Lilongwe, Malawi and Denver, Colorado … During recent board meetings held one week apart and a distance of 9,379 miles, or 15,094 kilometers, members from the Malawi Project (MP) and those of Action for Progress (AfP) shared cooperative thinking about Malawi’s needs in the coming year, and ways the Malawi Project can assist the implementation of these programs.
High on the needs list is a protective block wall around the AfP warehouse in Lilongwe. AfP noted, in a ZOOM discussion, during the MP board meeting, how the purchase of a block making machine can reduce substantially the cost of building the wall. According to Chester Kabinda-Mbewe, the machine would also have a great value for the next item on the AfP list of goals, the creation of a cancer clinic for children that has been in discussion for the past two years by both organizations, and major contributors. He noted how this machine could help reduce the cost of construction of the clinic. Cost resource conducted by Wilson Tembo, Executive Director for AfP indicated the savings gained with the purchase of the machine would pay for it in its first year of operation.
Later in the month research was assembled as to the feasibility of established two or three fish farm programs in the central region of Malawi. It was noted that ongoing discussions with the Fisheries Division of the former Bunda College of Agriculture in Lilongwe are expected to outline a way forward with this program.
Another item high on the list was church communion cups. Many rural congregations cannot afford the expense of buying cups and are often using old bottle caps. Both boards agreed to work together on these programs and AfP agreed to research the cost and availability of the items needed to put these two programs in effect. Chester indicated the pain he felt when he read about the problem on the Malawi Project web site in late April. https://www.malawiproject.org/urgent-need-for-communion-cups/
It was also later noted a major contributor may fund several of the supply shipments to Malawi in calendar year 2022. The cost of shipping is the largest single item on the list of expenses for the Project each year. The number of shipments is often governed by available funds and supplies are turned away from the lack of funding to ship them. This assistance will open the possibility of using available funds to accomplish other needed projects.