Lilongwe, Malawi … Mr. Makhuwila is a religious leader on the northwest side of the City of Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. Recently he lost the use of his legs. Even though he lives in the largest city in this poverty-ravished nation it does not help him get around in order to carry out his ministerial duties. Streets are without sidewalks. Many of the streets are little more than pothole, laced dirt paths. Cars have a difficult time negotiating these corridors, let alone someone in a wheelchair. And wheelchairs, there are very few wheelchairs, and very few people have the funds with which to purchase one. The poor are everywhere, and the need for wheelchairs finds unimaginable numbers of people waiting for every wheelchair that makes its way into this forgotten part of the world. With only a single orthopedic hospital in the country there is little that can be done for the large numbers of people who are handicapped. For Mr. Makhuwila there was little that could change his hopeless situation after he joined the position of the handicapped.
The entire situation changed with a single wheelchair, thanks to a cooperative program being that is being carried out between four aid groups. It started with the Free Wheelchair Mission in Irvine, California, an international aid organization distributing wheelchairs around the world. The Wheelchair Mission has joined hands with the Malawi Project to deliver 2,300 wheelchairs to Malawi over a four-year period. The Malawi Project, in turn, focuses its attention on helping a number of in-country organizations with agricultural, medical and educational aid, including wheelchairs. Two of these organizations are the Namikango Mission and Maternity Hospital in southern Malawi, and the Dzidalire Community Development Agency in Dedza, Malawi. A single wheelchair started passing along through all of these hands until it finally arrived in the Dzidalire Agency, who moved it along to Mr. Makhuwila. A long trip and a lot of hands, but success was achieved through the efforts of all of these groups.
Mr. Makhuwila expresses his appreciation to the Malawi Project, and in turn to all of these groups, for the wheel chair. He was overwhelmed with joy with his wheelchair. He said, “I am very happy because the Malawi Project, through Mama Kadzamira has come to my rescue. I was unable to move around during the past six months. They have now given me a wheelchair that will enable me to move around and continue pursuing my pastoral work among people of Area 25. I thank the Lord for his mercy and the gift of the wheel chair. May God bless the Malawi Project, and Dzidalire Community Development Agency.”