An unusual request. It's not for one person in particular. It's for several
situations and events encountered by Christian workers in Malawi:
Thursday 21st February 2002
Dr. Chikakuda was admitted to hospital in Blantyre yesterday. Dr. Chikakuda
is one of our lecturers at Zomba Theological College. He has had several
medical examinations over the past two months, and the hospital felt that an
operation was necessary. This morning at College Prayers the Principal
announced that several students would be missing from class because they
had travelled to Blantyre to give blood. Their blood is for Dr. Chikakuda,
their lecturer.
Dr. Chikakuda and his wife were working in Mozambique for four years before
returning to Zomba this January. In Mozambique he was lecturing at a
Theological College also, but whilst in Mozambique one of their grown up
sons died. Dr. Chikakuda was going to share his experience at the Friday
Bible Study Group this week, but obviously that will be put off until he has
fully recovered.
Meanwhile, the hunger stories increase and draw nearer. Dr. Manda, who
teaches Hebrew and Old Testament, told us of one incident in Zomba. A hungry
man came to the door of a Zomba resident to ask for food, and in exchange he
would do some work in the garden. The person who answered the door agreed to
this and was about to prepare some food for the man when someone else in
the house intervened. This other person insisted that the man do the garden
work before he was fed. So the hungry man was taken round to the garden
where he started to work. After an hour the householder went to see how the
hungry man was getting on. The householder found the hungry man lying on the
ground, fainted from exhaustion. The hungry man was carried into the house
where they did what they could for him, but he died shortly afterwards.
In the staff room today we were visited by a Minister from the Central
Region. He has buried six people who have died from hunger. The Roman
Catholic Priest who is his neighbour has buried even more. Everyone outside
of the cities and large towns like Zomba and Blantyre is at a loss to know
where food is coming from. The minister from the Central Region told us that
people are digging up the roots of the Banana plant, and are grinding these
roots into a sort of flour to try and fill their stomachs with a sort of
porridge. Others are going into the bush looking for snakes to catch, kill,
and fry. The minister also told us about Sunday worship. People are still
turning up, but they only have strength to sing one verse of each hymn.
Malawians sing with all their heart and soul, but their vigour in his
congregation can only carry through one verse. After that they are too tired
and need to sit down.
Steve and Rita Paas were up at the Lake last weekend with family members
who had come to see them in Malawi. On Sunday Steve preached in the local
church at the Lake. He and Rita go to the same place many times and they
know the people and the people know them. What shocked Steve and Rita was
the thinness of the people they know so well. Everyone is affected. There
are gaunt features where people looked 'normal' before. They also noticed
that the new Maize in the fields was not growing very high. The people have
not been able to afford fertiliser this year.
Steve and Rita also had an experience last week which had after effects
stretching into this week. Last week a man and his wife came to their door
asking for help. Both were thin. They had lost their baby through hunger,
and now the wife was becoming weaker herself. Steve and Rita took the man
and his wife to hospital in Zomba. Returning from the Lake they went to see
how they were. The woman had died, but the man is still alive.
At a rally last week the State President challenged agencies to give him
the names of individuals who had really died from hunger. The authorities
are finding it very, very difficult to come to terms with what is happening.
Yet the Malawian newspapers, normally docile as far as major issues are
concerned, are now running hunger stories almost every day. The new British
High Commissioner is becoming involved, and the sheer pressure of reality is
taking its effect.
At the College the Principal has managed to gather funds from somewhere,
and he told the staff on Tuesday that they can now go to the bank with their
cheques and know that the cheques will not bounce.
Meanwhile the teaching programme is now in week seven. The lectures are, I
think, going fine, although how well the students do in the term exams will
be a measure for the lecturer as much as for those being taught. I e-mailed
my former teacher, Professor Alasdair Heron in Erlangen, Germany about a
detail in Calvin concerning the Threefold Office of Christ as Prophet,
Priest and King, and he replied straightaway with extracts of texts from
books we do not have here. I shared this with my Second Year Theology Class
and together we became excited over the reasons why Calvin changed from a
Twofold Office model in 1537 to a Threefold Office model in 1541 !! Such
academic delights can exist whilst surrounded by extremities of existence.
Yet, I suppose, such has always been the case. This is, I suppose, part of
the craziness of human existence. I am sure that teachers in France and
Belgium during World War I still taught about the finer points of the
philosophy of Kant whilst hearing the boom and roar of mighty guns pounding
the trenches.
