floors, painting all classrooms, installing a small library, handing out school supplies to the students, having a soccer tournament, giving the school sports uniforms and balls, and rehabilitating the borehole at the school. It's an amazing difference, definitely improved the learning environment at the school. But again, it's little by little, because the school still faces a whole bunch of challenges (like latrines, teacher housing, desks, etc.).

Check out the team's daily blog to learn more about their experiences here.

hippos and holidays

Just a few pictures of our recent adventures. We haven't really seen much of Malawi because it's just so expensive to travel but we finally decided we had to start exploring the country a little. We went to see some wildlife on the Shire River in Liwonde National Park. Not a great time to see wildlife during the rainy season because there's plenty of water inland so animals don't come to the river to drink (and you can't enter the park by land during the rainy season). But we got to see a bunch of hippos, ugly creatures, really. We also spent a weekend at Lake Malawi, a first for us after 7 months of living here and it's only like 2hrs away. It's beautiful and we enjoyed our time there, so much so we really didn't take pictures except for a little side trip to Mua Mission.

Easter in Malawi

I hope you had a great Easter, celebrating the gift of life that Jesus gave us through his dying on the cross and rising from the dead. Our Easter was rather uneventful as we spent the weekend on beautiful Lake Malawi (and suffered some minor illness, ant infestation, and sleeplessness, but other than that, great getaway).

But I recall a story written by a Canadian colleague who was doing similar work to mine here in Malawi with EI before I came. It's a story of her experience of Easter last year, worshiping with our Malawian friends. Here's a small excerpt: (complete story)

During the mass, my eyes were on Evelyn, who was sharing in the celebrations just as much as everyone else: Evelyn, who, to an outsider, seems to have so little to celebrate in her life marked with suffering, poverty and setbacks.

And I realized that her story was probably common to most of the people in that church that morning. We were a church of suffering, of poverty, of hunger, of AIDS, of unemployment and of abandonment. But, more importantly, we were a church of hope.

Often have I heard that religion is the opiate of the masses, a meaningless concept that people grasp at in their moments of weakness. In some cases I am tempted to agree. But all I could think of that morning was the incredible strength and courage it must take Evelyn to dare to hope and believe in a God whom many would say has forsaken her.

I wonder if it is precisely because of her suffering that she is able to celebrate. If Jesus hadn't been crucified, he couldn't have risen. Perhaps it takes the experience of suffering to fully appreciate the joy of the resurrection.

You can read the whole story of Evelyn and Easter in Malawi here.

you name it, we've got it

This is an invoice I received on Thursday - apparently these guys specialize in, well, just about anything, unlike the "Special List in Mops, Blooms, and Blushes" (in the Zomba photo album). I also picked up the generator that had been serviced at Topper's, a sewing shop.

A day in Ngwale Village

Selected scenes from 24 hours in the life of Edith Kapuka, a 13 year-old girl living in Ngwale Village at the base of the Zomba Plateau in Malawi. (8:48) more scenes...

Global Lives Project Malawi

view all scenes from "24 hours in the life of Edith Kapuka"

"Pack and Go"

In our "search for that sign" photo diary of Zomba City we had a photo of "Heaven Bound Coffin Shop". There are lots of signs in Malawi that make you laugh or at least go "Uh?!" Coffin shops are everywhere, a sad testimony to how common death is in this part of the world because of AIDS, malaria, cholera, and other preventable diseases. This picture has been on a memory stick for a long time but I was just reminded of it and thought I would post it...

"Pack and Go Coffin Workshop"

Zomba City

We have finally taken some pictures of Zomba, the city we live in -- well, I should say, Alex has, and felt very awkward doing it and even got yelled at for taking pictures. This should give you a bit of a picture of life for us here, at least of where we do our shopping and such. Life in the city is such a huge contrast with life in the village. Yesterday I was at a meeting in Blantyre at a conference centre -- it felt like I was in a different world with the carpets on the floor, beautiful furniture, decorations and art on the walls, drinks served in wine glasses. Is this really the same Malawi? And then we're meeting about distributing food to people who don't have enough to feed themselves. The huge contrast between rich and poor is still something I struggle with very much and it's something we're confronted with every day.

ZAP, Magdalena, Isaac, James, Namasalima

A selection of pictures from March.

