There's my Kuche - Kuche

Childrens' Projects

(Kind of a continuation of the first part of the last post - Andrea felt like it was two stories being crammed into one)

I am no expert on development issues. I don’t know how it all works and I don’t admit to having learned more than the surface in the past weeks here. But I’m learning a few things and I feel changed by them. Let me give you examples of the projects that Andrea and I went to just yesterday morning.

The first project was a Canadian led organization. The plot of land is isolated and far removed from any other community. There are 12 homes on the property with 2 functional at this time. The homes are quite large and cost around $40,000 a piece and cost around $12,000 a year to run. The homes are donor dependant with all the donations coming from Canada. There are around 8 kids per home at this time with a ‘mother’ that has been hired and lives in the home with the children. This is normally a widow whose responsibility is to mother these children. We have met the Canadian couple who run the project and they seem motivated to love these kids and see them grow up in good homes. The children are very healthy and well-fed and have all their physical needs met.

On to the next project. We went to a community project called Adziwa where one of the key donors is a local church in Lilongwe as well as some international donors. There are 17 homes on the property with all being used but two at this time. They are 2-3 bedroom homes costing around $6000 a piece. This community project was built alongside a poor community where most of the homes are derelict and run down. They asked the community what was needed most and the community responded with the following; homes to assist families that have taken in orphans, income generating projects, water treatment facilities, and irrigated plots of land. In most cases, orphans are absorbed by the extended family (grandmothers, aunts, uncles, etc.) but they often lack the resources necessary to feed the children or house them. These homes allow the children to stay connected with their community, and become part of various income generating projects like chicken coops (seen here) and other farming practices. Every house gets a 30 x 10 m plot of land to grow food and there are 117 children currently in the homes. The land was not purchased but given by the chiefs simply because it is a community project. It is sustainable and not reliant on continuous external funding. There are no paid staff members as it is the family members caring for the children. The family interacts directly with the village



The last project that we saw was actually on architectural drawings as it has not yet been built. They are taking a run-down orphanage and turning it into a mega-orphanage with no intention of turning children away that are dropped off there. It is quite different from the first project as they will be dormitories instead of smaller homes and the dining will be done all together in one place. I’m trying to be a bit unbiased in how I’m describing the projects but here is where I’ll stop. The person who we are with, their face dropped as these drawings were explained to him. He basically described it as an institution that will do more damage to the children and the future credibility of their organization than good. Within dormitories, sexual abuse is rampant, particularly when you’re dealing with previously abused vulnerable children. The kids grow up without specific attention from a mother or father figure. UNICEF and other model agencies don’t approve of this method at all. And by opening their doors wide without holding the community accountable, this place will become a drop-off point for unwanted children, orphaning more than necessary. I’m a bit jaded by this meeting and I know the organization means well. They see children who are abandoned and they want to help as many as possible at once. But they are not involving the community from which these children come. There is a disconnect with the responsibility from the extended family. And it’s said that they’ll learn. That they might spend millions of dollars, fail on this time around, and improve it next time. I just hope that the least amount of kids get hurt in the process.

Ministry of Hope - Crisis Nursery

Sustainable development. Community based organizations. Faith based organizations. Churches. Orphanages. Children’s homes. Children’s villages. Lifeline Malawi. Raising Malawi. National Organization for Vulnerable Orphans and Children. Visionledd. Kalawe Orphan Religious Care. Kids In Need Deserving Love and Encouragement. Village of Hope. Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery. Children of Blessing Trust. National AIDS Commission. Stephen Lewis Foundation. Child Care Centre. Child Rehabilitation Centre. PAOC. PAOM. PAO?. World Vision Canada. World Vision USA. World Vision Malawi. Income generating projects. The list goes on into the thousands. I have a book from the National Organization for Vulnerable Orphans and Children (NOVOC) with thousands of organizations in Malawi that are caring for vulnerable children.

