This past week at Rise seemed to go by quickly, as we were busy with program and fund raising efforts.  I am beginning to feel more comfortable here; I am able to say the local greetings in Chichewa (the local language).  It is a sign of respect and the locals really appreciate it when you are able to greet them in their own language.  The kids at program have seemed to get over their shy and fascination stage and are not joking with me, teaching me games, letting me tutor them in English, giving me hugs and showing me love.  I am able to help serve food to the kids during lunch time, which I love to do!  They are so grateful and pass me by with

Afternoon lunch time at program

big smiles on their faces as they return to their seats with their plates full.  Another one of my favorite times during after school program is scripture memory.  The kids are split into 6 or 7 groups and each given different versus from the bible to memorize.  They take about 15 minutes or so to practice with each other and the youth leaders the memory versus.  However, I can barely stay in the small two room school house because the kids are yelling at the top of their lungs the word of God.  They make up songs, and beats, and repeat as loud as they can their specific memory verses.  After time is up each team must recite their verses, and get awarded points depending on how well they do.  It is beautiful to see and hear these amazing kids get so excited about the word of God!

Art time at program. I had the kids make drawings for the donors.

I was able to make some good progress with Za (Rise’s executive director) this past week on fund raising efforts for the ministry.  I worked with him to write a proposal and fill out a grant application, which he cannot send in quite yet because they need to be fully registered as a 501 c3 nonprofit organization, which they are in the process of being approved for.  Once they are approved for nonprofit status he will send in the application and proposal, which we will complete this coming week, and Lord willingly receive some grant money to help continue with and grow the ministry.

We also worked on ideas for the child sponsorship program and talked about the importance of what a program like this could be for their ministry.  Tinashe, Za, and I had a few meetings this week to discuss the importance of development and the potential for different programs and fund raising ideas.  I hope and pray that as time goes on that these ideas and programs are able to become reality and allow Rise to not only sustain its programs but grow and expand its ministry to more children and youth of Madisi and the Dowa region.

This week I was able to spend some more time with the youth leaders, helping them with their studies and talking with them.  One of the youth leaders named Chikondi has been a youth leader with rise for the past two years, but is not able to help out with program as much recently because he was accepted and received a scholarship to go to African Bible College in Lilongwe.  Chikondi and I sat together in the office of Rise flipping through the local news papers to do research for a paper that he was writing, and discussing our opinions of Rise.  He asks me of what I think of the ministry and I ask him how he got involved and what the ministry means to him.  Chikondi tells me of what his life was like before Rise; he just barely graduated from high school due to financial struggles, it took him longer to graduate then hoped for because he had to take some time off from school to get enough money to return.

After high school Chikondi had no hope of going on to college because of finances, so he decided to follow his passion into ministry, and began to work part time for various ministries in Malawi.  After about a year or so of working here and there, Chikondi found Rise ministries.  Rise encouraged him to become a youth leader at their afterschool program, and told him that they would help tutor and mentor him so that he could take the college entrance exam and possibly receive financial aid to attend college.  He couldn’t turn this opportunity down and began to work at Rise.  After a year of working at Rise, studying and tutoring under the guidance of Za and Tinashe, Chikondi took the college entrance exam and was able to score so well that the African Bible College in Lilongwe gave him a scholarship to go to school there.  He is now in the middle of his first year at African Bible College studying Christian Ministry.

Chikondi expressed to me his extreme love and gratefulness towards Rise, and believes that he could not be where he is in life today without it.  Chikondi is only one of the many stories of the changed and blessed lives of many children and youth that are a part of Rise.  I am so blessed to be able to be a part of this ministry, and to be able to assist them in their pursuit to maintain and expand their programs here in Madisi Malawi.

Please Pray:

-          For my last week here at Rise, that I am able to accomplish the fund raising and development projects that I started to work on with Za.  That these projects would start being implemented soon, and will be successful so that Rise can find more funds for their ministry.

-   Please pray that Rise Malawi Ministries is approved by the government to be a registered 501 c3 nonprofit organization soon.  Their application and information is in and they are simply waiting on approval from the government.

-   For the hunger of the families here in Madisi.  As it is rainy season, their crops are growing but not ready to harvest until May.  They must live off of the remainder of last year’s crop (which at this time of year is not much) to sustain their families until the new harvest.

-   For my transition to Christ Cares Ministry this coming Saturday.  That the transition would go smoothly and that the Lord would prepare my heart for a new living situation, friends, and ministry.

