On Friday May 18 JoAn Dillinger lost her battle with cancer in Noblesville, Indiana USA. JoAn was the wife of Jim Dillinger, one of the members of the Board of Directors for the Malawi Project. Although JoAn was not in an official capacity with the Project her influence was felt both in Malawi and in the U.S. in the positive activities taking place. Only three members of the Board of Directors had logged more trips to Africa, and nearly every teaching program carried out for the women and children in Malawi carry her fingerprints.
On Monday May 28 word was received of the death of First Lady Ethel Zvauya Mutharika, the First Lady of Malawi, also as a result of cancer. Mama Ethel’s trips to Blessings and Mtendere were inspirational to the staff and children alike, and her interest and support in working with the Malawi Project in order to remodel Bottom Hospital in Lilongwe will be an ongoing project in spite of her death. The work on the oldest hospital in the capital will extend a legacy that will remind future generations of the humanitarian work carried out in the name of the First Lady. The Malawi Project and World Emergency Relief plan to continue their commitment to upgrading the hospital in the capital.