9-year-old Yesani Chipliro
Lilongwe, Malawi … Lilongwe is the capital city of Malawi. At first glance one would think the added prosperity from being in the capital city with its international commerce, better job opportunities, and higher pay would be an insurance policy for a better life style, a somewhat more insulated environment from the ravishes of famine, and more availability to sources of help with food.
During the past two years the intense famine that has evaded headlines in the world press has taken a desperate toll on the people of Malawi. With the beginning of the recent crop harvest reports indicate there is some small measure of relief in a number of parts of the country. For 9-year-old Yesani Chipliro, a small boy living with his widowed mother on the west side of Lilongwe, help came none too soon as 30,000 orphans were given aid through a joint effort of World Emergency Relief and the Malawi Project. At the time of the food distribution the harvest had not yet begun, and along with millions of other children Yesani was in desperate need, as was much of the adult population.
Recent reports indicate some relief has arrived with the beginning of the harvest. However, this does not mean contributors can lower their guard. Food for some does not mean food for all. Just because Yesani had food for a week or a month does not mean he is safely on the way to a food assured future.
As the Project turns much of its focus on helping Malawi organizations and village development agencies put emergency drip irrigation programs into place to provide additional food supplies during the upcoming dry season there will still be a need for food shipments to help those whose crops failed during the recent growing season. Dry season crops will not solve all of the problems. Your continued help is needed as Malawi works to dig itself out of the ravishing effects of the famine. Yesani is not alone. There are many more like him that still need help over the next weeks and months.
$10.00 will purchase one of the drip systems that will help a Malawi family grow their own crops during the dry season. An additional $5.00 will help us ship the unit to Malawi and get it to a needed village.
$20.00 will feed a child for a month.
$250.00 will help ship a small farm tractor to Malawi to help an entire village raise a larger amount of crops, thus helping to insure against famine in upcoming years.