Bernards church group to visit Malawi, probe orphan crisis

BERNARDS —Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church will send a task force this weekend to Malawi, a densely populated, underdeveloped African nation to investigate specific issues affecting more than 1 million orphans and vulnerable children, said Patty Llerena, the church's spokeswoman.

Taskforce members will assess health, education and sources of clean water, and evaluate the effectiveness of local service providers, the use of financial assistance and the need for volunteers, Llerena said.

"By obtaining first-hand knowledge, we will develop a five-year strategic plan to increase local awareness and do something about the Malawian children who fall victim to treatable disease and malnutrition," said team coordinator Jack Stillwaggon of the Basking Ridge section of Bernards. "We want to offer future opportunities for adult and student volunteers from the New Jersey/New York metro area to make a real difference through service. We hope this is the first of many more volunteer teams to provide hands-on assistance in Malawi."

As executive director of the Bernards Township Education Foundation, Stillwaggon has experience in governance assessments, organizational development and strategic planning and implementation. He will be joined in Malawi by Lisa Mandel of Warren, Pamela Bowman and David Cutler of Basking Ridge, and Roy and Cherie Christensen of New Vernon.

Mandel chairs the Partners in Mission team at Liberty Corner Presbyterian, which coordinates relationships and financial contributions with mission partners on a local, national and global basis. She previously has worked on projects to end poverty.

Bowman is mission director at the First Presbyterian Church in Bethlehem, Pa., and serves on the U.S. Board of Trustees at Ministry of Hope, which provides community-based orphan care in Malawi. Having been to Malawi before, as well as nearby Zambia, she will focus on the mission's administration and organization.

Cutler brings financial management experience to the group as an employee of Thomson Reuters, a leading business information service, and as an elder of Liberty Corner Presbyterian. Also a church elder, Roy Christensen has a project management background. Cherie Christensen is a retired registered nurse who will focus on the crisis medical center in Malawi.

The increase in Malawi orphans is due to an AIDS pandemic, Llerena said. About 53 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and has a life expectancy of 42 years, she said. In addition to AIDS, waterborne diseases, malaria and other illnesses kill one in three children before age 5, she said.

For 16 days, the team will work alongside staff at various local service providers, Llerena said, including Ministry of Hope, an organization established by Malawians. Ministry of Hope has six feeding centers serving up to 3,500 orphans and vulnerable children per day, and two crisis nursery centers serving 45 babies each month, Llerena said.

For more information, call the church office at (908) 647-0340 or go to www.libertycorner.org.