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.
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.
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
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.
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)
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.
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)
Emmanuel International is an international, interdenominational, evangelical agency which assists local churches worldwide to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the poor. As a global Christian ministry, Emmanuel International exists to encourage, strengthen, and assist churches worldwide to meet the needs of the poor in accordance with God's Word, sharing God's love and truth, transforming lives for Eternity.
holistic-- attend to the needs of the whole person: social, physical, emotional, and spiritual
church centred-- partner with churches within needy communities worldwide in order to meet the specific needs of the people within those communities
people centred-- take God's love into towns, villages, and homes
self-reliant-- build the self-reliance and dignity of those involved
grass roots-- meet the basic needs and use simple technology, easy to replicate and maintain
Another good reason to quit smoking.
EI Malawi has a new website, thanks to one of our summer interns! Click on ei-malawi.org to check it out.
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.
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.
