It seems as if we've just arrived and it's time for me (Steve) to leave the plateau. Mary will stay behind for a couple days, preparing for the Grand Opening of the craft shop on Friday. I have spent the last two days running about tying up loose ends as we compiled our list of scholarship recipients. The final count is in - your generosity has enabled us to support 120 students for anywhere from one to three terms and one student for all of his secondary schooling courtesy of Phil and Lynn Stromberg. The joy of being the recipient of your gifts can be seen in the accompanying photo of Form 3 (11th grade) student Medical Mbaso.

I'm torn between gratitude for the opportunity to have once more spent time in this beautiful place and the desire to stay longer. I guess that means I'll be back again. We would love having all of you who have supported us here with us - perhaps one day you'll be so inclined.

So it's back to packing my bags in preparation for the 10-hour bus ride back to Lilongwe followed by 18 hours of flight time. I arrive back in Minneapolis late Saturday; Mary will follow on Tuesday. Once more, we extend our gratitude to each and every one of you for the goodwill you've shown to strangers. Until we meet again, khaloni makola (stay well).

In the Warm Heart

Dear Supporters, Friends and Family,

We are one week into our journey and all has gone well. Yesterday, I traveled on foot, mini-bus, bicycle taxi,car taxi and matola (the back of a pickup) to reach local schools and confer with headmasters about student needs. Our experience here is compressed relative to last year, made all the more so by the fact that schools are closing down for the week after Easter. So time is of the essence.

I met many young people, most orphans, some with special needs, who were grateful for the offer of assistance with school fees. Today, I meet with the head of the PHC, the local social service agency, to get more candidates. Then over the weekend, we’ll make final decisions and award scholarships next week. This will entail a trip to the nearest National Bank in Karonga 70 km away near the Tanzanian border. Recall that Malawi had earthquake damage in the Karonga area last December, so we’re not sure what we’ll encounter there.

The craft shop has been closed awaiting new management. As I mentioned in our fundraising letter, the local unit of government has ruled that all proceeds there will go to orphan care so we’re eager to get things up and running in the near future there. A refrigerator has been purchased and Mary Ellen has arrived here with an armload of prototypes for craft projects that can be easily made by local people.

It has been an emotional time renewing friendships and recalling our total immersion in the community here last year. We’ve been welcomed by many and are reminded once again of the bonds that join us all around the world. Our time feels short here but we’re making the best of it. Happy Easter/springtime to all who read this.

Best,
Steve and Mary

Countdown

We're three days from departure and excitement is building! Your generosity once again overwhelms us. We've raised close to $7000 at this writing, money that will make a critical difference in many young lives. We fly out to New York on Friday, then on to Malawi from there by way of South Africa, arriving on Sunday. We hope to keep you updated at this address, depending on access to high-speed internet along the way. Our thanks go out to you for your good hearts and generous spirits.

All's well that ends well

Bingu has been re-elected in what appears to have been a free and mostly fair election, we’ve gotten the word out to all 57 scholarship recipients for term 3 and the craft shop remodeling is completed.  We couldn’t have done it without your encouragement and support, and we’re deeply grateful.  Together, we’ve made a difference in the lives of many here.

Tomorrow, we start our journey south to Lilongwe and soon we’ll be winging our way homeward.  We hope we get a chance to see all of you over the summer.  Photos with this post include a different angle on the remodeled shop and the faces of some of the term 3 scholarship students.

In gratitude,

Steve and Mary 

Turning Point

It is Tuesday, May 19th as I write this, Mary Ellen’s birthday and

election day in Malawi.  For Malawians, it is a crucial turning point

as they vote for local representatives (Ministers of Parliament) and

for a president to lead them for the next five years.  The country

emerged from one-party rule in 1994 and since that time, democracy has

gained a foothold here.

But it’s a fragile thing, and one of the two leading candidates for

president is a throwback to the worst abuses and repression of the

late Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s regime.   Banda’s rule spanned four

decades beginning with Malawi’s break from colonial rule in 1964 and

became increasingly despotic in the fashion of Zimbabwe’s Robert

Mugabe.   By 1990, he was 91 years old and though still president in

name, John Tembo had positioned himself to succeed Banda.

Tembo was a shadowy figure during the Banda years and the de facto

ruler from 1990 on.  While a member of Parliament in the early years

of independence, he used his position to build a personal fortune.  In

1992, he placed the country’s Catholic bishops under house arrest

after they wrote a pastoral letter critical of the abuses of power of

the Banda regime.  In May of that year, police shot and killed 4o

people in the capital city of Lilongwe at the height of protests

against the government.  In October of the same year, a prominent

government opponent and founder of the Malawi Congress Party died in

prison after being held since 1981.

Unfortunately for Tembo, the world was watching and by early 1993, he

conceded to his opponents and allowed a referendum on multi-party

elections to take place.  Malawians voted for change and in 1994 held

their first multi-party presidential election.  In 1995, Tembo was

tried (and acquitted) for the murder of three cabinet ministers and an

MP who died in a suspicious car accident back in 1983.  Fast forward

to 2009 and Tembo is making a run for the presidency against the

incumbent Bingu Mutharika who has presided over economic growth of

almost 9% this past year.

So Malawians face a critical choice today.  And while it seems

unlikely that they would vote to return Tembo and his thuggish ways to

power, he has been aided by the endorsement of his once chief rival

and former two-term president (1994 - 2004) Bakili Maluzi.  Maluzi’s

support makes Tembo’s challenge viable, especially in the more

populated south, and here in the north where Mutharika enjoys

overwhelming support, people are holding their collective breath.

