by admin | May 10, 2021 | BLOG
Have you seen our new app? If you haven’t you can download it today! It’s free and will be your best source for keeping up with the latest news and video’s. Plus, you can donate, sponsor, and in the next phase even keep up with daily activities on trips all through the app.
One quick thing, the App is named Y-Africa. That’s our official name because we are praying that one day God will take what He is doing through Y-Malawi to all of Africa! Won’t that be something!!
To get the free app just click on one of the below.
by admin | Apr 12, 2021 | BLOG
“I thought it was the end of my life.” That’s what Elizabeth said about her situation when she was raped before entering high school.
Elizabeth lives in a home with a family of 11. She had been able to attend elementary school regularly, but the pregnancy put an end to her school career. God was gracious and Elizabeth had plenty of help to care for the baby. Still just a young girl herself, she was learning how to be a mother. Yet, in her heart she longed to go back to school. As each day passed, her dream of education seemed farther and farther away.
Then God did the amazing. Her brother heard about Y-Malawi helping women and girls in a nearby village. He contacted Y-Malawi and asked for help on behalf of his sister. The need was made known, and God provided a sponsor. Within just a few weeks, Elizabeth had a new school uniform, books, pencils, examination and other school fees paid. She was going back to school.
Imagine her excitement returning that first day. Elizabeth told her new sponsor, “I am so grateful for this opportunity. I do not take this for granted. I will work hard. I will achieve my dream. I am praying for you too, that God should bless you for what you have done to me.”
The road ahead for Elizabeth is not an easy one, literally. She is walking up and down hills more than 5 miles each way to get to school. That means she is walking more than 3 hours each day just to get to school! At home she has chores to do and of course homework. Her days begin before the sun comes up and end long after it has gone down. Yet, she is determined. She says, “I have learned many lessons in my life, now I am learning the lesson of working hard to achieve.” Her goal is to finish school, then help other girls who might need the same encouragement she did.
Helping a girl like Elizabeth takes only about $1 per day. To learn more about how you can help other like her visit https://y-malawi.org/sponsorships/
by admin | Apr 11, 2021 | BLOG
Are you as excited about what God is doing in Malawi as we are? Perhaps God is prompting you to lean in a little closer. But then what could you do? A lot actually, and the even better news is that everyone can do something! God gives us all different ways to participate in His story. We are “Fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), specifically to fulfill His purpose for our lives.
Now back to that question, “But what can I do?” Here are 5 things, five suggestions to get you started.
Start with the small steps and work your way forward as God leads you.
- Start out slow. Go to YouTube and watch the movie called Come and See. This hour-long movie will give you more insight into how Y-Malawi works and what God is doing there. It could not be easier, just follow this link to go directly to the movie on our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laZl4dNY1so&t
- Then take another step. Buy the book Heart 2 Heart. This book will give you even greater insight into the work and ministry of Y-Malawi. You won’t just read, you will watch video’s along with each chapter to help you experience what you are reading about. This link will take you to Amazon to buy the book https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578705281?ref=myi_title_dp
- If you have come this far, you are starting to open your heart. Now how about taking that next step and sponsoring a woman or girl in need. For just $35 per month (about $1 per day) you can help a vulnerable woman or girl with food security, schooling, vocational skills training, coaching and encouragement. Plus, half of your monthly gift goes to help us come along side a local church. Your sponsorship helps her entire community. Click this link to learn more. https://y-malawi.org/sponsorships/
- Her is the fourth step, and it’s a bold one. How about coming with us to Malawi? You can walk in the village with us as we minister to children, Chiefs, women, girls, youth, and churches. It will be two weeks that will change your life forever. It’s a big step, but one you will never regret. Click on this link to learn more about trips. https://y-malawi.org/trips/
- Last step, you are almost there. Someone once said something like, you can know when a person really believes in something by examining closely their checkbook. Some of us have been blessed beyond what we deserve and are called to help support this work financially. Perhaps that’s you? If so, sharing some of what God has given you is as simple as clicking on this link. https://y-malawi.org/donate/
And there you have it. 5 things you can do to engage in a deeper way and experience how God is changing lives in a place far away. God is doing something incredible in Malawi, and you can be a part of it. Who knows, you might find that in the process He does something incredible in your life too!
by admin | Apr 9, 2021 | BLOG
It started and has been this way since the creation of man. Even the Bible, in Galatians 6 says, “A man reaps what he sows.” It is a law of nature and of man. But what if you cannot sow? What if you only get rain during a few months of the year? Imagine it, how could you plant crops and reap any harvest without rain? For much of the world, the ability to grow food and therefore to eat is totally dependent upon the rain that is given from heaven.
