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January 2009 Emmanuel International Planting Malawi Isaiah 61.3 an update from the VanWoerdens in Malawi Prayer & Praise: • that Christ would be known, even through mosquito net and fruit tree distributions Advocacy for Change [meeting with the big shots] A three-day workshop on disaster contingency planning for the Zomba District, attended by sector heads like the District Agriculture Officer, Forestry Officer, Water Officer, Health Officer, Director of Planning and Development, Chief of Police, etc., and facilitated by… Mr. Andre VanWoerden from Emmanuel International. I have hard time trying to transpose this scenario to the Canadian context. Can you imagine me facilitating a workshop for the provincial government with various ministers in attendance? But, this is Malawi! And this is the second such workshop that I have facilitated now, which is a good thing too, because I only received two days’ notice of my role. On Friday we received an invitation to the 5-day wo r k s h o p, s tar tin g o n Wednesday. Because we’ve found out before that an invitation can mean you’re actually playing a crucial role, and because we’ve been pushing the government to develop this contingency plan, we asked on Monday if they had any expectations from us for this workshop. As it turns out, they did want us to help facilitate. When I asked about the agenda for the workshop and what aspects the other facilitators were covering, I gathered from the hums and hahs that followed that there really was no plan. I agreed to help facilitate the workshop. I would see what I could contribute. I was not surprised when on Wednesday morning, after some opening comments and a prayer, I heard, “And now we will it turn it over to Emmanuel International.” I knew then I would be facilitating the entire workshop for the next three days (I talked it down from five days). [see Advocacy, p. 2] • health for our family as we’ve had quite a bit of sickness this month • for Talia, that she and Lara will continue to enjoy going to school and make friends • our continued witness with our staff at our home “village” • clear direction for Alex’s ministry here in Malawi • January/February is hunger season in Malawi • good rains for Malawi so people will have a good harvest Village Ambulance [health care in Malawi] We had just finished reading the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10.30-36) and we were talking about the Samaritan’s compassion that led him to give whatever he could to help the man that was attacked by bandits when the phone rings. It’s Edger, Andre’s colleague, “Can you come? It’s the girl. She’s sick again. Can you transport her to the hospital?” I race out to Edger’s village along the extremely dark roads, glad that most people seem to have moved off the roads and into their homes by now. Just five days earlier, I had made the same trip. The urgency is just a little less this time. I’ve done this before. She came through alright that time. But it can’t be malaria again. I pick Edger up at this house and follow the narrow foot path through the tall grass. This path doesn’t see trucks very often, never mind a little Toyota Corolla. Edger tells me that just an hour ago the girl was fine. She was washing dishes when she passed out. After arriving at the house, some men carry her lifeless body to the car. They lay her in the back seat, shirt ripped open, her breasts exposed – her temperature is high. In the dim light of the interior of the car, I see she’s just as lifeless as before. Last time I wasn’t so sure she was even alive. Making our way back to the highway, we race off in the darkness to the Malosa hospital, a private mission hospital. We brought her there last time because her mother was already there to take care of another one of her daughters [see Ambulance, p. 2] fruit tree distribution: reforestation, nutrition, and income generation more stories & photos on vw-mw.blogspot.com (more than 300 photos so far!) P lant in g Malaw i | Januar y 20 09 Advocacy for Change [continued] It was exhausting but we had some fruitful discussions and we made good progress in promoting disaster risk reduction. We hope that soon Zomba District will have a Disaster Contingency Plan that will translate to better disaster preparedness for the government and greater disaster resilience for local communities. Although I had never imagined leading government workshops or writing 100+ page government documents when we signed up for ministry in Malawi, it is exactly what God has called us to do – advocating for the poor, instilling changes from the top down. Village Ambulance [continued] who was ill will malaria. She has already lost her husband and two daughters to disease – I can only imagine her fear of losing yet another daughter, a teenager, in the prime of her life. Last time when we arrived at the hospital, we asked a custodian sweeping the sidewalk for a stretcher. He calmly sauntered off and came casually strolling back with a wheelchair. Afraid of how long it would take him to find a stretcher, we propped the girl up in the wheelchair and wheeled her in. Arriving at the hospital this time, we find it’s in complete darkness – the power is out. After making our way through the dark corridors, we arrive at the admission desk. They have a single candle, precariously balanced on the counter. They can’t seem to find the forms to admit her but continue their search by candlelight without any sign of urgency. Can’t we do the paperwork later? Finally we can move her to a bed, but it’s utter darkness – it’s difficult to share a single candle. And it won’t make the doctor’s job a new well and fruit trees any easier. So Edger and I decide to go find a shop that might still be open and have some candles. After checking a few candlelit shops, we finally find one that has some candles in stock. Finally there’s light to check her vitals. Last time her vitals were fine. They put her on glucose IV and treated her for malaria, to which she responded quickly. It can’t be malaria again. I hope they can figure out the cause. [People in the village mostly depend on the minibuses for transport to the hospital but in a case like this it’s difficult to carry the sick person to the highway to wait for a minibus and most drivers will refuse to transport someone who is this sick for fear that she may die in transport and they will have to file police reports. Ambulances only operate within the city because they can’t meet the demand for rural areas; they only transport bodies back if they have more bodies from one area. So for the most part, people in the village depend on knowing someone who has a vehicle.] Work for the peace and prosperity of [Malawi]… for if [Malawi] has peace, so will you… “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29.7,11 What Did You Eat? This is a scene at the workshop, as we were coming back together after lunch. Andre: How was your lunch? DAO: It was good, what about yours? Andre: Mine was good too. Thank you. What did you have for lunch? DAO: Nsima and matemba. What about you? Did you eat nsima? Andre: No, I did not have [ if you haven’t e ate n ns im a , you haven’t e ate n] nsima, you haven’t eaten. Someone shared a story about another government officer. She had her two sisters come to visit her from the village. She had treated them to a nice meal with rice, but after the meal, the sisters were just loitering, apparently waiting for something. Finally one of them spoke up and asked, “Are we not eating today?” She had to go back to the kitchen and cook nsima for her sisters. If you haven’t eaten nsima, you haven’t eaten. In our project villages, we train households to utilize other foods like cassava and sweet potato to reduce their dependence on maize. You can imagine the challenge. If it’s not nsima... nsima today. I just had some bread. DAO: Bread!? For lunch?!? Was your wife not home to cook? DPD: Is your house affected by floods or something? Disbelief filled the room. As others arrived from lunch, they were told, “Ask him what he had for lunch!” Here in Malawi, if you haven’t eaten Thank you for your continued support! 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
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