A Day at a Community-based Orphanage

A Day at a Community-based Orphanage
July 11, 2009

The day started with a torrential downpour, harder than any even during the rainy season. This is supposed to be the cool, dry season, but so far we have had much rain. People say it’s unusual, and it certainly doesn’t match anything in my ten years of trips here. We were scheduled to go to Chifundo Chatu, a community based organization established to assist primarily vulnerable children, elderly people, and victims of HIV/AIDS. Children are classified as orphans when the mother dies because it is the belief that a man cannot care for the family and still maintain his work life. Such children frequently are taken in by family members or neighbors. However, relatives normally treat these children as hired help, rarely sending them to school or providing them with even bare necessities like blankets or shoes. Some may be mistreated physically. This organization endeavors to assist families who take in orphans and to educate them in the appropriate treatment of vulnerable children.

The rain continued to pour and we received a report that the road was more or less impassable. We postponed the trip until afternoon, hoping the rain would stop and the road would dry quickly. So off we went to Zomba Town to the internet café and other points. I spent forty minutes just getting logged into my VT webmail. And another hour and a half, trying to download and read the emails that were critical. I responded to three emails. It’s very frustrating to spend time that way. A group of British students came in while we were there; the one sitting beside me was a frustrated as I was.

Before our trek up the hill to Annie’s Lodge, Ann stopped to negotiate with a vendor to get a sign made for her home that says Annie’s Lodge. We arrived exactly when our bus arrived to take us to the orphanage. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. It was a glorious afternoon as we wended our way from Zomba toward the mountains behind Zomba Plateau. In Zomba we turned onto a paved road that quickly gave way to a fairly wide dirt road, but with each kilometer and each fork we took, the roads became narrower and narrower until we were on more or less a wide path that ended in the village that served as the home base for the orphanage.

Mr. Dinnex J Mdala met us at the community center that will eventually serve as a day care center when it get completed although I did not see any progress from last year. Several community members of the board were there and several women sat on benches. In another row, about a hundred orphans sat looking on. In all there are almost 400 orphans and approximately 400 other people classified as vulnerable, elderly or HIV/AIDS. Usually, the villagers greet visitors with songs and dancing and skits about their program, but today a funeral was in progress across the way and out of respect, such greetings were cancelled. Mr. Mdala, who is with the Ministry of Education and leader of the program, took us to his house for soft drinks and bread. He talked to us about the needs of the organization. We returned to the community center area for official words of greeting, where the three universities presented him with their donations, which was counted in public and publicly announced to keep everything honest and transparent.

They asked for pictures, and Kelsey, our premier photographer, did the honors. We mingled, playing with the children, until it was time to say good-bye. Again, Ann sang them a farewell song. Malawians are quick to sing and dance, but they appreciated the reciprocity and applauded loudly.