Malawi

Overview

This narrow country of 12 million borders Lake Malawi. Tragically, some 1.2 million of its children have been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic that has swept sub-Saharan Africa.

This number of AIDS orphans is projected to double or triple in this region by 2010. Already overtaxed relatives are turning away their orphaned nieces and nephews, granddaughters and grandsons, leaving them to fend for themselves on the streets. As a result, many children take up theft or prostitution as a means to survive.

Through the urging of missionaries at the African Bible College, Chris Clark (COTN President) traveled to Lilongwe, the capital city, to research possible ways to care for kids there. He found the answer as close as his own family.

In 1998, Chris’ parents, Bill and Pat Clark, spent a year in Malawi looking for possible housing while they taught at the same school that had called upon Chris for aid. With many hours and miles logged on their small beat-up truck, Bill and Pat found a perfect site to call home.

The ex-president of Malawi had built a large, beautiful, westernized village about 75 miles from the capital city. This ideal spot is called Chiwengo Village. Numerous houses are available for rent on lighted streets. Asphalt roads line the gated property. A beautiful school educates the hundreds of children that live in surrounding villages.

Many of the children that have come to us are kids that have lost both parents and were living in a village with relatives. However, these relatives are already caring for many children—over thirty, in some cases. As a result, there is no more room for an additional mouth. Consequently, the children that we now have were abused. A few were on the edge of death when they were rescued.

The simple provisions that we take for granted—housing, clothing, food, education, and medical care—are enabling these children to grow up and make a lasting impact on their own society.

Teams of U.S. volunteers have come and more are scheduled to travel to Malawi to love on these precious lives.