-   Praise the Lord for the wonderful hearts of the people here, for their love and faith in Him.

I am living in the home of Tinashe, one of the leaders of the Rise Malawi Ministries where I will be serving for the first three weeks.  She shares her home with her younger sister and nephew.  It is a three bedroom home, with an indoor toilet, cold shower, sitting room, and Kitchen.  The walls and floor are cement, each room has a bed, and if you are lucky maybe a shelf or small table to hold your things on.  My room has a single bed and a window.  There is no fridge or stove in the kitchen, Tinashe has an electric two burner stove that plugs into the wall and a sink.  There is a small dirt yard in the back where her nephew has planted some corn and Irish potatoes.  This house is considered luxury in this village, and I feel very blessed to be able to stay here.  We have internet on one computer in the office which runs out of the other leader Za’s home, and it is very slow.

Rise Ministry serves as an After School Program and Summer Camp for 72 children in the village of Madisi.  Rise serves children who fit the criteria of falling behind academically, and who live in homes that are under the average level of poverty.  There are many children in Madisi who fit these criteria, but Rise only has enough staff and resources for 72.  Every week Rise holds After School Program from 2pm – 5pm.  I was able to attend program two days this week, and have been so encouraged and blessed by what I have seen. 

Each afternoon, program begins with lunch for the children.  It is in the middle of rainy season, and is the time in between planting and harvesting the main crop maze (corn) for the season.  Most families are subsistence farmers, meaning that they grow enough for their family to live on, and if they are lucky have enough left to sell a little.  Many of the families are running low on maze stored from last years harvest and are cutting down on the number of meals a day.  For many children, lunch at program is the first time they have eaten for the day.  We typically serve rice, and some sort of protein such as eggs or soy, and cooked green cabbage.  The children are very well behaved, they come into program, sit in organized rows by grade in the one room school building which consists of cement walls and floor, no shelves, seats, or decorations on the walls, and a single chalk board in the front of the room.  We rent this school building to have program in.  They file out the door rinse off their hands, and down the line where they are served their lunch.  They sit in their rows, eat quietly, clean up and wash all the dishes.

After lunch program consists of a time of tutoring, as the children are divided by grade and disperse to other school buildings for lessons with the youth leaders.  They are tutored in all different subjects, and are taught both in English and Chichewa (the local language).  The children do very well with English, they are able to ask and answer questions.  However, they are not fluent by any means and use Chichewa to speak most of the time.

 Education is looked at as a treasure, something that is so valuable.  It is the key to a hopeful future.  The children are eager to learn, asking questions, and listening intently.  They want to go to school, they desire education, but unfortunately education is not something that is easy to get in Malawi.  Many times children have to stay home and work on the family farm or help with household chores instead of going to school.  Education especially after elementary school is something that only some can afford.  The government decides what high school the children may attend depending on what they score on their end of year exams, and many times families cannot afford to send their children to these schools.

Depending on the day of the week, program consists of recreation outside, scripture memory, bible lesson, spelling bee, counseling (where they discuss issues such as domestic violence, academic excellence, HIV prevention, personal higyne, self esteem, etc…), and testimonials.  This week I was able to witness testimonial time, in which children volunteer to come up front and tell how they have seen God work in their lives.  Some of the stories this week consisted of; Kingsley a little boy who praised the Lord because his mother was very sick and was throwing up, he and his older brother prayed for her and soon after she was completely better, a little girl named Mawi was bitten by a wild dog on her leg, and she praised the Lord because her wound did not get infected and healed quickly, another little boy met some hyenas when he was walking back from his families garden on Tuesday, he quickly took another road and he was praising the Lord that the hyenas did not bother him.  These children have such faith, trust and love the Lord  with all their hearts, the Lord is very real in this place.

The Lord has revealed to me almost immediately the reason He has me at Rise these first few weeks.  Rise received news this week from UPI that their funds are quickly running out.  As of the end of this month, they will not have enough money to continue to run their ministry.  The agreement with UPI was that UPI would fund them for three years to start this ministry, and after three years, they needed to find a way to sustain themselves, and UPI would help.  The three years has now come to a close and Rise does not have many funds in place to continue on with their work.  This is exactly the reason that I am here, to work with the leaders of Rise and the other ministries, to help create programs that will help them be more self sustaining.  I have already begun to work with both the leaders here to reach out to their 70 donors to ask for help with funding.  We are also going to work on applying for some foundational grants, creating and child sponsorship program, and possibly setting up a micro business within Rise to help generate funding.  This was my mission, I knew the Lord had called me here to do in the first place, but it was made clearer to me the urgent need for this kind of service for these ministries.

