Malawi P-Global: Summer 2015: Saturday Orphan Feeding Program: June 13

(Katherine)

The Anglican Diocese of Northern Malawi’s home parish, St. Mark’s Mzuzu, runs a feeding program for orphans in the city. Every Saturday morning, children between the ages of 0 and 18 years flock to the church hall for fellowship, a hot meal, singing, and skills training. Derek and I walked from our guest house around the church to the hall where the feeding program takes place and were greeted by the several women in charge. Everyone immediately welcomed us and threw us into the challenging work of cooking for the 250 children they serve. After hearing that program funding comes from an Anglican parish in Montreal, Canada, we were quite impressed by the balanced meal the funds provided, along with the many supplies for skills training. However, the love and care of the community toward the children, who have lost everything and who struggle to survive day-to-day, impressed us most.

Let us describe the meal the women showed us how to prepare. Standard Malawian fare consists of a small portion of meat and vegetables along with a large portion of starch, either corn meal or rice. Today, the children received nsima (pronounced seema), a sticky corn meal paste, along with a piece of chicken, cabbage and tomato relish, and a banana. Before the meal though, while it was cooking, we served the children tea and bread as a snack.

Though the portions were large for the children, nearly every child of every age consumed every morsel, reassuring us of their need and physical hunger. Derek and I really enjoyed helping, as we learned how difficult cooking traditional Malawian food is! The nsima that is eaten twice a day is heavy and must be stirred frequently. Since we were preparing such large quantities, you can imagine just how big the stirring spoons were—almost as tall as I am!

While the meal cooked and each of the women contributed to the preparations, Derek and I bounced around—cooking, observing, talking, and laughing—enjoying the time we spent in such a welcoming environment. One of the women showed us around the hall, well actually outside of the hall, where volunteers teach the children how to knit blankets and sweaters, sew aprons and clothing, and make tin items such as pans and cooking burners. These skills may be the most important part of the Feeding Program’s ministry since they will help the children obtain employment and discipline. All materials the children produce are sold in the market and the proceeds are used to buy more supplies to maintain the workshops.

(Derek)

One thing that struck both Katherine and I was when a middle-aged lady called off each orphan’s name from a list; this allowed them to come receive their meal, and to mark whether they were present. What each name represented, it occurred to us, was, in all likelihood, two deaths from HIV/AIDS or malaria. And to think that this feeding program at St. Mark’s represented a small fraction of the number of orphaned children from these terrible illnesses in Malawi, and from Africa as a whole. In the US, when we hear of someone being an orphan, I am willing to bet that he/she is not an orphan because of these diseases. Rather, they are probably an orphan because of cancer, an automobile accident, murder, etc.

Derek and I liked serving each child tea (with milk and sugar) and bread before getting started with the cooking.

Some of the children write poetry on these Saturday mornings while they sit together outside the church.

We have noticed that both boys and girls usually have shaved heads, so we have trouble telling who is what gender.

Everyone thought Derek and I were VERY funny while we tried scooping out the heavy nsima into the serving pots. Nsima is sticky when it is first cooked, but once it is scooped out, the portions magically do not stick together.