“Her excitement said more words than her words could say,”reported Wilson Tembo during a recent distribution of 30 mobility units to physically handicapped people in Mchinji, Malawi. Mchinji in one of 28 Malawi political districts, and located near the Zambian border. Some estimates report there may be as high as 1,000 physically impaired in the district alone. It hard to imagine that number, and equally hard to imagine that most of them are confined to the area in and around their tiny mud-hut homes for most, if not all of their lives.
This was the case with Maureen, a 42-year-old mother of 7, who comes from Mponela (north of the capital). She has been “glued”, according to Wilson Tembo, Director of Operations for the Malawi operations for the Malawi Project, “glued to her home for the past four decades!”
We Feel Desperate
Wilson notes the frustration of seeing so many in need of mobility, yet being able to help only a few, “There are so many children, and this is not counting the adults. We come in contact with people of all ages who desperately need these mobility units. We feel the desperation as well.”
Maureen could not contain her happiness as she was given a mobility unit.“I must say ‘thank you’, thank you God for your love.” Tembo remarked, “Is it possible for you to see the picture of a person so happy they just seemed to ‘dance away’ as they peddled away on a brand new mobility unit? Well, that is what Maureen did! After receiving the new mobility unit, Maureen is able to view things differently. “I will be able to visit friends, go to worship with friends. I will be able to move around.” she said. Speaking on the sidelines of the distribution in this area, Village headman Mponda said he was extremely pleased that Maureen has been assisted.