Please Pray:

• That my luggage would be sent from South Africa and would arrive very soon
• That the Lord would continue to protect me from sickness as I do not have any of my medications with me
• That the Lord would provide funding for Rise and that the projects that I work on with the leaders will be successful
• For the children of Rise, that the Lord would continue to bless them through program and provide for their every need.

By Lindsey

Chester, a June 2010 graduate of African Bible College, had a deep impact on the children at RiseMalawi Ministries as an intern. He immediately began taking initiative to know the children and be a mentor with whom they could talk. He always spent unstructured time with several of the boys before and after the official program time to build these relationships. He was also an effective teacher in the 5th grade classroom each day to encourage the academic development of the students. He eagerly anticipates his tenure as a fellow with UPI for the upcoming year because he dreams of working with secondary school students in ministry in the future.

One of the pivotal contributions that Chester made to the RiseMalawi community this summer was his effort to plan and coordinate a special field trip for 37 children. The focus of the trip was both education and amusement. It included a bus ride to the Salima district along Lake Malawi, a guided tour of Salima Technical College, picnic lunch, beach walk, and recreational games. The trip was arranged as an incentive for RiseMalawi children who have displayed satisfactory attendance and academic performance in the school year. Chester led the planning meetings and even took a solo trip to Salima to make the proper arrangements several weeks in advance. The kids were ecstatic to have this opportunity to leave their rural homes and explore the beauty of their nation’s famous lake, most for the first time. They were engaged during all parts of the experience, from bonding through songs on the bus, to inquiring about entrance requirements at the college, to displaying their teamwork and creativity building sand castles.

The experience opened their eyes to many new things and it was truly the highlight of the summer months for all involved. Chester’s influence will always be remembered when these RiseMalawi youth recall their wonderful trip to Salima!

On this topic of giving/donating, I’ve had some really engaging conversations about this with Tinashe and other staff. We’ve discussed and debated about how to support the physical needs of the children in the programs and others in the community. I think we’d all prefer if it was as simple as seeing a kid with torn clothes and just buying and giving them new clothes. But, it’s been interesting to hear about how the dignity of the children needs to be preserved as well as the respect due in their homes for their parents as providers. These two points, along with other concerns about logistics, program and visitor precedents, and perception of the community, have really called me to evaluate how we can help the kids in Malawi and elsewhere around the world. I have been impressed to see the Rise staff being thoughtful in ways they handle these situations. Shortly after I arrived, they had a small award ceremony where the kids with the best grades from the previous term were acknowledged and received a few school supplies and a t-shirt. The standard 6 awardee, Jakob, has without fail worn that T-shirt every non-school uniform day I have seen him since. I just think it’s wonderful to know that he wears that shirt with pride that he studied hard and earned it, which is so much more fulfilling than to be thinking someone gave it to him in pity of his poverty. I think creating and supporting programs where these types of physical and psychological encouragement coexist is one of the best ways people can channel their charitable resources. I’ve been challenged here that the blessing of having resources is also a challenge for the creative side of our minds. I think God wants us not to be lazy and participate in simple, mindless, giving, rather he offers us a chance to be creative, to engage others, and to honor each other as fellow human beings when we share what He has entrusted to us.

I hope to be in touch again before the end of the week-thanks for reading!

Picture: Kids playing doctor during my health lesson at camp.

Another stand-out morning was my shift spent in the Madisi ARV (Anti-Retro Viral) clinic. During this time, I was able to shadow the clinician as he counseled and evaluated HIV-positive patients who have been determined to be sick enough to begin ARV therapy (the drugs are free, but only the sickest are eligible). While I spent my clinical visits at school this year working in the Pediatric AIDS clinic in New Jersey, this experience really put into focus how vast the need is to work on the HIV-AIDS issue worldwide and work for prevention and a vaccine. There was a constant stream of people all morning and it was hard to know that while ARVs will help their quality and length of life, there is still no cure. I really applaud the staff here for the thorough job they do trying to provide counseling and support for the patients. I can only imagine what is going on in the patients’ thoughts as they face this illness. Next week I’m planning a HIV preventive health lesson for the RiseMalawi kids, so my up-close experiences at the hospital have surely ignited my passion for sharing this message with them!
Thanks for all your kind words and support-Have a blessed week!

