“His statement cut me like a sharp knife,” recalls Dick Stephens of the Malawi Project. The email read, “We have requests for food every day. It is as bad as it was in 2001-2002.” It was a note from Wilson Tembo of Action for Progress in Malawi. Stephens remembers, “Suzi and I were in Malawi in 2001-2002 and it was a picture I will never forget. Pain chiseled into the faces of the aged. Suffering reflected in the eyes of parents who could not feed their children. The sounds of babies whimpering, too weak to cry louder. “It was a nation dying, dying from starvation, suffering so widespread even the resources of the central government could not alleviate the full extent of it.
“Don’t get me wrong. There was food in Malawi. But because there was such a small percentage of those with resources, and such a massive percentage of those suffering even the best efforts could not stem the tide of suffering. Contributors donated over a million dollars for food assistance in a matter of weeks, and that meant the difference between life and death for thousands of people,” Stephens remembers.
Now the pain and suffering has returned to rural Malawi. Famine is again widespread. Two cyclones in the past two years have devasted a large swath of the south-central region of the nation. The failure of sufficient rains has cut through the heart of the food production regions. People are running out of food and there is no place to turn. We have had a large number of contributors sending assistance in recent weeks. That is so appreciated. With 5.7 million people in serious trouble more is needed. Our people at Action for Progress are on the ground and are already distributing food to those areas who are suffering. Your help is needed. Send check to Malawi Project, 2421 Golfside Drive, Lebanon, IN 46052 or go to https://www.malawiproject.org/donate/