I want to be rich one day

James only remembers his life as a street boy. He has spent all his time begging in the streets of Blantyre city in Malawi.

He is one of the numerous children who sleep under the bridge and frequent some drinking joints for alms.

“I have never slept under any roof. I sleep under the bridge,” he said.

Like any other child James could want to live in a proper house and have all the necessity he may wish to advance in life.

“I would want to go to school, but where can I get the food if I spend time in class,” she said.

He claims that he spends most of his time looking for food that was why he is not at school.

“I would want if I could go to school. I want to be a rich person in future,” he says.

However future of James looks gloomy at the moment.

A genuinely sorry sight

I always worry when I see men carrying babies. Invariably it seems to mean that something is horribly wrong with the mother.

We live quite close to a hospital but I only really notice it about once a week….still, it’s enough. Once we were driving to work and noticed two men, one carrying a baby and one with a very large child strapped to his back. Look closer, it wasn’t a child but a skeletal woman slung up in a bit of tattered fabric. This morning on the way to work I noticed a woman curled up on the grass lying with her head on the kerb. I thought, she is crying and might have just lost a child. Moments later I drove past a man walking down the street towards a local clinic, with a baby strapped to his back and a couple of water bottles with what looked like milk in his hand. I don’t know if they are connected, but I am so sorry to see it.

15% of the adult population have HIV/AIDS here. Some reports say it is coming on for 20%. That is one in every 5 people. There are literally millions of orphans. But if you are Malawian HIV/AIDS is just another thing to add to the list of stuff that will kill you. Most people have malaria, many have bilhartisa, there is cholera and TB and dysentery. I understand a Malawian’s life expectancy is around 45 (a recent improvement from 38).

I do not know what to make of all that.
F x

Source: http://fionaparkerinmalawi.blogspot.com/2009/07/genuinely-sorry-sight.html

My Life has changed

Instead, the young girl says, the sister sends her to collect water from a distant public tap. She had to go there several times, balancing a pail full of water on her heard effectively straining her little neck further.

Marica stays with her sister because her father and mother passed away two years ago.

Little Merica’s life has been complicated since the parents died. However, she has found solace as Tithandizane Orphanage Centre where she went for food and peer bonding.

“I have seen change ever since I started coming here. At least I am playing with my friends peacefully,” she said.

The matron at Tithandizane Orphanage Centre offered her K10 to buy panadol for the little girl, at least, to ease the pain. However she promised to visit Merica’s sister to talk to  her over the treatment of the little girl.

At the mean time Tithandizane feeds about 158 childen at the Centre.

She has been there before, she has breathed it, in short she lived it before lady luck smiled upon her but she still makes time to visit her friends and encourage them to look positive to their rather negative life. That is the story of Miriam Ngwira.

Mirriam Ngwira has lived in poverty since her parents’ demise some three years ago. Her troubled life took her to among other places Tithandizane Orphanage Centre to find solace. Tithandizane is assisted by a UK based charity organisation Ababa Malawi.

Mirriam was rescued from ultra poverty by her distant relation who enrolled her into a boarding church sponsored secondary school Nguludi. However at every holiday Mirriam make it a point to visit her friends at Tithandizane to give them a morale boost.

“Everytime when I am on holiday I usually come here to pray and encourage my friends to look at life positively,” said the nine year old timidly looking girl.

Mirriam carried with her a sense of love and understanding for her friends. At 11 she behaves more of a natural leader and offer moral support to her fellow children who are in situation which she was before.

“I share my experience with friends and I sometimes give them some small lessons I acquire at school,” she said.

Meanwhile the number of new recruits is greatly increasing hitting closer to 200 children.

Zulu was saying this at the residence of Audrey Mwala, a benefactor, who is keeping eight street children she rescued from the streets of Blantyre.

She said street children go through harsh life in the streets so the best is to keep them under the tutelage of a proper family since orphanages are like boarding schools where family values are not emphasised.

“Homes are the best for kids, they learn family love and respect,” she said.

Mwala opened a family home, called Safe Home where she rescued about eight street children, some of them orphans. The children are looked after by an elderly woman who is like a mother to them.

“We have seen how they have improved; two of the children are now in secondary school. They now love each other as brothers,” Mwale said.

She, however, said the challenge has been that of changing their behaviors.

The mother, Lefa Mahonga, said it was not easy to keep children who have spent their life living in the street under one roof.

“During the first weeks, they were fighting among themselves, these children had harsh life in the street and two of them were practising witchcraft, but with patience and motherly love they have changed to become good children,” she said.

Mwala said so far she is satisfied with what the children are turning to be, now that all of them are at school with two doing their secondary education.

“We look forward to open a village with each home having not more than eight children, the idea is to encourage them to realise and understand brotherhood,” she said.

In any situation or grouping of over 100 people, of course all of them children, one would expect a litany of problems.

Children have got their own demands, they could demand a moon and a moon shall come down to them if that is what they want, but then not all children have that opportunity to demand and get, some children demands are just as simple prayer for food.

Innocent would be one of them, catch the word: would, if a chance rises to ask him what would be his need but then Innocent is just there as an invisible.

Described as frail, weak and in dire need of medical attention, Innocent is a member of Tikondane Orphanage which is based in Naperi Blantyre, but unlike other children Innocent comes on his own accord and does not easily associate.

“Most of the times he just creep in just in time for food and disappears soon after wards. All efforts to know his home have proven difficult,” said Ruth Chamama, the secretary of the orphanage on issues of health of the children.

“In general we do not have problem with their health, at least on average once a month one child is reported sick. I would say we have two medical cases only.

“There is a five months child and one Innocent, but it is difficult to get to know Innocent or trace his background,” she said.