Pictures-Visiting with Gibozi and the SafeHaven boys and me trying to lead the kids’ first paper mache` experience during arts & crafts time

Madisi is a small town about an hour’s drive north on the main M1 Malawian road from the capital city of Lilongwe.  It has a trading center with some shops and market vendors, but lacks a bank, which keeps it in the ‘less developed’ category according to local residents. Transportation around town and the surrounding village areas is by walking and bicycles. The only paved road is the M1, where there are mini-buses available to take you to other towns along the main road. There is a fairly large rural area surrounding Madisi from which people travel to school or the mission hospital here. So even though the leaders and I consider a weekend ride to the capital city Lilongwe as our trip “into town”, many consider trekking in from the villages to Madisi as their excursion “into town” for business and trading. Most houses are small and made of brick, with iron sheet or thatched roofs, some are wired for electricity while others are not (although rationing power outages average one 2 hr period per day). Some families cook over fire, others on hotplates or small electric stoves. Most households have a garden from which they feed their family and they also farm crops to sell such as maize and tobacco (interestingly- hardly anyone smokes here). Kids in the Rise program have walking school commutes ranging from 25-60 minutes. There is a mix of public primary schools and hybrid/charter-type schools.
The education system is quite different the US, and faces many challenges, so I hope to post a more detailed reflection in the near future that focuses on it. I’ll have lots to discuss with all my teacher family members and friends upon returning-so get ready!
It’s intriguing that many people, both Malawians and Americans, are curious about what is eaten in the other culture. I guess since it’s such a basic necessity and part of everyone’s daily routine, it can be fascinating to compare how others differ in this area. The staple food here is nsima, which is a soft grain dish made from maize or cassava flour. I’m told that learning how to make quality nsima is a sort of right of passage for children here (especially the girls, traditionally). I am still in the apprenticeship stage of learning how to prepare nsima, still requiring supervision and instructions.
The command is always, “too many lumps-keep stirring!” My goal is to cook it independently before I leave in a month and maybe even incorporate it into my American diet when I return! Vegetables and protein such as beans, eggs, or meat, depending on the family’s means, are served with the nsima and it is eaten with hands. The most traditional side dish in the villages actually also comes from the cassava plant by mashing and cooking the leaves. I love that there can be a resourceful and complete meal from using all the parts of one plant, although I also support the public health messages here to encourage variety in the diet to increase nutritional status. A more diluted porridge form is often eaten with sugar for breakfast, along with some locally grown tea. Other common foods include sweet potatoes, bananas, rice, and tomatoes.
Thanks for reading Malawian Life 101 In other news, we’ve had a productive week here, working with the CampLeaders and kids on their term 3 schoolwork as the weeks tick away and exams approach. I had two really good days at the hospital working alongside staff that helped me get more involved. Malaria, anemia, and pregnancy problems are the most common things seen. However, there is currently an outbreak of Measles in the region, so I’ve seen several cases of this and heard about the challenge of re-vaccination efforts by the government health department. I’m quite impressed with how the hospital functions considering the limited resources such as laboratory tests and imaging that are available. I’m also impressed at the dedicated support given by the family members of those admitted. The hospital does not provide any food, so someone must stay nearby and provide meals and other caretaking for the patients.
It seems that most things here usually get accomplished by communal rather than individual efforts, I love seeing and being a part of that!

Pictures:  Za and Tinashe hard at work in the RiseMalawi office, Regina and Veronica enjoying small group paint activity, and me enjoying a nsima meal.

As a hospital volunteer, I’ve had some opportunities to observe different areas, including pediatric ward, outpatient department, and the HIV anti-retroviral clinic. I’ve mostly been just shadowing the clinical officers (they do not have any full medical doctors on staff currently) and trying to understand how things work here. My limited training and language barrier make it hard some days to really feel like I’ve accomplished a lot during my morning shifts. How humbling to remember that I’m just one person with nothing to offer on my own merit except whatever gifts and love God fills me with! I’ve been reminded of how some friends at the Romero Center in Camden speak of “ministry of presence”, that sometimes the most selfless service we can offer is just to be present with someone else and not be concerned about fixing their situation or completing a project. I’m trying to cultivate that attitude here; listening, learning and validating those around me by being fully present each day and offering my prayers, if nothing else.

