Villages.

Our time in Malawi has been soo busy and our schedule has been so very full! But I am finding bits of time here and there where I can write a little something for the blog. However, it is always so very delayed. So what you have in front of you is simply a brief description of the happenings from this past week, not including Friday, Saturday, Sunday – those will be for another post!

The past few days have been spent visiting people’s gardens and the various children’s villages. The majority of people in Malawi are subsistence farmers. Thus, many Malawians possess farming skills. So COTN is trying to build upon those skills by encouraging new methods and crop diversity, in hopes of improving yields, food security and profits. It was truly amazing to see all the things that can grow here. Most gardens have tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, mustard, papaya, sweet potatoes, cassava, maize, basil, pumpkin, bananas, sugar cane and beans. Tobacco and tomatoes are the most profitable crops here in Malawi. And we were even allowed to take a few treasures home with us, such as a spitting cucumber, mustard leaves and a papaya.

On Wednesday we visited Mtsiliza and 575 kids are involved in the feeding program in this village. I believe about 300 are currently fully sponsored. All the children gathered in one room with their bowls/plates and we were introduced to them, and then peter and I were able to participate in the daily feeding. Let me tell you the cooking pots that the food was in were HUGE!! They served them their staple food nsima and soy meat. Peter was in charge of making sure the kids washed their hands and I was in charge of serving the meat. The kids kept coming and I kept thinking oh no what if we run out of food? But these women do this EVERY single day so they know what they are doing! Wish I could help with that task every day really. The children are beautiful and it hurts to see their discolored hair, their distended bellies, and their hair loss – all signs of malnourishment.

Yesterday (Thursday), we visited Chilombo, which is another COTN village. While Mtsiliza is minutes away, Chilombo is a village out in the boonies. Well its not THAT far away, but it did take us nearly 45 minutes to get there by car. By bike it takes nearly 2 hours. COTN came into Chilombo only 3 years ago, and I believe nearly 300 children are involved in the program. The school building collapsed a few months ago during the raining season, so they have all of their classes outside and when the rains come class is canceled. It was a blessing to be able to visit another village, and the children are as beautiful as ever.

On Thursday we went to Chitipi again to visit the children’s home and to see the farm. I think I may have mentioned in a previous post that COTN has two farms, Chitipi farm and Chichere farm. Chitipi is a 12 acre farm, while Chichere is a 350 acre farm. At Chitipi they have chickens, pigs, maize, cassava, etc. We have yet to see Chichere, but plan on visiting it in the next week! There are two kids in particular that stole our hearts at Chitipi – Steven and Esther. Steven has been at the home since he was nearly 2, he is now 4, and Esther has been at the home since she was 4 months old I believe, and she is now 20 months. Their first memories will be at this home and they won’t remember anything before that. I met Stevens grandmother at Mtsiliza, which is where she lives and she remembers him of course, but Steven does not have any memories of her. I guess she has visited him a few times, but the distance is quite far without a car. Steven is a ton of fun and a ball of energy! And Esther’s mom died in childbirth, and her dad wasn’t able to care for her. She is still such a baby, but so beautiful. All of these children have such sad stories and it makes me soo thankful that they have a place to live!