Sometimes I marvel at life and the amazing way that important and life changing people and events come our way at just the right moment in time.
The other day, one of those “amazing connections” came to me in the form of an email from a doctor I had worked with many years ago on the board of the Pasadena Community Non-Violent Resource Center. Since then I have moved to North Carolina and my personal focus has expanded to helping Mothers Fighting For Others and our dear St Monica’s Orphanage in Kenya.
When I received this email I immediately forwarded it to Rocky, feeling there must be something we could do. She said….write about it on Mothers Fighting for Other!. As I was re-reading the email I realized I could never capture the essence of it and so will share the email with you all as it was written: The Children of Malawi
“As you know, Mary and I have been spending about two months each summer for the past 7 The Children of Malawi years in Malawi, one of Africa’s poorest countries. The Malawi people are among the finest, warmest and most loving people we have ever known. Many of them have become family to us.
Poverty, malnutrition, limited medical resources and inadequate clean water dominate the lives of many of them.
When we are in Malawi we volunteer in rural clinics and hospitals. We work with rural community based projects organized by the Malawi people as they deal with the disease and hunger and death that are part of their everyday existence. Many of these efforts are supported by the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) which introduced us to the needs of Malawi’s people. We also organize travel for friends from the U.S. who come to learn from and to be in solidarity with the people of Malawi. Through careful listening and respectful observation, our U.S. travelers discern how they can best serve in order to bring hope to Malawi’s orphans, to their guardians and to the sick and dying. The good news in all that is not in the unbelievably poor conditions that our Malawi friends face every day, but— that they are rising to the occasion, helping one another in the most remarkable ways. And, with the help of caring people in the U.S., resources are made available to help them tackle their problems. Individuals and congregations and non-governmental organizations are all helping in these efforts. I know of many great organizations, but I know of none that makes every dollar given accomplish as much as GAIA does, nor of any that works any more closely with the Malawi people, utilizing their leadership skills and vision and commitment to invest in lasting and sustainable changes in their communities. When I am so fresh from seeing how effectively your gifts are helping the children and their women caretakers and in helping reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Malawi, I cannot let the opportunity go.I must ask you once again to consider helping these people with your prayers and with your dollars. Please go to the GAIA website right now and see if you are not moved by what your gift can do: The GAIA You can give immediately on line or put a check in the mail —or even make an ongoing commitment, as some of my friends do, by having a set monthly donation authorized through using their credit card.Now—here is some other good news. And now I am not asking you for money. I am asking for your voice.
Senators Tom Daschle and Bill Frist are about to meet with the committees that write the governing agendas for the Democratic and Republican party. They are going to ask the political leaders who make up these committees to add anti-poverty planks to their platforms, making ending global poverty official party policy.
And they need our help. I just took action with the ONE Campaign and signed their petition to the platform committees. Senators Frist and Daschle will deliver our signatures and send the message that Americans want a strong commitment to ending the suffering caused by extreme poverty and global disease.You can take action too, here: http://www.one.org/platforms/?rc=platformstaf Our nation and other nations need to keep the promise we have made to the world’s poor. Let your voice be heard. Shift the use of our tax dollars away from waging war to waging peace by ending the suffering of the world’s poorest people.This is a time of hope! Join me as an active ONE member and let our voices be heard by our leaders.”Wow, we have a lot to do! I hope my sharing this letter with you will energize you to take action…whether for St. Monica’s or Malawi or helping the global effort to help the world’s poor. We CAN make a difference!
Monday, 11 August 2008
Delivering Aid in a Digital World
With mobile banking taking off around much of the developing world, how long will it be before international aid is delivered electronically? Sound crazy? If you think so, you might be surprised to hear that it's already started happening.
Getting aid directly to those who need it in the most timely and efficient manner possible is a topic that's always fascinated me. For some time I've taken particular interest in the level of "overhead" (costs) that charities take from their donations, particularly the ones I give to. Long ago I came to the conclusion that, wherever possible, I was going to give -- either in the shape of a loan or a donation -- directly to organizations working on the ground, by-passing as many middle-men and -women as possible. That's been a relatively easy exercise for me, since I've been fortunate enough to visit many grassroots conservation and development projects in the course of my work. This gives me the personal connection and level of trust required to take such a leap of faith before waving good-bye to my hard-earned cash.
