Salima, Malawi … Although little evidence of its past is visible today, the memory of old “Salima” can drive cold chills down the back of even a novice historian. During the dark days of the slave trade, it was from the Salima trading center that thousands of people were sold into slavery and shipped to places such as India and Arabia. Most were never heard from again. At the height of the trade in human life, it has been estimated that over 10,000 people were sold each year into slavery from the jumping-off points at the notorious lake communities of Karonga, Nkhotakota, and Salima. Today’s Salima District comes in on the population chart at an estimated 218,000 people, with the community itself listing slightly over 30,000 residents.
Although the slave trade in central Africa has disappeared into the dark pages of history, there are many people still enslaved, not by evil people, but by illnesses or mobility issues that “enslave them” through the inability to set a successful course for their lives. Charity Muva is one of those people. In spite of her difficulty with movement, Charity lives up to her name working in the Salima District Hospital. For Charity, it has been a life-long struggle. She has deformed legs throughout life, and a lazy eye, yet in spite of her own struggle she focuses attention on helping others.
Thanks to Action for Progress, the Malawi Project, and Mobility Ministries, life is a bit easier for Charity. She is no longer enslaved from moving about, but now can more fully live up to her name while serving others … Charity.