Our trip last weekend to Nkhata Bay, Tinashe’s parents’ village in the Northern Region, will definitely stand out in my memories from my time here. We were so graciously welcomed into her family’s home and spent our time visiting her extended family that populates the lush, green hills covered with trees and tea plantations. I had my first classic village experiences of eating raw sugarcane, pounding groundnuts into flour, and pumping water from the borehole, although I was a bit ungraceful and messy at all of these tasks! It was interesting to hear from Tinashe’s parents how they have tried to influence their community by promoting education. Her father is a retired schoolteacher and has really set the pace to break the cycle of poverty by supporting many members of his extended family through school, who have subsequently supported others. While major change efforts are warranted in Malawi at the level of systems and infrastructure, these grassroots efforts of family and friends lifting one another up by sponsoring children through school can really have more genuine and lasting effects. Most of the UrbanPromise International fellows have stories of how someone helped them and how it has motivated them to give back, so they are living proof of this phenomenon bearing fruit in Malawi. What a privilege to meet and share this time with the Saka family, it definitely makes the world seem like a smaller place to travel so far, but still feel so much at home!

Pictures: Me attempting to carry a bucket of rice to after-school program & some happy campers L-R Folace, Ivy, Christina, Florence, & Enala

I was also able to volunteer at the Madisi Mission Hospital two days this week. I did a lot of observing since my Chichewa language skills are not quite good enough to be interviewing patients nor are my clinical medical skills very advanced yet. I’m trying to keep my eyes open for exactly how I can be helpful there over the coming weeks. There are very limited resources and many challenges there, but I’m not sure how I can fit into the picture. The most exciting thing was that I got to see a baby get born in the operating room via c-section! While I felt a little light-headed at moments and had to sit down, it was a special moment to witness!

I’m sorry to keep this short and picture-less this week, but I hope to do a better job next time. Tinashe is taking me up to the Northern region of Malawi this weekend to meet her parents and see her home village. I’m quite excited to stay with her family and see another part of the country! Have a nice weekend! ~Janelle

    However, things moving slower has manifested in two ways this
week that have been making me think a lot.  The first is the slower
pace of business getting done.  This is frustrating not only for me,
but also the local people who are trying to make a difference in the
community.  My approval as a hospital volunteer, Rise’s effort to
register with the Malawi NGO office, and two interns’ visa
applications are all currently victims to this difficulty.  Even Za’s
simple trip yesterday to the bank took over two hours inside!  We’ve
been having conversations about the causes and possible solutions to
this and cultural, bureaucratic, technological, and political aspects
all seem to contribute.  There was a consensus among the leaders that
this inefficiency majorly hinders efforts of development and growth in
the country. While the complexity and size of the problem can be
enough to paralyze those trying to navigate the system, I’m trying to
pray that creative and innovative solutions can be found to move
things forward for our own issues and for the future of Malawi.

    The second slow thing that has come to my attention is the pace
at which many in the community are able to move through school and
establish themselves in a career.  A hallmark of UrbanPromise
programs, the CampLeader program at Rise Ministries employs high
school students to work as counselors for the younger children.  I
have spent most of the week with the Rise team of Jen, Linda, Annette,
Chikondi, and Mpatso evaluating the past term and preparing lessons
and activities for the next term, starting Monday.  (I can’t wait -we
have lots of fun things planned and I’m realizing how much I miss
formally working with kids!)  I assumed they were mostly in their
teens due to their level in school, but I was astonished several days
into meetings to discover that I was the second youngest person in the
room at age 25!  Education has been delayed for different reasons for
each of them, but many times the poor quality or availability of
teachers and schools meant that they must repeat grade levels multiple
times before passing the exams and moving on.   Other delays have
occurred because of family or health issues that prevented the
students from attending for months at a time.  When these factors are
unfortunately coupled with a lack of expectations and encouragement,
many will never finish or reach their full potential.  This is
discouraging to see in the community, but it is promising to see the
CampLeaders eagerly working towards passing their national exams and
moving into professional schools or colleges.  Rise requires them to
be pursuing advanced education and provides the support necessary to
get there, such as tutoring, help with fees, and an encouraging staff
to bring optimism in the midst of a difficult journey.  My goal is to
add my voice and inspire others to join that chorus of hope here this
summer and in the years ahead.  Even though I sometimes get frustrated
to still be in a ‘training’ stage of life and not free to do medical
work yet, how humbling to be reminded of the many opportunities I have
to be thankful for that have fit into my first quarter-century of
life!
    Thanks for reading, keep us in your prayers and I hope to share
again soon about the new term of after-school program!  ~Janelle

Picture outside Rise office after a planning session (from L-R:Tinashe
and Campleaders Annette, Jen, & Linda)