Nora Martin & Steve McInnis

June 8, 2020

I thought I was finished writing about Malawi, but not so! There is one thing that I never wrote much about, and it’s a project we were hoping to get more involved with. It’s the Ndirande Handicapped Centre.

Established in 1982, the Ndirande Handicapped Centre is a volunteer run organization that exists to support people with physical and mental disabilities, especially children and their families. They meet every Tuesday in a rented church hall. The man in charge, along with the Board, is our friend Hamilton Banda. He is completely dedicated to keeping this club going, to serve the needs of his community.

The week Steve and I visited the centre, Hamilton started the session with a talk, followed by some singing together. Then they broke into small groups for various activities. There was a Bible study and a math class, a health group where children were being weighed, and a drama group who were practicing a skit to present the next week. The skit focused on including handicapped children in family activities, and the importance of treating the child well. They were totally involved in what they were doing, but they seemed pleased to pause and explain it to us.

The younger children were playing with toys from a bag on the floor and I joined in with them for a while. There was also a group of people playing a game with a ball, led by an albino man. In Malawi, people who are albino are often rejected by the society, so this is a safe place for him to be.

Later in the afternoon they served some food, so everyone went away satisfied. The centre is a welcoming place for people who otherwise have very little support.

One of their challenges right now is that they have just recently bought some property on which they plan to build a facility where they can meet anytime, and keep supplies, and perhaps set up some physiotherapy equipment. The program has been forced to move out of volunteer premises in the past, so Hamilton Banda purchased land to build a shelter, registering it with the city.

They also have plans for income generating projects on this property. Presently they are in the process of building a wall around the property for security. The Presbyterian Church in Canada has supported this aspect of the project with $30,000 in funds, which covers about three quarters of the cost. They are looking for more funds to complete the wall. If you are interested in contributing to this cause in support of people living with disabilities in this very poor suburb of Blantyre, you can click on the link here.

Where it asks you for a project designation, you can write “Ndirande”.

Steve is still getting regular updates on the building of the wall, and we are satisfied that the money is being well spent.

Malawi has reported about 455 cases of COVID-19. They have a problem now with quarantining suspect and actual cases. Quarantined individuals are escaping and thus almost certainly spreading the disease. The Ndirande slum is very high density with little chance of social distancing. The centre has in the past and will continue to educate members about health and hygiene.

Please pray for Malawi and this important work as they try to carry on through this challenging time.