Until now. During 2020 with the help of some generous donors, Y-Malawi has started implementing solar powered water pumps that can irrigate crops without rain. These pumps bring water from ponds, streams and lakes to the fields. They are making an incredible difference.
Until now, it has been impossible to grow more than one crop per year. These pumps are allowing people to grow 3 or in some cases more. For centuries people have died during “The Hunger Season.” Now they have options. Now they have hope. Now they can change their own future. In the photos below people have just harvested a crop of maize. Now they are planting sweet potatoes cassava and various other vegetables. Some have planted 4 crops just this year!
People are no longer hungry, they are encouraged, and they are praising God for what He is doing in their lives. Along with planting crops, they are planting new Bible studies. They are sharing with others how the love of Jesus has changed their lives through people in another country, on the other side of the world, that they have never met.
That’s what love does. It changes everything.
by admin | Mar 12, 2021 | BLOG
There is an African saying, “Those who visit the lake have the opportunity to see the Hippo.” The western world might say, “You don’t know, what you don’t know.”
At 16 years old Chisomo had never left the village. Her parents died when she was young. This left the children alone to fend for themselves. The older children had to take care of the younger, but with a little help here and there from others, they were able to remain together as a family. Chisomo grew up knowing long days of work that started before sunrise and ended deep into the night. She learned how to plant Maize and how to pound that Maize into flour. She learned how to repair a thatched roof to keep out the water during rains. She learned the meaning of poverty and hunger.
Somehow, through all of this, she was able to graduate from primary school. Then, not long after she entered high school she was sponsored in Y-Malawi’s program to empower women and girls. Through this sponsorship, Y-Malawi provided the required school fees and school supplies so that Chisomo could stay in school and continue her education. She worked hard and did well in school, but Chisomo knew she was missing something.
When her sponsor made a visit to Malawi, Chisomo shared her dream of going to a better school, and even going to university one day. With a 130 students per teacher, village schools can be a difficult learning environment. Chisomo smiled from ear to ear when her sponsor agreed to consider sending her to a better school.
Then it happened. Her sponsor offered to help Chisomo go to boarding school. Arrangements were made at home, and Chisomo went to start her new life at school. Having never left the village before, just traveling to school in a large city was like a dream. She had no idea what life was like outside the village. She had seen a video once, but now she was living it!
Upon arriving at her new school she said, “I have now seen the real life. I have tears of joy. The unexpected has happened to me. I have no words to express what I am feeling now.” Chisomo’s life has changed. Once destined to early marriage, bearing many children, and long days of work in the fields, her life is now on a different course. All because her sponsor opened her heart to help this girl who just needed someone to care.
There are other girls like Chisomo. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take much to make this kind of difference. A difference that changes the course of someone’s life. A difference that will last for generations. Want to know more? Send us a quick note, email us at sponsorships@y-malawi.org, or call us at 909.541.7660. Make a difference in a girl’s life today!
by admin | Feb 16, 2021 | BLOG
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 people are literally starving for something, anything, to eat. The harvest they enjoyed during the Spring has been consumed. The Summer months are hot and there is no rain, so planting during those months is not possible. Traditionally people plant again in December when the rains are beginning to come, but it is April before those crops are normally ready to harvest. Thus, the season of hunger.
This February is different. Last Fall with the help of some generous donors, Y-Malawi purchased and began experimenting with solar water pumps. These pumps allowed two Chiefs to plant during early November. The temperature was blazing hot, but the fields were hoed, and seed put into the soil. Then the solar water pumps took over. They brought water from nearby ponds to the fields where the maize had been planted. They also brought water to a grove of banana trees that typically don’t provide fruit until later in the year. There were some challenges, and some lessons learned, but the plants grew.
This past week the harvesting began, not in April but in February! In the heart of the hunger season! These two Chiefs have proved that a harvest can be achieved during the hunger season. They have demonstrated hunger does not need to be a season.
With the lessons learned Y-Malawi is working to purchase more solar powered pumps so that more Chiefs can plant and provide for their people during the hunger season. Yet, this isn’t just about hunger. This is about sharing the love of Jesus. More communities are asking Y-Malawi to come help them everyday. They see what is happening, they know Y-Malawi is there to share the gospel message. They are ready to become self-sustaining. They are hungry not only for food, but for the hope that comes from knowing Jesus.
