Along the Way...

It seems that for most experiences, the things that form our most lasting memories are the encounters we have with the people we meet along the way. That has certainly been the case for us in this project. What a privilege to meet and work alongside such an amazing group of individuals. From the residents in the camps who are trying to support their families and to rebuild their lives, to the project team members who have made a lifelong commitment trying to help alleviate the suffering of others.

We are in the midst of preparing for the last of our 3 monthly food distributions right now, and if all goes according to plan, we will complete the project and be back in Canada before the end of June. We thought that this would be a great time to tell you a little bit about the people we’ve been working with for the past 3+ months – they all have quite remarkable stories.

We had a chance to sit down with 3 different families who were living in the camps, and who received food assistance as part of this project. Felesta, Fanny, and Luke – they all have inspiring stories – full of challenge, courage, and hope – and we learned so much from them. Their stories are posted separately below.

We mentioned in a previous update that World Renew has been working with Eagles Relief and Development Programme on this project. Eagles is a non-profit relief and development organization committed to building the capacity of Malawian communities. We have some great partners on the Eagles project t

eam. This is a group of incredibly committed individuals – who give all they have every day to try to help others – often at great personal sacrifice. Here is the team we’ve had the privilege of working with:

Christian Zipangani – Eagles Project Coordinator

Christian is 47 years old, has been married to his wife Immaculate for 25 years, and together they have 5 daughters. They have really emphasized the value of education to their children – and it truly shows. Their oldest daughter is a lawyer, the 2nd two are completing their university degrees, while the youngest two are still in primary and secondary school. Christian himself has a diploma in Education, and started his career as a teacher. He and his wife even operate their own private school. After 10 years of teaching in both primary and secondary schools, Christian moved to the humanitarian field. He has worked for several international and local NGOs, and has experience in areas of HIV/Aids awareness and prevention, livelihood and resilience, and others.

He started working with Eagles about 3 years ago. Although his experience in disaster response projects is not as extensive – you would never know it. Christian led our project with the skills and knowledge of a long term disaster response expert – interacting expertly with various government stakeholders, other NGOs, humanitarian cluster leads, and village and Traditional Authority leaders.

The very nature of disaster response work means that you can be called away on short notice, into very difficult circumstances, for extended periods – and this can be incredibly demanding. Christian’s family lives in Mangochi - about a 4 hour drive from where we are in Chikwawa – and he has now been away from home for several months. While he is able to commute home some weekends, he makes this sacrifice without any complaint. Christian’s family is incredibly entrepreneurial. His wife Immaculate, who is a medical assistant by training, has been running the family businesses while Christian has been away, which include a restaurant, fruit and vegetable sales, and the operation of their school. It’s hard to understand how they manage it all. Christian’s unlimited energy, compassion for people, and commitment to serving are truly inspirational for us – and his great sense of humor and huge smile made every activity fun!

Eric Banda – Eagles Logistics Officer

While the rest of the project team is in Chikwawa, Eric supports us from Blantyre. World Food Programme (who provided warehousing and transportation for the project) and Rab Processors (the supplier of the food) are both located in Blantyre, and Eric fills the crucial role of daily interaction with them – ensuring the project stays on schedule. Eric is 44 years old, is married to Charity, and they have a 12 year old son named Blessings. Eric has a degree in Business Administration, and started working with Eagles twelve years ago in Lilongwe. He gained experience in a number of different areas, and then moved to Blantyre with Eagles in 2018. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 impacts that shut down so much of the world also seriously limited Eagles project work, and Eric was laid off. He and his wife also operate a small scale poultry business, so that was able to keep them going during the lay-off. Now that activities are once again starting up, Eric has rejoined Eagles to support this project, and has been a key member of our team!

Monica Gondwe – Eagles Project Officer

Monica brings youth and energy to the project team. She is 25 years old, and her education is in Agriculture and Natural Resources. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Irrigation Engineering, and is continuing her education, even while working full-time. She has completed additional coursework, and is currently working on her thesis in the area of Water Resources Management. Monica is from Lilongwe, and has two sisters and a brother. She first joined Eagles in 2019, and has also served an internship at another international NGO. Her real passion is in disaster risk management.

She hopes to build on her current experience and her educational background and to work on the development of early warning systems for oncoming disasters – to help minimize the tragic affects associated with the increasing frequency of climate related disasters. Monica has been a great support for us, providing translation services when we have been addressing community members, and helping out at distributions and other project activities.

Yusuf Ntila – Eagles Driver

Yusuf serves as driver for the Eagles project team. He has temporarily relocated to Chikwawa to participate in this project, while his wife Esther and his two children remain behind in Lilongwe - 365 kilometers to the north. He smiles as he talks about his children – his son Mphato who is 14 and wants to be a soldier, and his daughter Mardalitso who hopes to be nurse. Yusuf has an interesting background – he lived in South Africa for 6 years where he worked in operations management - as a representative at Airtel, a Malawian telecommunications company - as an accounts assistant - and even as a filling station attendant. He has worked for Eagles since 2019, and has been a driver in their Lilongwe office until his assignment to this project. He is continuing his education as a part time student, and is pursuing a diploma in accounting – the area in which he would like to work at some point. He is always looking at opportunities to continue his learning, and spends a lot of time reading self-help books – but also likes to watch the occasional action movie! Yusuf is a huge Arsenal fan, and tries to watch as many matches as he can. He is quite passionate about serving others, and has aspirations to even start his own aid organization one day – specifically targeting the most disadvantaged in their communities. Yusuf has been a great support through the project – especially during food distributions - and has been assisting in many areas well beyond the scope of driver.

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There have also been many others that have played a major role in the project. The World Renew Team - Matilda Okech, Disaster Response Manager - East and Southern Africa , David Kangangi, Project Coordinator, and Faye Yu, Malawi Senior Program Consultant – have been great role models and mentors for us. The enumerators who assisted with surveys, handled the information desk, and helped out at distributions, and the volunteer community committees and village leaders at each camp that did such great work preparing for and helping out in each of the food distributions. The Eagles head office team in Blantyre also played a key role in project support.

With Christian and the Eagles Senior Leadership Team

Project Team and Community Volunteers - supporting a food distribution at Tiyanjane Camp

It’s been our joy and pleasure to be able to work alongside this amazing group of people for the past 3 ½ months. We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know a little bit about them as well.

While this project is coming to an end, the challenges facing Malawi, and so many other developing nations – continue to grow. Please remember them in your prayers and support.

Pam & Henry