Rafters help keep church's Malawian mission afloat

Community encouraged to support Allentown Lake events June 26-29

ALLENTOWN - Not many rafts float on Allentown Lake, which makes the one that will be launched on Thursday evening even more special.

Four team members planning a mission to the African nation of Malawi in August will launch the raft to raise awareness about their trip. They plan to spend 72 hours on the lake from June 26-29.

Those interested in learning more about the mission of the Allentown Presbyterian Church can visit the information table that will be set up near the lake. The rafters have also planned a variety of other events to spark community interest and participation, including a wine and cheese tasting at a lake house, music at Pete Sensi Park, a water balloon catapult aimed at the raft and a Sunday morning sunrise worship service.

Allentown's Robert Rhoad, who will float on the raft, said the event aims to raise awareness of the intergenerational team of seven people from the Allentown Presbyterian Church that will depart for Malawi on Aug. 2 and return on Aug. 15. The team members are Rhoad and his father, Ed, and 13-year-old son, Ethan, Ann Darlington, Charlie Lyons-Pardue and Hal Boston and his son, Hal Jr.

"Also, Karen Collins is a member of the team and will be on the raft with us, but is not able to go on the trip with us to Malawi," Rhoad said.

The team going to Africa plans to work with village leaders and members to assess their needs and implement long-term, sustainable programs designed to help address the effects of the crushing poverty that exists in Malawi.

"With the help of the larger Allentown community, we hope to make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters on the other side of the globe," Rhoad said.

The mission team will follow the footsteps of the church's pastor, the Rev. Stephen Heinzel-Nelson, and his family, who went to Malawi in January and will remain there through December.

"The Heinzel-Nelsons have been hard at work, developing relationships with local leaders and charitable organizations and determining which programs have proven most successful in helping to alleviate the poverty and other multi-faceted needs that exist in Malawi," Rhoad said.

Located in the southeast quadrant of Africa, Malawi is considered to be one of the four poorest countries in the world, with unemployment estimated at 60 percent or more, nearly half the population surviving on less than $1 per day and approximately 65 percent of the population living below the poverty line, according to Rhoad.

He said the statistics about medical conditions in Malawi are hard to fathom, with the average life expectancy less than 40 years old and more than 13 percent of children not reaching the age of 5. With rampant HIV/AIDS, Malawi has a staggering number of orphans and child-led households. He said there are more than 500,000 children under the age of 14 who are orphaned as a result of their parents dying from HIV/AIDS.

In addition to the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS, Malawi is also plagued by malaria and malnutrition. Throughout Africa, 3,000 people die from malaria every day, which is tragic as the disease can be prevented relatively inexpensively with the use of $10 mosquito nets, he said.

With regard to malnutrition, Rhoad said most Malawians consume about 1,400 calories per day, which is far below the amount necessary for living a normal, healthy life. The resulting malnutrition stunts the growth of children and has other far-reaching impacts on the health and welfare of the Malawian people, he said.

The severe medical issues combined with food insecurity caused by severe economic conditions in Malawi make it extremely difficult for Malawians to pull themselves out of poverty. According to Rhoad, the Allentown Presbyterian Church has a vision to have the Allentown community partnerwith and adopt a Malawi village to provide broad-based
assistance designed to enable the village to lift itself out of poverty.

"We will be partnering with the DevelopmentOffice of the Presbyterian Church in Malawi, and with them have identified a rural village an hour outside of the city of Blantyre, near the town of Zomba, which is currently not receiving outside assistance," he said. "Further meetings with leaders from the village need to occur before our plans are finalized, but we hope that this opportunity will become a reality."

The church intends to provide a variety of forms of aid, including constructing a mission center that will serve as a preschool/ feeding center for orphans and a training center for agricultural and other programs to enhance the food supply for the village. The church would also like to purchase and distribute mosquito nets for children and families, provide funding for fertilizer and seed to enhance next year's harvest, purchase needed materials and supplies for orphanages and the preschool and establish programs to provide sustainable sources of food.

Rhoad noted that the community response to the church's mission has been fantastic and uniformly positive. Many local business owners have already offered help.

In order to raise more money for the mission, the rafters seek to have people sponsor their time on the raft. Prior to the event, they had already raised $4,000 in donations.

For more information about the Heinzel- Nelson family's mission in Malawi, visit www.apcmalawi.blogspot.com.