For those who don't have that connection, there are organizations like Kiva, which cleverly solves the problem by linking lenders in the "developed" world with borrowers in "developing" countries through the Internet. Rather than giving handouts, individual lenders -- that's me and you -- can select an entrepreneur in a developing country and choose to lend them money to help build their business. Currently Kiva take no overhead on the loan amount, although with a commitment to reach full sustainability by the end of the year this might not remain the case for much longer.
The beauty of Kiva is that lenders get a real sense of connection with the person receiving their money, something sadly lacking in more traditional charitable relationships. I, for one, have no idea who ended up benefiting from my last Salvation Army donation, for example.
As our ever-expanding digital world slowly reaches some of the poorest and marginalized members of society, opportunities to deliver financial aid to them electronically becomes less myth and more reality. Mobile phone users in a growing number of developing countries can already pay for goods and services wirelessly through their mobile phones, and there are few technical challenges in allowing someone in the U.K., for example, to make a direct donation to a user in Kenya by way of airtime credit to their phone. Just as the Internet redefined the way we shop, the mobile phone will likely end up doing the same for international aid.
Handing out money electronically isn't always going to be the answer, of course, but it may be in surprisingly more cases than you think. In times of famine or hardship, for example, the typical Western response is to send over plane-loads of food aid. Although this might seem like the most logical thing to do, often it overlooks the chief cause of famine. Lack of food generally comes below politics, political instability, access to resources and markets, and civil conflict in the famine equation. In other words, it's rarely about a simple lack of food. And flooding a country with food aid creates its own problems, from feeding the militia in conflict situations to destroying what's left of the local and national agricultural market systems. The problem is considered so serious that last summer CARE International turned down a U.S. government donation of US$45 million in food aid.
So, in famine situations at least, is there an alternative to handing out bags of rice? Well, the U.K.'s Department for International Development (DFID) seem to think so, and they recently ran a $3 million pilot project with Concern Worldwide to prove it, providing cash payments instead of food to tens of thousands of hungry people in northern Malawi. You can't get more direct than that. Although the project experienced its fair share of problems and challenges -- ranging from the family registration process to overall data management and control -- the problems were far outweighed by the benefits. As with many microfinance-style projects in developing countries, women were the main recipients of the cash, many taking their money and heading straight to local markets to buy food. The logic here is that this keeps the local economy moving, and the agriculture sector buoyant. In this part of northern Malawi at least, that's one problem solved and two avoided, by my count.
Interestingly, direct payments are nothing new in the conservation world, where they've been tried for some years with varying degrees of success. The process is pretty much the same -- give the conservation dollars directly to the people living in the conservation area, and encourage them to help preserve their environment through their spending. I've always quite liked the concept, but appreciate how controversial it is. Funnily enough, today's trendy carbon-credit plans work in a similar way, paying countries not to destroy their forests or other natural resources. The principal difference here is that it enables us to continue polluting with a slightly clearer conscience.
Meanwhile, back in Malawi, you may be wondering what the DFID project had to do with technology. Well, administering a system where piles of cash are handed out to tens of thousands of naturally very willing recipients needs to be effectively managed and controlled. So, each of the villagers in the plan were fingerprinted, and their details held on a smart card that they present at pay-out. Without this smart-card technology, it's unlikely the project would have been possible.
The whole idea of making direct payments is appealing to the donor and the recipient, and opens up a whole new world of opportunity if it's found to be effective. Imagine, it could take hold as an entirely new model for delivering aid, providing it is scalable. With over 3.5 billion mobile phones out there, that particular problem may be well on the way to being solved for us.
Ken Banks devotes himself to the application of mobile technology for positive social and environmental change in the developing world, and has spent the last 15 years working on projects in Africa. Recently, his research resulted in the development of FrontlineSMS, a field communication system designed to empower grassroots non-profit organizations. Ken graduated from Sussex University with honors in Social Anthropology with Development Studies and currently divides his time between Cambridge (UK) and Stanford University in California on a MacArthur Foundation-funded Fellowship. Further details of Ken's wider work are available on his website at www.kiwanja.net
Getting aid directly to those who need it in the most timely and efficient manner possible is a topic that's always fascinated me. For some time I've taken particular interest in the level of "overhead" (costs) that charities take from their donations, particularly the ones I give to. Long ago I came to the conclusion that, wherever possible, I was going to give -- either in the shape of a loan or a donation -- directly to organizations working on the ground, by-passing as many middle-men and -women as possible. That's been a relatively easy exercise for me, since I've been fortunate enough to visit many grassroots conservation and development projects in the course of my work. This gives me the personal connection and level of trust required to take such a leap of faith before waving good-bye to my hard-earned cash.
