June 8, 1999
The day after Pentecost, May 24, I arrived in Lilongwe, Malawi. At the airport to meet me were Gladstone Chonde and his wife Alice, and a prospective member, Edison Chinthenga, who had been reading the Good News since 1997. After checking into a hotel, we left by taxi to the Chonde's home. They live on the outskirts of Lilongwe with two of their children, Meschak and Edwin.
|
The next few hours were spent discussing what is happening in the Church, and the positive and encouraging growth overall. Each Sabbath the Chondes gather in their lounge to watch video sermons sent by the Home Office. For our members in these outlying areas these sermons are of inestimable value and importance. And so is the Good News, booklets and other literature from the Church. Many of the letters Mr. McCullough sends to the ministry, as well as the News Updates from the office are also mailed to them from South Africa. Post can take up to a month and longer to reach them, but even though the news is somewhat out of date, these reports give them a good idea about development in the church around the world.
Later that afternoon we visited the clinic run by the Chondes, which is conveniently situated close to their home. The facility is quite small, and divided into a reception and waiting room area at the front, with two offices in the rear where Mr. and Mrs. Chonde examine and assist the patients. As with many areas in Africa, serious sicknesses are a major problem. In Malawi only US $3.40 per person a year is spent on healthcare, well below the $13 recommended by the World Health Organization. Most drugs in state run hospitals are stolen and sold on the black market. Lack of clean water results in diseases such as cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, and intestinal worms. Another scourge is malaria, which afflicts 49,410 out of over 100,000 hospital cases. Then there is the ever-present epidemic of HIV infection that is taking a huge toll in the country, as it is in most African countries.
|
With the above statistics you can understand why the Clinic run by the Chondes perform such a vital and important function in their suburb. Their present supply of drugs and medicines sent with the help and Vic and Bev Kubik arrived just as they were depleting their own reserves. It was a revelation to see how desperately these people need the help the Chondes are providing, especially since the local hospitals do not have the facilities or the necessary medicine. In Malawi there are two doctors and six nurses for every 100,000 of the population. It made me extremely grateful for the many blessings we often take for granted. During the two days I was with the Chondes, the water supply was interrupted twice, and while we were enjoying an evening meal at their home the electricity was cut off. These things commonly occur in most countries of Africa. Since June 1997 the Chondes have been paying for a non-existent telephone service. However, they cannot remove their name from the waiting list, as they would then be placed at the bottom of the list of applicants.
There is no doubt that the Chondes are supplying a worthwhile and valuable service to their community. It is a heart-rending and distressing experience to watch the sick and afflicted arrive with looks of "please help me" written all over their faces, and their only hope at this present time is what the Chondes can offer. I know that they will appreciate your prayers as they do their best to be of some assistance to their fellow human beings in Malawi.
By the way, I am pleased to report that the Chondes had an excellent maize crop this year. There were bags of maize stacked in the front of their home, sufficient to see them through the year. This has also been the case with our members who are farmers in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
On June 2nd I left Malawi for Zimbabwe having spent a most profitable time with three members in far-away Malawi.
- More Photos
- More about our working in Malawi