Mission Trip 2026

In spring 2026, a mission team will return to Malawi to continue to serve the widows of Mzenga and Mbowe villages. We will transport fabric and critical sewing supplies, provide additional sewing training, distribute finished menstrual kits to girls in local schools, and work with the widows to determine which housing projects are the highest priority for the coming year. Your support is critical to make this mission trip successful. Please consider a donation to this important venture!

Meet a Widow

Coliness Tembo

Coliness was born in Mzimba district in 1957. She started school in 1962 in Grade 1, but dropped out after Grade 6, due to lack of money for school fees. She married her husband, Lyson Nyangulu, at age 18. She says. “I met my husband when he came by our village. He was desperately looking for a wife to marry and spotted me. He asked my parents to marry me and I agreed.” Lyson worked in forestry at the Lusangazi Forest in Nkhata Bay district but died in 2006 after an operation for a tumor.

Coliness and Lyson had 2 daughters and 2 sons, all of whom have died. She was left bearing all the burdens of raising her grandchildren. In 2016, Coliness’ inadequate house crumbled in the rainy season. “I would sleep out in the open with my grandchildren. We had no choice but to face the harsh seasons. I felt my life was meaningless. When Women of Grace Widows saw my situation, they built a house for me.” “Every time our sewing products are sold, I am able to pay school fees for my grandchildren and able to afford some basic needs such as food, soap, and salt.

“Together we are able to help girls manage their menstrual hygiene which encourages them to go to school.”  “To me, the widows’ group is a place of turning people’s lives around. I am grateful for the tremendous help I receive from our supporters in America, and I pray they will continue. God should bless our supporters, keep them from any attack from Satan, and keep their families safe and blessed”

CCM Stoves

In 2024, our partners at Ripple Africa provided hands-on training to the Women of Grace widows in making Changu Changu Moto stoves. This name means “fast, fast fire” and is easily constructed in an hour from bricks the widows can make themselves.

The stoves are superior to the traditional open fire in many ways. Each has 2 burners for cooking, uses about ⅓ less wood per meal, produces a hotter fire with less smoke, and is more compact and therefore safer when children are in the kitchen.

Every 2 months, each stove needs a thin wash applied, made with cassava flour and water, which sticks to the clay stove and fills in any hairline cracks.

This year, Ripple Africa trainers returned to see the stoves and ensure that the widows understood stove repair and maintenance. The widows were pleased to have this additional opportunity for expert advice!

Old Stove

New Stove

Sustainable Sewing Project

Again this year, the widows have been able to make over 700 PantiPacks. This means they have collectively made more than 1400 Panties, 700 purses, and 4200 flannel pads. The widows are now experienced sewers and can mentor younger women in their families as they learn how to sew. The widows receive payment as a group and then decide collectively how and when to distribute the money among the members.

October Sew-Cial in Watertown

In October 2025, 16 women from 7 local churches gathered at Life Church of the Nazarene in Watertown to prepare materials that will travel to Malawi on the mission trip next May. Flannel, plastic, and fabric was cut to size for the sewing project. The widows will be very pleased to receive these pre-cut pieces. Menstrual health education books were compiled for schools where PantiPacks are distributed. What a wonderful opportunity for interfaith fellowship and a tasty lunch!

Assembling and Distributing PantiPacks

The PantiPacks are assembled and given out to local schoolgirls at a special after-school event. Several of the widows attend each session and provide training in proper use and care of the kits. Girls are taught how to use the menstrual tracker sewn onto each purse to understand their monthly cycle. Each school also receives a Menstrual Health Education binder for the girls to study and learn from over time. Mary Phiri, a teacher a St Augustine School, said “with these kits, I’m sure all of my learners who are experiencing menstruation will be able to come to school.”

Girls Science Day

Women of Grace has also provided PantiPacks at Girls Science Day, a STEM event for middle school girls, organized by Dr. Rochelle Holm, an American missionary in Mzuzu, Malawi. We are pleased to have yet another way to support girls' education!

Mzuzu University

In previous years, the Women of Grace have donated a few PantiPacks to the Dean of Student Services at Mzuzu University for ultra low income women entering their first year. This year, we received a specific request from Students Services, clearly showing that PantiPacks are needed for women at ALL levels of education.  

A Day in the Life of a Widow

Making a Meal

A Heavy Load

Laundry Day

Chatting on the Road

Lettina Learning to Trace

Ironing with the Charcoal Iron

Gladys Demonstrates to Febbie

Widows Proud of Their Sewing

Meet Sam and Matthew

Sam Chirwa, Field Director of WOGWF, was raised in northern Malawi. As the oldest of 7 children, Sam has always taken his responsibilities for others very seriously. Sam has managed our program in Malawi since we began in 2008.

Thoughtful and caring, Sam is trusted by the widows. He meets with them regularly, and listens to their ideas and concerns. Sam ensures:

• that the sewing project is running smoothly and the widows are paid for their work.

• that the finished PantiPacks are distributed to local schools.

• that housing materials are purchased and delivered to the widows’ homes and that a builder completes the construction project.

