Indianapolis, Indiana … “It is no secret contributions are down by a considerable amount. It is the same with most aid organizations and church outreach programs, so we understand it is not just us,” says Scott Gordon, the President of the Malawi Project. “However,” he continues, “this does not make it easier. We are having to turn down critically needed medical supplies, sometimes amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, simply because we do not have the funds to process the shipments through the ports in Africa, and on to the drop site.”
In spite of the downturn, the Project has been able to send ten 40-foot trailers of supplies during the first 6 months of the year. “Our aid has held up during the first part of the year,” observes Suzi Stephens, the Medical Director for the Project, “and this is good. But now we are looking at the waning months of 2012, and there is nothing in the pipeline to help the hospitals we are supporting for the time when the rainy season begins, and health problems such as malaria increase.”
“One has to hope and pray that first world economies turn around quickly, and people open their pocketbooks,” Stephens adds. “Lives are on the line in sub-Saharan Africa. It is sort of like the man who complained that he had no shoes, until he met the man who had no feet. While people in America are in an intense pre-election debate about their form of healthcare; including it’s quality and procedural practices, the people of Malawi are desperately wishing for any healthcare at all.”