All I can do is to describe the situation. Better men and women than I,
have the ability to think through the necessary solutions. But one thing is
clear: whatever value long-term projects have (and they have great value),
there must be direct, sharply focussed, short-term projects as well. Policy
from Donor countries has, for some time, concentrated on 'infrastructure',
'education', 'planning', but so much of that aid is wasted. It has been
calculated that 10 percent of the aid given to Malawi from the United States
alone, could buy fertiliser for every family in Malawi, and that would go a
huge distance to eliminating the hunger problem. But the trouble is that
such assistance is not as sharply focussed as it could be.
Last Wednesday afternoon I was working at home, when a figure appeared on
the veranda. It was an old woman. When I looked at her she dropped to her
knees and clasped her hands above her head, imploring help. She spoke in
Chichewa, so I did not understand her, apart from the repetition of the word
'January'. Her plight was genuine. You can tell. So I gave her some money,
and she was grateful. Then the old woman went away, clutching the notes I
had given her. I did not do anything special. I probably should have given
more.
In Zomba there are the well established beggars who have their begging site
well marked out by the doors of the PTC, or Kandodo, or the National Bank.
They have had these sites for years, and in fact do well. It is easy to give
them the change from your wallet every time you leave the store or the bank.
Far more difficult to deal with are the 'new faces' who have appeared from
nowhere, but who now sit by the side of the road in significant numbers, and
whom you have to pass as you walk into town. 'Bwana, Bwana' they whisper in
soft voices, scarcely audible, as I pass by.
As I wrote these last sentences two young ladies came to the door asking
where the Scripture Union Office was. It is round behind my house. The girls
were simply dressed, but normal, happy, young people. Only 50 yards in front
of the house teenagers from the school are hand-cutting grass with their
'cutters'. (The scythe does not seem to have reached Malawi.) Nevertheless,
they are having great fun: laughing, joking, teasing. Another 50 yards
beyond them more teenagers play with a Frisbee, like teenagers might do
anywhere. What is normality out here ?
Friday 22nd February 2002
Tonight was the last Friday Night Bible Study Group to take place in my
house. In March we move to the house of a young couple.
Fran is a volunteer in Malawi working from the World Exchange Programme.
Her main task is helping Kachere publications in their editing and
promotional strategy, but she has also become involved in the hunger
problem. Two weeks ago she e-mailed Clare Short, the UK minister responsible
for UK aid to poor countries. The reply that came from Clare Short's
secretary was very positive and supportive. The outcome is that on Monday
the 25th February Fran is travelling to Lilongwe (Malawi's capital), to meet
the British High Commissioner. She is going along with Dr. Felix Chingota,
the Moderator of the General Synod of the CCAP, and two other CCAP
officials. The aim of the meeting with the High Commissioner is to explore
practical ways in which the CCAP might be an agent which can deliver aid
directly to critically needed situations. This is an important development
and very much needs prayer. (The CCAP is 'The Church of Central Africa
Presbyterian).
Fran also goes to the Friday Night Bible Study and, over the past few
months, I have come to appreciate how many members of that Group are
involved in the important issues which affect Malawi at this time: Fran is
going to meet the High Commissioner about the Hunger situation;. Fulata has
been centrally involved in the tragedy of the student who was shot dead
during the demonstrations against Maize pricing; Professor Kings Phiri has
been quoted in the newspapers on several issue. Many of the group are
involved in teaching at Chancellor College (which opened again this week
after a two month close down).
Another of the group is Annie Gondwe. Anne trained in Hotel management and
catering in the UK in the 1980's and now she owns the Masongola Hotel in
Zomba. The Masongola Hotel used to be the accommodation for civil servants
when Zomba was still the centre of government for Malawi, but is now simply
a hotel. Reading her Bible brought home to Annie the concern that God has
for the poor. So, in response to that conviction, she went to Zomba Central
Hospital and asked which patients need extra food most. Most patients need
their food to be supplemented by their families bringing food to the
Hospital, but not all patients have families to help them. So Annie is put
in contact with a number of patients, and she provides a proper,
nutritional, meal for the once a day. Some of these patients eventually die,
but Annie knows that caring for the dying is so important as well. Even
those who die need to live with dignity for their remaining days. Annie is
to preach in Zomba Kirk at the end of April on 'Jesus the True Vine', so
she asked to meet with me to discuss the passage and what she might say.
The news about Dr. Chikakuda is not good. Technically the operation went
all right, but the outlook is pessimistic. Please pray for him and his
family..