Assisting little Lucy Maluwa
Thondwe, Malawi … In the Southern district of Phalombe, Malawi, Lucy Maluwa starts each day with a prayer with her new guardian at a small orphanage that accommodates over 15 orphaned Children.
Located 116 kilometers east of the Namikango Mission, the Far and Wide Children’s Home exists to provide a conducive environment to orphaned children, and to build a dependable foundation of their future.
Meeting Lucy for the first time, I was immediately impressed. She is quite charming and intelligent, and this attracted my attention. I wanted to know more about her. Born six years ago, Lucy was brought to this Children’s home in 2008. This was a result of the lack of care and support in her home at Mcheza village.
“Her mother passed away due to pregnancy complications. Lucy and her three brothers were unable to make ends meet on their own,” related Ann Chitsulo, Lucy’s guardian at the orphanage. Being the youngest among the children in her family, Lucy was more vulnerable and that was why Pastor Nyozani of searchlight ministries brought her to the ‘Home’- Far and Wide Children’s home located at Migowi.
Lucy’s father died even before her mother. Getting food, clothes, accommodation and education was an unachievable challenge for this little girl.
Now, a standard 2 pupil at the orphanage’s junior primary school, Lucy is receiving a good education, food and parental care.
Following the fact-finding visit made late in the year, it was revealed that a great deal of additional help is needed. Support to the facility from an Australian organization is about to expire.
In response to the needs of Lucy and her friends, clothes and writing materials have been donated with support from the Malawi Project Inc, a group of Christians who tirelessly dedicate their time and resources to reach out to children like Lucy.
Ecstasy is the best way to describe the reception and the mood in which we were engulfed as each of the orphans received a new T/shirt and a pencil. Opposite the Children’s home is an Australian Secondary School providing orphaned high school students with free education. The school has over twenty orphaned children who stay at the center.
As I watched Lucy that afternoon joyfully moving about I realized the great need for more support. The gap seems to still be wide and extremely difficult to bridge. Lucy’s excitement revealed that even a small amount of support like a pencil, a piece of cloth, a pair of shoes, a blanket, a packet of sugar or a small amount of salt given to a dependent little girl like Lucy can do so much for their lives.
– By Wilson Isaac Tembo