Msamba Community Based Organization, Malawi. Rose’s mother passed away in 2010 leaving Rose an orphan at the age of two and in the care of an 11-year-old aunt Joyce, who is also an orphan. Young Joyce must put Rose on her back and walk 9 kilometers in order to reach Msamba to receive assistance. In this case, the care of these children falls to their aged grandparents, who now find themselves overwhelmed with the care of nine grandchildren.
Rose’s mother was the second of nine children, and Joyce the sixth child in her family. When parents die leaving behind large families, it places a nearly impossible responsibility on older grandparents who are already struggling to find enough food, clothing and shelter with which to survive themselves. The arrival of 10 or 12 more mouths to feed, and bodies to cloth is insurmountable.
In an effort to cope with this national crisis the Malawi government, through a decentralization process, gave power to local communities to organize, identify, and assist needy people in their areas. According to Wilson Tembo, the Director of the Malawi Project’s southern warehouse distribution site in Thondwe, “These community based organizations are providing a positive alternative where the needy receive aid,” he notes. It was during a recent distribution of clothes and other supplies that Tembo came upon little Rose. After learning of her plight he continues, “Rose is the best symbol of many orphans who are left with only grandparents to care for them. These children lack essential things like clothes, school fees, food and housing. Because such a large gap exists between the need and the ability to get these resources to the children, the Msamba Community Based Organization came into existence at the grass roots, local level. Malawi has thousands of orphans who have no hope for the future. Many are innocent and many are orphans because of a 13.5% HIV/AIDS rate in the country. The Namikango Mission and Maternity Hospital is pleased to have the support of the Malawi Project, the Universal Aide Society, and Compassionate Resources Network in being able to help these community based groups, and especially to be able to make a difference in the lives of children like Rose and Joyce.”