Tembo has publicly said that Malawians had better pray that he doesn’t

seek revenge if he loses, so some expect a protracted fight after the

polls close if the votes are slow to be counted and the results look

close.  Worst possible case scenarios include violent clashes between

Mutharika and Tembo supporters in the urban areas and an eventual

power-sharing arrangement ala Kenya and Zimbabwe.  If you’re

interested in the outcome, Google the BBC who usually pay closer

attention to Malawian affairs than their U.S. counterparts.

Against this backdrop, Mary and I are finishing our tasks here and

beginning a round of goodbyes.  My last day with 102 first-graders

will be this Friday and it will be a bittersweet goodbye.  The days

have been exhausting, but the kids are so much fun.  I’ve been

scrambling to get the word out to our 50+ recipients of term 3

scholarships.  Since all are away at school, that has required some

logistical planning and long hikes down the Goroti’s twenty bends and

up and down the M1 highway.

Mary has been finishing up the craft/coffee/tea/cold drink shop

remodeling job and it is looking darn cute.  The word is out all over

the greater area and we expect it to be a stable source of income for

orphan care once we get the final okay from the Head of Station who

returns from a three-month course in South Africa in early June.

Our time here has been profound and deeply felt for both of us, and

we’re already planning our return trip.  At the same time, we’re very

excited about seeing friends and family and returning to our little

place in the woods.  We’re grateful for the opportunity we’ve had and

looking forward to sharing our experiences in person with you.   

Photos with this post include life in the standard 1 (first grade) 

classroom and long lines at the local polling place (the primary school)

in the early morning on election day. 

Our best to each of you,

Steve

A chorus of a thousand roosters

As we should have expected, we’ve been besieged with

requests for help with school fees this first week and a half of the

new term.   As word spread of the help we provided to 57 students, we

heard from many others, some with compelling stories and others just

looking for some breathing room.  Unfortunately, with our April 10th

deadline, decisions had been made for terms 2 and 3 and all available

funds had been allocated.

That is until Twin Cities resident Rick Naymark stepped forward with a

generous donation that will allow us to extend our reach for this term

and the next.  So we’re back to the business of reading through the

pleas for help and making a new list.  It is always challenging

sifting through all the requests and prioritizing the need.   We rely

in part on the recommendations of headmasters and the local social

service agency, Primary Health Care.  But some fall through the cracks

and must be evaluated solely on the basis of their words to us.

And we continually remind ourselves that even if mistakes are made,

and they inevitably will be, everyone is struggling with making ends

meet here.  Some, those who have a steady income, look relatively

affluent from the outside.  When you dig a little deeper, you might

find that they’re caring for relatives’ children or orphans in their

extended family.  But for most, income is an intermittent thing,

consisting of whatever they can make doing piecework or selling garden

vegetables.  Most work incredibly hard day-in and day-out just to

survive.

Still, there is a lot of joy to be found in this little village.

Football (soccer) games always draw a big crowd of enthusiastic fans

as outlying villages travel to the main lift here in the village for

games on Sunday afternoon or in the early evening.  With no tv or

video games, children engage in all kinds of imaginative outdoor play

until darkness sends them inside, and it’s fun to stop, look and

listen as you pass groups of them along the pathways that traverse the

village.

Work continues on the craft/coffee/tea/cold drink shop that will

benefit orphan care.  Many local folks poke their heads in the doorway

each afternoon for a peek at the progress.  The room, measuring

approximately 18’ x 24’, has been transformed from a cluttered, dusty,

dingy space to a bright, welcoming environment, fulfilling the vision

that Mary and Una had.  (Before and after photos accompany this post.)  

Many have expressed gratitude about having an appealing, inviting space 

to gather.  All indications are that it will be a great success as an ongoing

fundraising venue.

So it goes here.  Sometimes, in the early light out on the front

porch, looking out across Lake Malawi in the distance, I take a step

back and revel in the kaleidascope of color and shape all around.  I

listen to the cacophony of sound drifting past, a rooster crowing in

the distance, children laughing, goats bleating, an unidentified bird

singing a sweet song, and it is as if I’m experiencing the place again

for the first time.  The wonder returns and I remind myself that I’m

in Africa, deep in the warm heart, and though I’m thousands of miles

from northern Wisconsin, I feel quite at home for now.

Hope all is well in your home and with your loved ones.

Warm regards,

Steve

Back in Livingstonia

This week has been spent tracking down our scholarship recipients and moving the coffee/tea/craft shop proposal for orphan care forward.  Finding the 55 scholarship recipients and their families and giving them the good news has been a rewarding experience as you might guess.  Your gifts have brought great happiness to the plateau and beyond.   We have stressed that Straight to the Heart Bursary represents the combined contributions of many from faraway places called Wisconsin and Minnesota in the U.S.A.

Mary has been busily accumulating supplies for the coffee/tea/craft shop and making arrangements to have the space thoroughly cleaned and painted.  We had one false start this week as the painters arrived late, worked for a short time while making quite a mess, and then left early, apparently convinced that the job was more than they could handle.  But word travels fast here, and by the next morning a more able, experienced painter had arrived on the scene and offered up his services, and things were soon back on track.  

On Saturday, I climbed Chombe Mountain with two young Malawian friends.  The seven-hour round trip included two hours spent dangling our feet over the rock cliff face at the top, enraptured by the azure-blue lake thousands of feet below and the meandering coastline running north to the Chilumba peninsula and beyond.  A stiff breeze kept us comfortably cool despite the strong midday sun, and a family of velvet monkeys provided additional entertainment.  Chombe - not to be missed on your next trip to Malawi. 

Here’s hoping that your lettuce, snow peas and spinach will soon be poking their heads through the soil and your crocuses and daffodils are in full bloom.