Despite the orphanage having no personnel of medical attention, Ruth said when recruiting children questions are asked to know their health situation.

“We can only ask them questions they would answer about their health and I am pleased to tell you that most of the children seems to be in good health,” she said.

During this period of the year which stretches between May and July, things go slow in Malawi. People tend to wake up late, go to the office late and in most instances the number of absentees rise in school and places of work. However, there is a remarkable different story at Tikondane Orphange Centre in Naperi Blantyre where children ranging from months old to 15 years brave the cold weather to have their Saturday meal.

Clad in light clothes, the children warm themselves up by singing and dancing. It is really marvellous to watch the bravery of the children faced with such condition.

The secretary to the Orphanage Ruth Chamama said the cold weather did not douse the warm spirit of the children and it was encouraging to note that the attendance has not been affected.

“Some of these children have to walk long distance to come here and to be here on time they have to start off early while it is very cold,” she said.

Last Saturday about 148 come for the Saturday meal an increase from the previous Saturday’s 137.

Ababa Malawi, a UK based charity organisation last year during Christmas festivities provided blankets to the little ones which has become a handle weapon to wad off the biting cold which falls during this time of the year.

Apart from providing blankets, Ababa Malawi provides food every Saturday to the kids. Food is a source of heat and would provide warmth to the loosely and lightly dressed orphans.

From the look of things a good number of warm clothes would make a lot of a difference in the lives of these brave orphans.

All contributions are gratefully received. If you are interested in finding out more information email ababamalawi@btinternet.com and for a financial contribution send a cheque payable to Ababa Malawi, to 9 The Elms West, Sunderland, SR2 7BY.

People in different spheres of life break records for joining organisation or institutions at a tender age, impressive adjectives are added to their names as one way of recognising their effort at a tender age.

Eliza Chidati has broken a record in her own right; however, adjectives that would follow her name would not be equal to those who join organisations to display their acumen. She has joined Tithandizane for survival.

She would pass as a five months old baby at a glance but officially she has been registered that she is nine months old. She is among the 102 unfortunate children who attend Tithandizane Feeding Programme, to receive food under the auspices of a UK based charity organisation Ababa Malawi.

Ababa Malawi for two years running has been buying food for less fortunate children who lost one or both parents. Eliza, and her four siblings, happens to be some of them.

Eliza comes from a poor family and her case become completely complicated when she lost her mother three months ago. According to her minder at Tithandizane, Eliza’s father goes around to look for food for the family.

“She is really a different case because she can not eat Nsima (Malawi’s staple food). We need milk and other ingredients,” said the minder, Violet Makwinja.

Makwinja said there is a noticeable improvement in Eliza’s body since she started coming for food at Tithandizane.

In one of our posts we mentioned Shawn Mapemba who got selected to start form one at a boarding secondary school in Blantyre, Ngumbe. Shawn, an orphan, who attends Ababa Malawi feeding programme in Blantyre got a timely help from a family in the UK. The family gave up “buying a couple of magazines and a couple of a couple of coffees/cakes each week” to support Shawn through his education with £25 every month. In Malawi “little” money goes a long way to significantly help the poor.

Below is a very encouraging email I got from Tryson Kalanda who coordinates the activities of Ababa Malawi in Malawi. I have also included the pictures mentioned in the email.

Brother Cryton

Please find some photos of the young lad Shawn Mapemba taken right in the shop. The attire he is putting on is his new acquisition and the picture is taken as he comes from a dressing room. The other picture is that of his colleagues at Chisomo waiting for their lunch. Just look at the smiles.

The money came to K13,900 after bank charges and we bought groceries for K3,800. The aunt had taken two school uniforms on credit and a pair of shoes, all amounting to K5,500 which has been cleared. The clothes are worth K3,900 leaving him with just enough money for his pocket money as he goes to school tomorrow.

Both the Aunt and Shawn are excited beyond measure as you heard her expressing herself on the phone. I have also given the boy words of encouragement to work hard in school which can be his other means on expressing his thankfulness.

May the good Lord continue to shower his favours upon your life and have a blessed weekend.

Tryson

In Malawi many orphans are each year needlessly joining the pool of illiterates as they are dropping out school due to lack of support. Ababa Malawi welcomes any support from well wishers to help educate and feed orphans in Malawi. If you have a special donation email us on ababamalawi@btinternet.com

At the mean time, according to Nepad presentation made by Boitshepo Giyose—Food and Nutrition Security Advisor at the Africa Union meeting under the theme ‘Investing in Social Protection in Africa ‘in Kampala Uganda over 337 million Africans consume less than 2,100 calories per day.

The presentation also revealed that about 12 people (and 5 people million annually) die per minute in Africa due to hunger and malnutrition while 200 million people are chronically malnourished.

“About 126 million children are underweight and about 50 percent of Africans are stunted while 25 million people are HIV positive.”

In Africa malnutrition and hidden Hunger reveals that 25 percent of people are suffering from acute Malnutrition while about 50 percent of children between zeros to five years are stunting. 40 percent of children lacks iron and are anemic while 80 percent of pregnant women are also very anemic

However, most victims are not aware as they take most of Africa’s population lives in rural areas and about 80 percent still rely on agriculture for livelihood, but the Kampala meeting was one way of banging head to make sure that Africa is getting rid of poverty.

The meeting among other things agreed to ask governments to constitutionalize social protection issues and encourages traditional ways of transferring wealth from the haves to the have nots. Ababa Malawi is an charitable organization which in small way have been feeding over 90 children in Malawi.

If Ababa Malawi’s efforts would be expound chances are millions of children would be saved from terrible eventualities that would include untimely death due to hunger related diseases.