Harvest During Hunger Season?
A harvest in the middle of the hunger season, unheard of. But it is happening! Each year during January, February, and March there is a time known as the hunger season in Malawi. During these months people run out of food. The hunger season is a time of the year when...
Seal of Transparency
Did you know that Y-Malawi has earned the esteemed Platinum Seal of Transparency? This is the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar a financial accountability monitor, and a service of Candid. By sharing metrics that highlight progress Y-Malawi is making...
Water at last!
Our Vocational Training Center in Nkhotakota is continuing to grow. Since opening, the center has graduated almost 150 students in carpentry and tailoring skills. These graduates can now begin their own businesses and use the skills they have learned to become...
COVID-19 update (Just such a time as this!)
Throughout most of 2020 cases of COVID-19 were minimal in Malawi. Early in the pandemic, the government reacted quickly putting response measures in place that were impactful. By the end of 2020, with a population of 18 million people, Malawi had experienced less than...
Come and See
It was crazy how many things had to be done differently during 2020. That got us to thinking, why don't we do something different for our 2020 Annual Report? So we did. The end result is an hour long movie about the amazing things God is doing through Y-Malawi. The...
Seeing is believing!
“Seeing is believing.” The 17th century pastor Thomas Fuller was the first to use that phrase. Most people don’t know that what he really said was, “Seeing is believing, but feeling is truth.” I have just returned from three weeks Malawi. From first-hand experience I...
Farming God’s Way
No one seems to know who really said it first. Lots of people have taken credit. The majority of people seem to think it was Albert Einstein who said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Whoever said it, there...
Not a handout, but a hand up!
She was born into a poor family of 6. Her parents worked the fields for day wages. They did the best they could, but life was very hard. Despite the challenges, Veronica was able to attend school. Then in grade 8 everything changed. She became pregnant. It...
Knitting a Better Future
With the winter months approaching in Malawi, blankets and warmer clothes become greater necessity. Like some of us, Malawian’s don’t much care for colder weather. When the thermometer drops to 60 degrees, that’s cold in Malawi. Folks start to shiver. Recently, a...
Lifegiving Water
The famous ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau said, “We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” It’s a true saying in that life as we know it cannot exist without water. In the United States we can tend to take water for granted. We are accustomed to...
Who told you so?
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they hid themselves from God. When God came to them Adam told God that they hid because they were naked. God’s reply? Who told you that you were naked? In other words, who have you been talking to? We might say in...
Got Soap?
When most of us go to the sink or the shower or the tub, there it is. It’s just there, we don’t even think about it. But what if it wasn’t? What if that little green or brown bar of soap wasn’t at the sink any longer? How effective would your hand washing be...
Abuja
They call it Abuja. Since the early 1960’s it has had a reputation for trouble. A community known for fighting and every evil thing you can think of. A man might enter another mans house and abuse his wife without any recourse. There are stories of people being...
Goodbye Abuse
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 changed everything, for everyone. Just like in the United States, schools have been closed in Malawi since March. The closing of schools brought alarming challenges to continued learning, especially since few have access to internet...
A Changed Chief
40 years ago, the area Y-Malawi is working in was declared a “no go zone.” No churches or Christian organizations were allowed to work in this area. That all changed two years ago. Traditional leaders and government officials saw that what Y-Malawi was bringing would...
COVID Bible Quiz Competition
Every year our partner Fishers, Trainers and Senders (FTS) hosts a Bible Quiz and Sport Competition for thousands of children who attend Kids Clubs. That was all before COVID-19. Important government meeting restrictions and good social distancing practices sidelined...
From goats to who knows what?
Need more proof that economic empowerment works? Read Samuel Chadza’s story, his own words. “I and my wife were privileged to benefit from the goat pass-on program. The goat that we received gave birth to an offspring. When the offspring was weaned, we passed it on to...
Economic Empowerment
What does economic empowerment mean? It means having the ability to determine your own future. It means not worrying about where your next meal will come from. It means being able to provide for your family. It means feeling value in yourself. It means you have hope....
Eyes Wide Open
Why do people go on Vision Trips to Malawi? The answer to that question can vary, but usually people go with the intent to help the poor people of Malawi. Often the thinking is that as Americans we can bring knowledge, resources, determination, and encouragement to...
A Place to call Home
Can you imagine your bed being a dirt floor? What if the roof of your home was made of grass and so that spiders and other pests lived just above your head? What if that same grass roof failed to keep water off of you at night while you tried to sleep on that dirt...
Passion Ministry
In the community of Chilenje, Wednesday is a day of passion. Not the kind of physical passion that we often see held in high esteem in movies and books. In Chilenje, Wednesday is a day of genuine passion for others. The kind of passion Jesus demonstrated when he spent...
Sharing the Love, Tulaya’s Story
Tulaya is a grandmother, or in Chichewa an Agogo. She has two grown children and lives with her husband of 20 years. They have a number of grandchildren who live with them as their own children, a common practice in Malawi. In 2018 Tulaya was selected to participate...
The Power of the Bible
Chief’s Bible Study Centers are a critical component of our Chiefs Ministry. Sponsored by a specific Chief, these groups come together on a regular basis to study the Word of God. But that’s not all they do. Attenders learn about new ways to increase crop yields such...
Graduating Community
This past month another 15 students graduated with new skills in tailoring and carpentry that will allow them a bright future of independence and hope. In 2018 when Y-Malawi launched the new Vocational Training Center, we never dreamed it would become such an...
Her past is behind her!
Her name is Mayamiko and her past is behind her. When she was very young her parents divorced. Both parents left their community and their 6 children to be raised by grandparents. Life was not easy for such a large family, but her grandparents did all they could to...
Not a Throw Away Life
Like so many other women in Malawi, Malita has lived a difficult life. She was born into a family that follows Islam and married at an early age. After her third child, her husband found another wife and left Malita alone to fend for herself. With no skills, no...
Violate
Violate is her name, she wears the orange skirt in the photo. The misspelled name given to her at birth a prophecy. She was raised in a difficult family situation. She was married at a young age and has 3 children. Her life has been hard. Then she joined a Bible Study...
Turning Evil to Good
COVID-19 has had impacts far beyond the illness itself. With schools closed in Malawi, young students and youth who would normally be in school are now at home. They have little to do other than chores at home. Most have no ability to communicate with schools,...
Heart 2 Heart
Have you every imagined yourself on a Vision Trip to Malawi? If so, your next thought might have been, "Me? Go to Africa? I don't think that ever going to happen..." So what if you could experience Africa from the comfort of your own home? Now you can. You can take a...
From Hunger to Hope
She had to stop going to school during the 11th grade. Although a good student, her family couldn’t afford the school fees. At 19 years old Maureen’s hope for a better future was setting like the evening sun. Yet, a beautiful sunrise was on the way. Maureen registered...