Inside one of the classrooms of Ng’onga Primary School, about a dozen villagers meet each Monday. All of them are HIV positive, and live in an area that has been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. But like the school in which they meet, they have been built up by a “livelihoods program” run by the Blantyre Synod Health and Development Commission, and supported by Canada’s own Presbyterian World Service and Development.
This branch of the program reaches about 2,700 households in nine villages in the area. Ng’onga school, with its brightly coloured windows, has been restored and both a well and garden have been added. The well is topped with a large wheel that pumps water and doubles as a piece of playground equipment. The school garden is also a teaching tool; although parents and grandparents have hesitated to change their methods of farming or the crops they choose to grow, the children are willing to learn and can be taught about new growing techniques and nutrition.
Beyond the school, Chrissie Kananji showed the visitors her home and, in particular, a hand washing station built outside of her latrine. It is a simple bucket of water and a ladle with a small hole in the bottom. By filling the ladle and hanging it on a stick, Chrissie can wash her hands immediately after using her latrine, ensuring she limits the spread of germs.
She also shows off two guinea fowl given to her by the program, now accompanied by turkeys she has bought. And in her large garden, the staples of maize, sweet potatoes and cassava grow alongside more recently introduced soya beans, which provide needed protein.
In Sani village, Ines Saikone, a fumu or village chief, leads by example. She and her family use a foot-powered pump given to them by the program to irrigate their fields. She uses a technique called mulching; rather than burning the remains of the previous season’s maize plants, Ines now lays them across her field. They help to hold the soil in place, meaning she can plant rows closer together, fitting more maize into the same size of field, and as the mulch decomposes it adds nutrients to the soil.
From Sani, the bus set off down a footpath through a meadow. The grass that rose on either side brushed the tops of its open windows and scattered seed on those inside. As it reached the more remote village of Chimbonano, the sound of music and drums came down a pathway. The villagers were dancing in welcome.
In Chimbonano, the village was being trained to work together, sharing expertise in various areas of life and health. Several committees had been formed, and each was trained with skills and knowledge which they took back with them to the wider community. The agriculture committee learned irrigation farming, and the village received a well, guinea fowl and goats through the program. The nutrition committee learned to process and cook their crops to preserve nutrients. The heath and water committee dealt with sanitation. The natural resources committee took care of the fields and soil, and raised fruit trees and tree nurseries. And the village implementation committee was an executive composed of representatives from each of the various committees. They were, in the Chichewa words of one member, “like the eyes of the chief.”
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Although exhausted from their intense week, the Canadians had a last stop to make before the day was through. At Lunzo Secondary School, they met students involved in C.C.A.P.S.O.—the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Student Organization.
About a hundred youth subsumed the Canadians, eager to show them their school and some of their activities.
“There are students here from every corner of Malawi, so by interacting with them today it will be like you have been to every corner of Malawi,” one of the leaders said.
The C.C.A.P.S.O. has three sections for youth at various points in their lives: for secondary students, college students, and those who are working. Each group focuses its work on five areas, all of them based in scripture, he explained:
- Worship, rooted in Christ’s call for his followers to love and Worship God.
- Ministry, which is based on the command to love our neighbours.
- Evangelism, inspired by the Great Commission.
- Fellowship, which is seen as an extension of the commission; it’s a way for Christians to learn about God.
- Discipleship, or teaching others to obey the commands of God.
In some ways, it sounded similar to the Christian fellowships or youth groups the Canadians had been involved in. But the Malawian groups were larger and were not afraid to be passionate about their faith.
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