I feel lost in the amount of programs that are here that work with the sick, the dying, those with AIDS, the vulnerable and the abandoned. I feel a bit disheartened to see so much money being poured into a country and then hearing more and more stories of the effects of the disparity that the money brings. I feel numbed after working on databases at the crisis nursery where many of the children die, where many mothers die and the fathers or relatives bring the babies there, where many babies are abandoned, found by someone and then brought to the Crisis Nursery. It’s an odd job, working on databases pertaining to where these children have come from, and then to go and play with them and feed them. You hear a child crying for water, and that’s just about all he does. And it’s so annoying because there are so many children who also need care. And then you read his story. He was abandoned by his mother. And all he wants is a cup of water. So I trudge off to the kitchen and return with a cup of water which he accepts gladly and finishes it off in silence. And he comes close. And he hugs me. And I hug him back firm enough that it almost hurts him. And he loves it, to be held so close. And we hug about 10 more times. Embracing firmly, letting go, looking at him. And then there is another toddler of less than two years, much the same as the other, next to me. And he hugs me too. And I squeeze him until he exhales. And I know there is a bit of pain in it. But he smiles and wants to be hugged tightly again. And I hug him again, and he laughs, and I lay on the ground and lift him up in the airplane ride formation, tickling him as I suspend him in the air. And he screams as he laughs loudly. And then the other is next to me again asking for attention. And I suspend the airplane rides and take the other one walking outside holding his hand as he pulls me around. I can tell he doesn’t want to go back in, but wants to stay outside with me. He cries as I bring him back in and he asks for another cup of water. It’s so simple to love these kids. They are born into such horrific circumstances. I hope they turn out all right. Do you like his shoes? Thank you very dutch.

"That"

It is November 26, 2007 today and I hope the rains are here to stay. We are on the brink of rainy season here in Malawi, where the locals rush to purchase maize seeds, the grounds is tilled by hand, and everyone prays for the rains to start. And it’s not just for the sowing of crops that I anticipate the rain; it is because of the heat. It is hot here, hovering at around 40 degrees between 11:30 and 2:30. Andrea and I have decided that the favourite time of the day is between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM where you can see the shadows shift and the temperature change can be felt on our skin. The sunset this evening was beautiful as we rode our bicycles back from another couple’s house who we met. The men seem to find it quite amusing to watch two white people bike by when we’re normally seen in Land Cruisers. We just tell them that we’re from Peterborough and a little bit more down to earth than the rest.

On that note, Andrea and I always speak quite highly of Peterborough wherever we travel and whomever we meet. We talk about our friends, dinner parties at Lynn’s, Frisbee in the park where you have to step on the concrete pad, breakfast with the boys on Saturday mornings, canoeing to work, the cafes and restaurants, the Third Space, Church in the City, motorcycling along River Road to Lakefield; it really is home to us and our favourite place on earth. We anticipate good times again at the Bean, we have no idea what we’ll do in terms of occupation between when we return and May 1st, but it always works out well and there has never been a need to worry.

Back to Lilongwe, we played Ultimate Frisbee last night having been invited by the aforementioned couple. Mike and Heather are from Minnesota and work with Partners in Hope, and HIV/AIDS clinic offering testing and ARV’s (anti-retroviral) which work against the progression of AIDS in the body. They brought us out swimming on Saturday afternoon with their children and then we went out for dinner with the two of them to a really nice restaurant where I had a nice steak. I scratched by knee up pretty bad at the game last night and Andrea has been calling me ‘tender’ today, but I think I’ll tough it out. We brought the two Canadian girls, who were staying at the Bowlers, to the airport today. That means we move into the guest room here at the Bowler residence for the remaining two weeks in Lilongwe. Although understanding the family dynamics of living with their two children might prove difficult, we do have our own room to escape to and we are learning to love them.

We are attempting to change our tickets to fly out of Lilongwe here rather than in Harare, Zimbabwe. Although we don’t often shy away from adventure (Zimbabwe being a bit of a mess right now), it would be great to stick around Malawi for a while longer, possibly visit Africycle in Zomba which is in southern Malawi and fly out of here. Please pray for the ticket changing process, that it goes smoothly and doesn’t cost too much to change. We’re still loving it here and we just received the last discs of season 3 of Lost. I’m a bit more excited about that than Andrea. Tomorrow morning Andrea has something exciting though. One of the local churches is opening up a youth centre downtown that will have a really nice café. Andrea is on to be a consultant tomorrow morning in the café opening process. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Anyways, to all the folks back home. We love you and miss you all.

Michael and Andrea