For those who don't have that connection, there are organizations like Kiva, which cleverly solves the problem by linking lenders in the "developed" world with borrowers in "developing" countries through the Internet. Rather than giving handouts, individual lenders -- that's me and you -- can select an entrepreneur in a developing country and choose to lend them money to help build their business. Currently Kiva take no overhead on the loan amount, although with a commitment to reach full sustainability by the end of the year this might not remain the case for much longer.
The beauty of Kiva is that lenders get a real sense of connection with the person receiving their money, something sadly lacking in more traditional charitable relationships. I, for one, have no idea who ended up benefiting from my last Salvation Army donation, for example.
As our ever-expanding digital world slowly reaches some of the poorest and marginalized members of society, opportunities to deliver financial aid to them electronically becomes less myth and more reality. Mobile phone users in a growing number of developing countries can already pay for goods and services wirelessly through their mobile phones, and there are few technical challenges in allowing someone in the U.K., for example, to make a direct donation to a user in Kenya by way of airtime credit to their phone. Just as the Internet redefined the way we shop, the mobile phone will likely end up doing the same for international aid.
Handing out money electronically isn't always going to be the answer, of course, but it may be in surprisingly more cases than you think. In times of famine or hardship, for example, the typical Western response is to send over plane-loads of food aid. Although this might seem like the most logical thing to do, often it overlooks the chief cause of famine. Lack of food generally comes below politics, political instability, access to resources and markets, and civil conflict in the famine equation. In other words, it's rarely about a simple lack of food. And flooding a country with food aid creates its own problems, from feeding the militia in conflict situations to destroying what's left of the local and national agricultural market systems. The problem is considered so serious that last summer CARE International turned down a U.S. government donation of US$45 million in food aid.
So, in famine situations at least, is there an alternative to handing out bags of rice? Well, the U.K.'s Department for International Development (DFID) seem to think so, and they recently ran a $3 million pilot project with Concern Worldwide to prove it, providing cash payments instead of food to tens of thousands of hungry people in northern Malawi. You can't get more direct than that. Although the project experienced its fair share of problems and challenges -- ranging from the family registration process to overall data management and control -- the problems were far outweighed by the benefits. As with many microfinance-style projects in developing countries, women were the main recipients of the cash, many taking their money and heading straight to local markets to buy food. The logic here is that this keeps the local economy moving, and the agriculture sector buoyant. In this part of northern Malawi at least, that's one problem solved and two avoided, by my count.
Interestingly, direct payments are nothing new in the conservation world, where they've been tried for some years with varying degrees of success. The process is pretty much the same -- give the conservation dollars directly to the people living in the conservation area, and encourage them to help preserve their environment through their spending. I've always quite liked the concept, but appreciate how controversial it is. Funnily enough, today's trendy carbon-credit plans work in a similar way, paying countries not to destroy their forests or other natural resources. The principal difference here is that it enables us to continue polluting with a slightly clearer conscience.
Meanwhile, back in Malawi, you may be wondering what the DFID project had to do with technology. Well, administering a system where piles of cash are handed out to tens of thousands of naturally very willing recipients needs to be effectively managed and controlled. So, each of the villagers in the plan were fingerprinted, and their details held on a smart card that they present at pay-out. Without this smart-card technology, it's unlikely the project would have been possible.
The whole idea of making direct payments is appealing to the donor and the recipient, and opens up a whole new world of opportunity if it's found to be effective. Imagine, it could take hold as an entirely new model for delivering aid, providing it is scalable. With over 3.5 billion mobile phones out there, that particular problem may be well on the way to being solved for us.