• [ZAP] Alex works for ZAP (Zomba Action Project). These are some pictures of a handover ceremony of a house that ZAP built for some elderly people.
  
• [Magdalena] We have assisted Magdalena some with her school fees. She invited us to visit her home, where she lives with her grandmother and younger siblings in a house that some friends are allowing them to stay in for now. She calls Alex "Mommie Alex."
  
• [Isaac] We visited our gardener's home for his daughter's 4th birthday. When we had asked him what he was doing for her birthday he said he couldn't buy her a gift and they wouldn't have a party because they had no tea or anything. We took them some gifts to help them celebrate their daughter's birthday.
  
• [James] Remember the story of James, an orphan we've been helping with college fees and also helped him build a house for his younger siblings? We went to see the house he has built, it looks quite nice.
  
• [Namasalima] EI is renovating a school with a team from Rotary Canada that's funding the project and coming to help in April. The project includes a new roof, a new floor, paint, school supplies, sports equipment, and library. We're also trying to find funding for toilets.
  

pang'ono pang'ono

I mentioned the tremendous challenges that the school I visited last week faces. Where do you begin? The needs here in Malawi are huge, they just don't seem to end. Like people who come knocking on our door all the time asking for help. Take this girl, for example, who stopped in at the office last week, desperately looking for assistance paying her university tuition because as an orphan with 5 younger siblings and grandparents to look after, this is the only way she can see that she can provide for them. There are problems all around but I guess all you can do is do what you can, little by little. So at the school, we gave school supplies. Yes, they also need toilets and classrooms, but at least they have some materials for teaching and learning. And as for helping this girl with her school fees, well, we'll put the word out to a few potential donors and see if we can do something. Like they say here, "Pang'ono pang'ono" -- little by little. Jesus can take our five loaves and two fish and do great things. The Kingdom of God is like a little yeast... like a mustard seed...

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Planting Malawi - February newsletter

