by admin | Jan 18, 2024 | BLOG
Proverbs 14:23 says “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Faidon is a Malawian man who has embraced this principle perfectly. Like the majority of Malawians, Faidon and his family rely on subsistence farming, which is farming for you and your household’s food. The staple food in Malawi is Nsima. It is made using corn flour, so all the farmers plant corn annually during the rainy season because that’s the only way they can irrigate their crops effectively.
Unfortunately, the rain is not consistent each year, and sometimes, it’s not enough to grow the corn needed to survive. Fertilizer can be used, though, to add nutrients to the soil so that the crops can survive during such times. The government recognizes this problem and issues out bags of fertilizer to farmers through farm input subsidies. But oftentimes, the fertilizer is made available too late into the rainy season and the farmers are left with a loss in their potential harvest.
Faidon was affected by this problem and took it into his own hands to solve it. Through the Economic Empowerment Program that Y-Malawi runs, Faidon was taught how to make his own fertilizer so that he could use it during the right time and ultimately help his crops grow better. Thanks to this program, Faidon and his family now have a better chance of harvesting more corn annually and can thus feed themselves throughout the year. Instead of complaining about the lack of effectiveness in the systems that were supposed to help him, Faidon took initiative and used the knowledge he gained from Y-Malawi to resolve the issue.
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by admin | Jan 18, 2024 | BLOG
One of Y-Malawi’s greatest testimonies is the Vocational Training Center (VTC) located in Nkhotakota. What started out as a way to train a few Malawians of a useful skill they could use to make money and sustain themselves has now turned into a booming success. The VTC now runs a store as well, selling products made by the students attending the training sessions.
This center teaches the trainees skills such as carpentry, welding, tailoring, as well as artisan skills like making bracelets and necklaces. Once the trainees have completed their course, they’re given capital, which is funded by donations, to start their own businesses. With the amount of products being produced during training, the VTC has opened its own store where they sell the products. The money earned is used to improve the VTC itself as well as pay the employees and trainees that work there.
Moving forward, the 2024 vision is to expand the store by constructing a new building in the front of the property to better display the products being sold. No matter how far we advance in life, the Lord teaches us that there is always room for improvement as discussed in 2 Peter 1: 3-11. So in keeping with that theme, Y-Malawi hopes to continue growing its ministry through the VTC as the year progresses.
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by admin | Jan 18, 2024 | BLOG
Can you imagine coming second place in a race where there are one hundred other participants? That’s what Caroline did! Caroline is a Malawian girl in standard 6 (4th grade). She is among almost one hundred other students, yet she was ranked as second best according to her grades in all of her classes. In her gratitude, she attributed her success to the Y-Malawi youth program known as Reading Corners.
Reading Corners welcomes all children no matter their learning level to teach and help them practice their reading and writing skills. Run by Y-Malawi volunteers, the program gathers every week with over a dozen children in attendance to essentially tutor them so that they can better succeed in their academics.
Caroline’s testimony tells us that these programs are having a real impact on these children’s lives as well as their futures. By providing them with a place to harness their potential, they all have a chance to achieve their goals and dreams. Thanks to your donations, Reading Corners continues to thrive with materials such as pencils and markers for the children. Continue to keep us in your prayers so that more children can succeed as Caroline has, after all, children are the future.
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by admin | Jan 9, 2024 | BLOG
Have you ever considered something as simple and mundane as doing your homework as a blessing? To these girls, it is. Girls in Malawi face many obstacles in their pursuit of education. The weight of household responsibilities falls fully on them which leaves little time for them to focus on their schooling.
Once they are able to complete said responsibilities, many are required to walk great distances to reach their school due to a lack of schools in their area. The journey to school is not only long, but also dangerous as many girls have reported frequently being harassed by men. These obstacles make it so that the girls are discouraged from attending school which increases the drop out rate of young women in high school.
Y-Malawi works to prevent such situations and one way they have done so is by building Home Safe. Home Safe is a house in Nkhotakota, located strategically near a school for the sole purpose of providing secure housing for girls so that they have easier access to their education. This house shelters 13 girls, all of whom attend school. Over the years, through your donations, things like beds, tables, bookshelves, and lightbulbs have been added to the house so that the girls can effectively complete their work.
The photo above is a testament to how far this project has come. The girls are now able to attend school easily while comfortably doing their homework in Home Safe. This testimony teaches us to be more appreciative of the simple and mundane tasks in our lives because even they can be counted as blessings. 1 Thessalonians 5: 18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
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by admin | Jan 4, 2024 | BLOG
Hebrews 13:7 reminds us to imitate the faith of our leaders, but in a world where not all leaders are good spiritual mentors, it’s important that we follow those who remain in the Lord’s Word. Such leaders can be found in Dwangwa, an area that has several villages and many chiefs. Chiefs deliberate on village affairs and generally lead and influence their people. Recently, a group of 18 chiefs from Dwangwa gathered and began holding Bible studies together through Y-Malawi.
During one of their sessions, they read Proverbs 13:22 which says “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” As a response to this lesson, it was decided that they would plant trees so that their grandchildren could reap the fruits. Y-Malawi provided the saplings needed for the project and in total, the chiefs planted 850 trees.
In doing so, not only did the chiefs lead by example by demonstrating their faith, they also invested in all of their villages by planting trees that will benefit everybody in the future. It is our hope that when people see their chiefs being proactive in their faith, they will see Christ through their work and come to Him. How are you leading by example in your community?
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by admin | Dec 13, 2023 | BLOG
In the same way that everybody goes to work every day, so did Jesus! He was a carpenter who did wood work for a living. Y-Malawi’s Economic Empowerment Program works to provide that same opportunity of a sustainable job for Malawians. This program helps many Malawians in their businesses so that they can independently provide for themselves and their families.
Earlier this year, the program provided start-up materials for a woman named Tulayi Maulidi and her small business. She runs a corner shop that sells convenient products for her village. It is through this business that she is able to support herself and her family.
Thanks to the program’s contribution, Tulayi’s corner shop is progressing well. She’s even able to purchase new items to add to her revenue so that she can boost her business. The profit she gains from running the shop, she buys food and other basic needs for her family.
This is a testimony to the effectiveness of the Economic Empowerment Program truly working and touching people’s lives. Your prayers and words of encouragement are vital to this program because they help us to keep working. In the same way, your actions towards economically empowering the people of Malawi are just as vital and helpful. As James 2:15 says “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
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