Ken Banks devotes himself to the application of mobile technology for positive social and environmental change in the developing world, and has spent the last 15 years working on projects in Africa. Recently, his research resulted in the development of FrontlineSMS, a field communication system designed to empower grassroots non-profit organizations. Ken graduated from Sussex University with honors in Social Anthropology with Development Studies and currently divides his time between Cambridge (UK) and Stanford University in California on a MacArthur Foundation-funded Fellowship. Further details of Ken's wider work are available on his website at www.kiwanja.net
Picture Book Created To Complement Madonna's Malawi Documentary
A book comprised of photographs relating to Madonna's Malawi documentary, I Am Because We Are is in the works. PerezHilton.com reported that the Material Mom herself will write an introduction to the collection, which will feature "images by award-winning photojournalist Kristen Ashburn -- culled from her own work in Malawi and Africa over the past seven years as well as from her specially commissioned photographs for the film -- providing an intimate look at the lives of eight Malawian children featured in the film and reveals the harsh reality of the AIDS pandemic throughout southern Africa."
Madonna appeared in Michigan on August 2nd to introduce her documentary I Am Because We Are at the Traverse City Film Festival. The pop icon was a guest of the event's co-founder, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and fellow Michigan native Michael Moore.
Madonna's adoption of a two-year-old boy from Malawi was recently finalized.
Madonna appeared in Michigan on August 2nd to introduce her documentary I Am Because We Are at the Traverse City Film Festival. The pop icon was a guest of the event's co-founder, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and fellow Michigan native Michael Moore.
Madonna's adoption of a two-year-old boy from Malawi was recently finalized.
Malawi holed up in another budget crisis
11 August - The government of Malawi is once again holed up in a crisis with the parliament over the approval of the national budget.
A similar crisis, fueled by political brouhaha between the executive and lawmakers, nearly put the government's functions at a complete standstill last year. President Bingu wa Mutharika had reportedly threatened to deploy soldiers to seal the parliamentary building if lawmakers remain defiant.
Malawian lawmakers have only ten days to discuss and pass the 2008/9 national budget. Though deadline ends on Friday, but the opposition parties have threatened to reject the budget unless the government append its signature on a memorandum of understanding that seeks to narrow the political gap between the opposition and government in parliament.
George Nga Ntafu, who leads the opposition United Democratic Front in parliament, on Monday expressed their readiness to ignore the government's demands to pass this year's budget based on President Mutharika's terms.
"Unless our counterparts in the government side, who seem to be reluctant to sign the final MOU given to us by the mediation team, we will not approve and pass the budget," he vowed.
However, Henry Chimunthu Banda, who leads the government bench, ruled out the signing of the final MOU as condition to approve the budget. Banda said the budget affair must not be linked to the the agreement on Section 65 of Malawi's constitution, which outlaws members from crosscarpeting.
"The government side wanted the budget to be discussed and approved without any interruption and
then deal with Section 65 later," he said.
A similar crisis, fueled by political brouhaha between the executive and lawmakers, nearly put the government's functions at a complete standstill last year. President Bingu wa Mutharika had reportedly threatened to deploy soldiers to seal the parliamentary building if lawmakers remain defiant.
Malawian lawmakers have only ten days to discuss and pass the 2008/9 national budget. Though deadline ends on Friday, but the opposition parties have threatened to reject the budget unless the government append its signature on a memorandum of understanding that seeks to narrow the political gap between the opposition and government in parliament.
George Nga Ntafu, who leads the opposition United Democratic Front in parliament, on Monday expressed their readiness to ignore the government's demands to pass this year's budget based on President Mutharika's terms.
"Unless our counterparts in the government side, who seem to be reluctant to sign the final MOU given to us by the mediation team, we will not approve and pass the budget," he vowed.
However, Henry Chimunthu Banda, who leads the government bench, ruled out the signing of the final MOU as condition to approve the budget. Banda said the budget affair must not be linked to the the agreement on Section 65 of Malawi's constitution, which outlaws members from crosscarpeting.
"The government side wanted the budget to be discussed and approved without any interruption and
then deal with Section 65 later," he said.
Malawi to host ICT Forum
Malawi will host Africa’s biggest ICT Forum called ‘Annual Connecting Rural Communities Africa Forum’ from the 26-28 August.
Thirty Information and communication ministers, ICT experts, regulators and operators from Africa, the Middle East and Europe will be attending to discuss strategies and policies to help connect rural areas in Africa.
