Mission Moment: Malawi
Project 1:27 Malawi Update
By Gary Fallesen
Climbing For Christ
Chikondi and Kondwani Makolija’s father was riding his bicycle to the market in Phalombe, Malawi, where he bought and sold fish. His body was found alongside the road. His bike and fish had been stolen, and his life had been taken.
The young boys’ mother could not attend her husband’s funeral. She was gravely ill with AIDS.
Three weeks after their father was murdered in 2004 their mother died. “Just imagine these little brothers losing both parents in a month,” said Pastor Duncan Nyozani of Searchlight Ministries. “Life was bad to these children.”
The brothers went to live with their grandparents, who were very poor. But after two years the grandfather also died of AIDS. Two years after that the grandmother died. “They had nowhere to live or be taken care of,” Pastor Duncan recalled. “They were taken by their aunt, but it did not work.”
The boys were brought to the Far & Wide Children’s Home, which is operated by Searchlight and supported by Climbing For Christ. At last, C4C member Duncan said, “they were able to live and eat and go to school. Both are very bright in (their) classes.”
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Claver.
Chikondi, who is called “Evans,” and Kondwani, who is known as “Claver,” are sponsored by Climbing For Christ members through Project 1:27. Project 1:27, based on the teaching of James 1:27 (“look after orphans”), was initiated in Malawi at the start of 2010. It is an ongoing ministry.
- More sponsors are needed. CLICK HERE to learn about Project 1:27 Malawi.
There are 17 children at Far & Wide and each has a story similar to the tragedy experienced by Evans and Claver.
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Dayson.
Dayson Bokosi was 3 years old when his mother died of AIDS. His father remarried and Dayson was abused by his step-mother. He ran away from home to his grandmother, who was old, widowed and struggled to make a living by producing beer. Dayson had to find his own food to eat. “One thing he remembers is that most of the days (his grandmother) told the boy to drink beer as part of his meal,” Pastor Duncan said. “He had no good future, never went to school.
“But when he got to the orphanage his life changed. He is a well-behaving boy, a hard worker. He is a leader to the other boys.
“Our sincere thanks go to Climbing For Christ for sending continual support over the years to support the 17 orphans through Project 1:27 and special support for me as the caretaker of these children and the church in this part of Malawi.”
Duncan realizes the challenges C4C endures to raise support for various ministries, including the building of churches such as the one that is part of Searchlight in Mozambique. But our challenges pale mightily in comparison to what the orphans have faced.
Take a girl named Mary, who lost both of her parents and then both of her grandparents. She stayed with an aunt who was not married and who could not care for the child. The woman arranged for the girl to be married.
“I remember one day while at the church, we saw the girl coming and crying, telling us her aunt is forcing her to be married,” Duncan said. “She could not understand marriage because she was young. It was bad news to her.”
The good news for Mary was she had come to a place that shares the love of Christ. She was taken into Searchlight care and is attending school. She is doing well, but is in need of a sponsor to buy her a uniform, pay school fees, and purchase supplies. “Truly,” Jesus will one day say to us, “as you did to one of the least of these, you did to me” (Matthew 25:40).
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