Zomba Central Hospital, Zomba, Malawi … We tiptoed into the hospital room of the men’s surgical ward at the Zomba Central Hospital in southern Malawi. It had been less than a week since Kasonga, a minister and teacher at the Leadership Training School in Mponela had been in an extremely serious accident. He was riding in a pick up truck filled with 15 people. The pick up overturned and two of the occupants were killed. Kasonga, 80-year-old was thrown from the back of the pick up and sustained a possible ankle or leg fracture and a 12-inch gash all the way across his skull.
Laying There Sound Asleep
The bandages had been removed from his head and when we entered he was facing the window side of the bed and sleeping soundly. We had taken meals to him the two previous days and did not want to leave until we were sure he had enough food to last the day. Malawi hospitals do not feed most of the patients and a caretaker must be there to care for the patient and prepare meals. Since Kasonga was so far from his home in the central region of Malawi we wanted to make sure he was had an adequate supply of food and other items he might need.
I Am Doing Just Fine
We awakened him gently and he turned with his trademark smile and greeted us. "How are you doing,"
we asked? "I am doing just fine", said the man lying in the hospital bed with a big gash in his head and unable to walk. Most people would not be so positive under the circumstances but we had never seen Kasonga without a smile, and even in these serious circumstances he was quick to greet us and assure us of his well-being.
"What do you need," we asked? A number of items started running through my mind even before he could ask. Soap. Sobo, the favorite drink of most Malawians, bread, peanut butter, a blanket, what? The list went on. His answer came unexpectedly.
"Raisins", he responded. "Raisins for the churches to prepare communion," he said.
Even in such a life-threatening situation Kasonga was concerned about the churches having enough raisins while he is away in order to be able to boil them and prepare communion on Sundays.
Thanks to a recent donation of raisins from Daniel Shipley in Knoxville, Tennessee we were able to supply Kasonga with six large packages of raisins for the churches. Daniel has been sending raisins to Malawi for a number of years after he learned of the disastrous famine in 2001 and 2002, and started a campaign to get help into the country.
Yet Another Request Later in the Day
Later in the day we traveled about 40 miles to Blantyre and a meeting with a building contractor Peter
Mahone. Mahone is from the Angoni tribe and is a warrior type, quick at wit, and quite outspoken.
"Did you bring raisins," he asked? We were not surprised by his request. It comes from so many parts of the country and in so many of the villages. Raisins are cooked and used for communion on Sundays, and raisins are very expensive and often in short supply. The part Daniel is playing to help the churches through his campaign to send raisins to Malawi is being seen in so many places.