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Planting Malawi 2009-02

February 2009 Emmanuel International Planting Malawi Isaiah 61.3 an update from the VanWoerdens in Malawi Prayer & Praise: • Andre’s Dad had a major heart attack but is recovering. Zomba Action Project [linking communities for transformation] One community reaching out to another in a different part of the world, giving people clean water to drink so they don’t get sick, helping them build better schools to educate their children, providing them with protection from malaria, helping them grow food so they don’t go hungry, and so on. That is what the borough of Coleraine, Ireland, is doing to help alleviate the poverty in Zomba, Malawi. They call it the Zomba Action Project, aka ZAP. It’s a fantastic initiative really – businesses and churches in a community working together, raising funds to implement development activities in the Zomba District. Alex started working with ZAP this week. She is the administrator for the Zomba side of the action, which means she is the link between the various committees and the board, but also the liaison with ZAP Coleraine. She will receive project proposals from the implementing organizations, recommend projects to Coleraine, and monitor the progress of the activities. Emmanuel International’s agriculture sector, where Andre works, is one of the ZAP partners so although we’re working for different organizations, we are working together. Emmanuel International partners with ZAP to implement development projects like irrigation, chickens, fruit trees, shallow wells, fuelefficient stoves, etc. ZAP also carries out projects of health, education, and church development. Alex is quite excited to have found her niche where she can be part of what God is doing here. She is able to work every morning while the girls are in school and use her organizational skills. For more info on ZAP, visit www.colerainezomba.org.uk • Most of Malawi has enjoyed good rains and is approaching harvest season, ending the hunger season for most. Some areas have not had good rains though. • EI is working with the government to distribute maize to food insecure households. • Alex has found her ministry opportunity at ZAP. Pray for a fruitful ministry as project administrator. • Many development projects are suffering from the effects of the global credit crisis. • Our fence is finally being built! Praise God for keeping us safe all this time. “Mango” Books and Pens [hope for the next generation] more stories & photos on It’s hard to imagine: Kids going to school on an empty stomach, sitting on a brick in a rickety grass shelter, listening to the teacher who has a chalkboard but no chalk, unable to take any notes because they don’t have an exercise book or pen, and sharing a textbook with 3 or 4 other students. But this is the reality for some students at Mbidi Primary School and many other schools in Malawi. Andre distributed school supplies to Mbidi School this week. Textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, sharpeners, and rulers for the students; chalk, dusters, flipcharts, and markers for the teachers – donated by a generous church in Ireland that sponsors many such projects. I think it’s the most impressive distribution I’ve been part of here. It’s hard to imagine simple things like basic school supplies making a huge impact but the amount of gratitude and joy that was expressed was immense. Mbidi Primary School is a blatant example of the extreme poverty in Malawi. As a small rural school, it faces some huge challenges. It was built in 1996 with only two classrooms. The community built an additional two classrooms but has not been able to save the $400 it would take to put in a concrete floor. The kids sit on bricks because during the rainy season, the dirt floor is waterlogged – sometimes they can’t even sit down. A small chalkboard leans up against the wall, but even if there was chalk, only [see School Supplies, p. 2] vw-mw.blogspot.com Planting Malaw i | Februar y 2009 Power All Day Every Day The power’s out again! We thought we had come to terms with the frequent power interruptions that are part of life in Malawi but the month of February has been especially bad for our power supply. The other day when I got to the office, our country director exclaimed, “We’ve had power for almost 24 hours, if you don’t count the brief outage we had last night!” That probably about sums up our electricity situation for February – not a day has gone by without at least one blackout and usually they’ve been frequent throughout the day. Some days were rather unproductive in the office, looking for things to do that don’t require computers, printers, or photocopiers. Our evenings involve candles, flashlights, and early bed times. The motto for ESCOM (Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi) is “Power all day every day.” Maybe it’s more of a vision statement. It’s certainly ambitious. We’re lucky to have power at all — it’s a luxury. School Supplies [from p.1] the kids sitting in the front might be able to read it. The trusses are just some poles from local trees – the kind of roof that often collapses here with a little wind. There are two more “classrooms.” They’re just grass shelters that provide a little shade. I'm not sure what they do when it rains actually – either cancel classes or all cram into the two good classrooms I suppose. The school has no toilet either. A few broken plastic chairs are all the teachers have – you have to stack at least two together and even then it’s pretty risky to sit on – I moved to a log after trying the chair. Many kids don’t have exercise books or pencils, especially orphans. It is common practice to cut notebooks and pencils in half. No wonder absenteeism, dropout, and failure rates are so high. But this is the investment in the future leaders of Malawi. Some of them will actually make it and become teachers, doctors, and business managers, despite the huge obstacles they have to overcome. The amount of gratitude that was expressed at the distribution of simple school supplies is hard to describe. The program was attended by the school committee, parent teacher association, local village chiefs, the District Primary Education Advisor. The teachers and students alike were overjoyed to receive chalk and exercise books, pens, pencils, and rulers. There were speeches, and poems, and drama presentations, and singing and dancing. The excitement and joy was amazing. These school supplies made a huge impact for these kids – it will probably make history for the school. With these teaching-learning materials, they have one less obstacle to overcome. We’ll see what else we can do to assist this school – little by little. View the picture album of Mbidi School on our blog, vw-mw.blogspot.com. Our Family [news snippets] tioned that decision many times over. They installed a new valve and aorta and did two bypasses — he had a heart makeover, physically and spiritually. Praise God! His amazing grace has prevailed and Dad is at home, recovering “pang’ono pang’ono” (little by little). Now that Alex is working, we decided to also put Ezera in school. She is in the same class as Talia and loves it. She loves playing with the kids, colouring, glueing, playing in the sand, swimming and the many other activities that they do at school. Ezera says that she goes to her “oppice” to work, just like her mother. February has been a very stressful month for our family. Andre’s Dad had a major heart attack on January 26, the same day that we sent out our last newsletter. The doctors said it was a miracle he survived. It was really stressful being so far away from family during this time and although we decided not to go back to Canada we ques- Thank you for sharing our journey and supporting our ministry! Andre & Alexandra VanWoerden [Lara, Talia, Ezera] Private Bag 12 Zomba Malawi 265.8.169.380 (Andre) or 265.8.169.382 (Alex) alexandre.vanwoerden@gmail.com vw-mw.blogspot.com Emmanuel International Canada PO Box 4050 Stouffville ON L4A 8B6 905.640.2111 info@eicanada.org www.eicanada.org