Belmont family moving to Malawi to help children orphaned by AIDS

BELMONT - Nine-year-old Chad High knows a lot about the African country where he'll soon be living.

"There are only two major airports in the country of Malawi. It is one of the smallest countries in Africa," High said. "It's very small. It's the size of Tennessee. But it has a population of 12 million."

High will soon be living in Malawi with his parents James and Holli and younger siblings Wes, 6 ½ , and Ashley, 4 ½ months. The family has committed to spending two years there as part of Homeless Children International, a Christian organization dedicated to helping children without homes. The Highs will be working with children who have been orphaned after losing one of their parents to AIDS.

"I am a missionary kid myself," said James. "I was born in Nigeria. I felt at the age of 14 that my life purpose was missions."

Homeless Children International was started by James' brother as a way to establish long-term ways to care for orphans that can continue even after Westerners leave. Missionaries work with the local churches and people to create self-sustaining ways to take care of homeless children.

"We will be the first couple to go on in to Malawi," James said.

Of the 12 million people live in Malawi about 1 million are orphans, James said.

"When you're talking about a million orphans, the problems are just overwhelming," James said.

The whole family caught up in the excitement when it was announced months ago about the mission's trip.

"Chad's first reaction was, ‘I'd been waiting for this my entire life! I can't wait!'" recalled Holli. "Both of them were really excited. I think they see this as a big adventure."

The Highs initially planned to leave Aug. 17. But before that could happen they need to sell their house near Belmont. So far that hasn't happened and they still need to raise money for the trip.

Some might think the scariest part of moving to Africa would be the tropical diseases or not knowing where the family will live.

"The uncertainty of African and what's there is not what scares me. Because I grew up in Africa, for me it's much more - the losing sense of community and the sense of roots here, how well we connect with people there," James said.

Holli said she wasn't concerned with her new living conditions but trusting God to provide for all the family's needs.

"It's one thing to talk bout it," Holli said. "It's another thing to do it. It's hard. It shouldn't be hard."

Chad said he's looking forward to going to Malawi for a lot of reasons.

"What's really cool is I can do my scuba diving lessons over there," Chad said. "Over here you have to be like 12 or 13. But over there you only have to be about 10 or 9."