A letter signed by Minister of Information and Civic Education Patricia Kaliati stated that connecting rural communities is a crucial topic for development in Africa. Malawi will be introducing radical policies to improve rural connectivity.
Kaliati, who is also one of the main speakers said that “’together we can make a positive difference to the development of ICT in Africa.’’
According to the programme, the forum will let delegates find out more about Africa’s licenses for new services and promote competition and discover policies to promote universal access in their country.
The forum will help to examine the effect liberalization is having on ICT development in Africa, it will also help to understand the potential of 3G for rural communities in Africa and the benefits of mobile broadband services in Africa.
The conference will also include workshops on 3G and satellite technologies provided by telecommunication operators like Ericsson.
Thirty Information and communication ministers, ICT experts, regulators and operators from Africa, the Middle East and Europe will be attending to discuss strategies and policies to help connect rural areas in Africa.
A letter signed by Minister of Information and Civic Education Patricia Kaliati stated that connecting rural communities is a crucial topic for development in Africa. Malawi will be introducing radical policies to improve rural connectivity.
Kaliati, who is also one of the main speakers said that “’together we can make a positive difference to the development of ICT in Africa.’’
According to the programme, the forum will let delegates find out more about Africa’s licenses for new services and promote competition and discover policies to promote universal access in their country.
The forum will help to examine the effect liberalization is having on ICT development in Africa, it will also help to understand the potential of 3G for rural communities in Africa and the benefits of mobile broadband services in Africa.
The conference will also include workshops on 3G and satellite technologies provided by telecommunication operators like Ericsson.
Madonna's Son David's 'Mama' Dies in Malawi
Asineti Mwale, the woman who helped raise Madonna's now-adopted son in his native Malawi, has died.
Wiseman Zimba, a cousin to David's biological father, Yohane Banda, confirmed the death in an interview to PEOPLE.
"Mama Asineti died last night," Zimba said Monday. "Burial is tomorrow."
Mwale, 60, who had looked after infant David after his birth mother died, had recently been bedridden with pneumonia.
David's biological mother, Marita, died a week after he was born in September 2005. So "Mama" helped take care of the baby with the child's father, Yohane Banda.
They later made a decision to surrender David to the Home of Hope Orphanage because the family was too poor to afford to feed him with infant formula milk.
Madonna, through her Raising Malawi – the charity she set up for her Malawi cause – found him at the facility and fostered the child. The High Court in the capital, Lilongwe, okayed the adoption on May 29 this year after a two-year interim period that also included social service visits to Madonna's home in London.
Playing with His Siblings
Mwale, who wholeheartedly approved the controversial adoption – some critics claimed Madonna received preferential treatment – has died before she fulfilled her wish to see how David was faring with Madonna.
Last week, David, 2, was spotted in New York City's Central Park with brother Rocco, who turns 8 on Monday, and sister Lourdes, 11, playing with radio-controlled toy yachts in a lake.
In her last interview, given last month when David's dad's new wife, Flora, gave birth to another son, Dingiswayo, Mwale said: "I wish David would come to see me before I die. I hope he will one day come to see his brother."
Wiseman Zimba, a cousin to David's biological father, Yohane Banda, confirmed the death in an interview to PEOPLE.
"Mama Asineti died last night," Zimba said Monday. "Burial is tomorrow."
Mwale, 60, who had looked after infant David after his birth mother died, had recently been bedridden with pneumonia.
David's biological mother, Marita, died a week after he was born in September 2005. So "Mama" helped take care of the baby with the child's father, Yohane Banda.
They later made a decision to surrender David to the Home of Hope Orphanage because the family was too poor to afford to feed him with infant formula milk.
Madonna, through her Raising Malawi – the charity she set up for her Malawi cause – found him at the facility and fostered the child. The High Court in the capital, Lilongwe, okayed the adoption on May 29 this year after a two-year interim period that also included social service visits to Madonna's home in London.
Playing with His Siblings
Mwale, who wholeheartedly approved the controversial adoption – some critics claimed Madonna received preferential treatment – has died before she fulfilled her wish to see how David was faring with Madonna.
Last week, David, 2, was spotted in New York City's Central Park with brother Rocco, who turns 8 on Monday, and sister Lourdes, 11, playing with radio-controlled toy yachts in a lake.
In her last interview, given last month when David's dad's new wife, Flora, gave birth to another son, Dingiswayo, Mwale said: "I wish David would come to see me before I die. I hope he will one day come to see his brother."
Zimbabwe wins Music Crossroads
Zimbabwe on Saturday made another history in the music circle when they won this year's inter-regional Music Crossroads held in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city.
Malawi failed to defend the Music Crossroads title, which they have won consecutively in the past two years and saw Zimbabwe take over the reign during the inter-regional grand finale.
Zimbabwe came and conquered through their representatives Kuomboka band who scooped position one followed by Gwarimba band on position two.
It was yet another success story this year for the country, which has been awash with bad stories. Last month Zimbabwe also won M-net Idols competition through their representative Eric Moyo who went home US$80,000 richer plus winning a recording deal with Sony BMG.
It was bad news for Malawi really taking into consideration that the competition was taking place right in their own home soil.
Malawi’s Music Crossroads deputy national Co-odinator James Thole said the country was represented by Moshefu band from Blantyre and Mafirika from Lilongwe in the grand finals.
The two progressed into the grand finals after triumphing in the national finals, which took place on Thursday and Friday where nine groups battled it out.
“It was a tough competition but I should admit that the Zimbabwean bands were the best. As Malawi we are sad that we have failed to defend the title but we have learnt lessons,” said Thole in an interview on Sunday.
The deputy national coordinator said when the judges were announcing the winners, Malawi and the other countries who participated could not believe it.
“Mozambique had expectations, so too are Zambia and Tanzania. We also were hopeful but the competition was very tough this year and the best bands from Zimbabwe won,” he said but could not disclose what position they got saying the judges only announced the two positions.
Music Crossroads is one of-a-kind annual event, which combines music, people and humanitarian efforts to bring together the best young talents from Southern African countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Malawi has been champions for two years running, having won it in Maputo, Mozambique in 2006 with Konga Vibes and in Harare, Zimbabwe last year with Body Mind and Soul.
For being the winner, the Zimbabwean band will receive a Music Crossroads European tour of over 10 different countries, professional training and an album recording.
The music festival this year was spiced up by performances from the country’s 2007 winner Body Mind and Soul who returned from their Europe trip recently and are set to visit USA next year.
There were also international guests from Sweden and Ireland.
Malawi failed to defend the Music Crossroads title, which they have won consecutively in the past two years and saw Zimbabwe take over the reign during the inter-regional grand finale.
Zimbabwe came and conquered through their representatives Kuomboka band who scooped position one followed by Gwarimba band on position two.
It was yet another success story this year for the country, which has been awash with bad stories. Last month Zimbabwe also won M-net Idols competition through their representative Eric Moyo who went home US$80,000 richer plus winning a recording deal with Sony BMG.
It was bad news for Malawi really taking into consideration that the competition was taking place right in their own home soil.
Malawi’s Music Crossroads deputy national Co-odinator James Thole said the country was represented by Moshefu band from Blantyre and Mafirika from Lilongwe in the grand finals.
The two progressed into the grand finals after triumphing in the national finals, which took place on Thursday and Friday where nine groups battled it out.
“It was a tough competition but I should admit that the Zimbabwean bands were the best. As Malawi we are sad that we have failed to defend the title but we have learnt lessons,” said Thole in an interview on Sunday.
The deputy national coordinator said when the judges were announcing the winners, Malawi and the other countries who participated could not believe it.
“Mozambique had expectations, so too are Zambia and Tanzania. We also were hopeful but the competition was very tough this year and the best bands from Zimbabwe won,” he said but could not disclose what position they got saying the judges only announced the two positions.
Music Crossroads is one of-a-kind annual event, which combines music, people and humanitarian efforts to bring together the best young talents from Southern African countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Malawi has been champions for two years running, having won it in Maputo, Mozambique in 2006 with Konga Vibes and in Harare, Zimbabwe last year with Body Mind and Soul.
For being the winner, the Zimbabwean band will receive a Music Crossroads European tour of over 10 different countries, professional training and an album recording.
The music festival this year was spiced up by performances from the country’s 2007 winner Body Mind and Soul who returned from their Europe trip recently and are set to visit USA next year.
There were also international guests from Sweden and Ireland.
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."
"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."
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