• the widows receive critical assistance as needed, such as transportation for urgent medical care, money to purchase a prescription medication, etc.

Matthew Ngunda is Sam’s assistant and often helps with widows’ projects. His cheerful manner is most welcome and he helps us navigate the Malawian culture on mission trips.  Matthew has learned the ins and outs of buying fabric and flannel for the PantiPacks, and delivers it to the sewing workshop. Matthew’s prior career in media and journalism has enabled him to create an informative 8-minute video about the Women of Grace sewing project. 

Wondering How You Can Help?

PRAY

- especially for the widows and children we serve in Malawi, that they will be truly blessed and helped by the training and assistance they receive. Pray for our mission travelers, the Malawian support staff, and the WOG board members, that all decisions they make will be of the greatest benefit possible to the widows and children supported by the Women of Grace.

DONATE MONEY

This is the most flexible donation because it can be used for budgeted expenses (sustainable sewing, and housing improvements) as well as the widows’ unanticipated critical needs (e.g. extra fertilizer after a drought, rebuild a home damaged in the rainy season). You can designate your gift if you prefer, by adding sewing, critical needs, or housing on the memo line. Undesignated donations will be placed in the general fund and used where it is needed most. Donate online by clicking the DONATE BUTTON on our website, or DONATE BY MAIL: Make checks payable to Widows Fund and mail to Watertown First Presbyterian Church, Attention: WOGWF, 403 Washington Street, Watertown, NY 13601. 

DONATE SEWING ITEMS

We collect thread, scissors, machine needles, and other sewing notions as well as gently used flannel sheets. We will sort through all donations and give those that we can’t use to a local thrift store. Bring your donations to First Presbyterian Church, 403 Washington St, Watertown NY.

ATTEND A “SEW-CIAL”

Each year we organize a “Sew-cial” event where we gather to prepare items that will go to Malawi for the project. There are projects for both sewers and non-sewers, and lunch is provided. 

To learn more about the WOGWF or to request a speaker for your church or interested group, email us at info@womenofgracewidows.org

We would be pleased to share the joys and challenges of Malawi with you!

Women of Grace Board Members

Past and current board members represent a variety of churches in the north country.

• Angela Elmer, First Presbyterian Church

• Renee Waterbury, Blessed Sacrament Parish

• Cindy Oster, Life Church of the Nazarene

• Kathy Curtis, Reformed Church of the 1000 Isles

• Sue Beaman, Asbury United Methodist Church

• Margot McGorman, First Presbyterian Church

We began in 2008, and still remain, an ecumenical board sharing God’s love with widows in northern Malawi. Many thanks to current and former board members who have made this possible.

Board Members Kathy Curtis, Cindy Oster, and Margot McGorman traveled to Malawi and were there from July 22 to Aug 13, 2024.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THEIR TRIP INCLUDED:

• Renewing friendships with the widows from Mzenga and Mbowe villages and their families.

• Sharing in joyful Sunday worship at Mchengautuba Church, giving thanks for the many blessings we all continue to receive.

• Distributing 152 PantiPacks, assembled during the sewing training, to Kaligomba School,

  Mbowe School, and Mzuzu University.

• Participating in the fuel-efficient stove workshop provided by Ripple Africa to improve the health and safety of the widows and their families.

• Sharing a meal with Tyler and Rochelle Holm, permanent American missionaries in Mzuzu

  Malawi. Tyler teaches theology at Livingstonia University to future pastors and Rochelle, a PhD

  biologist, works in clean water and sanitation

Thank you Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed on my life. You have provided me with more than I could ever have imagined. You have surrounded me with people who always look out for me.

Cindy, Kathy and Margot sharing time with Tyler & Rochelle

The Honorable Sam Chirwa, Field Director of WOGWF

Sam has been an integral member of our team since the Women of Grace began in 2008. Raised in Mzimba District in central Malawi and the oldest of 7 children, Sam has always taken his responsibilities for others very seriously.

Sam married Grace Chiumia, our founder, when she was a young widow and now, with her chronic illness, he manages her care at home with the support of her family. Thoughtful and caring, Sam is trusted by the widows and he meets with them regularly as a group. His responsibilities are many:

1. Ensuring that the sewing project is running smoothly and paying the widows for their work.

2. Distributing the finished PantiPacks to local schools.

3. Purchasing and delivering housing materials to the widows’ homes and arranging for a builder to complete the construction project.

4. Providing critical assistance to the widows as needed, such as transportation for urgent medical care, money to purchase a prescription medication, etc.

Sam became “The Honorable Sam Chirwa” on his election to the national Parliament in 2019 for Mzimba District. He has been an effective representative for his community, resulting in the construction of several bridges, a new school, a dormitory for high school girls, and a health center. Thank you, Sam!!!

MEET A WIDOW...

Vaida Nyirenda was born on December 5, 1966 in Mzimba, Malawi. She attended Baula Primary School, completing Standard 8, but could not continue further because her family was unable to afford the school fees. At age 18, she married Leonard Banda, with whom she had 7 children, 1 boy and 6 girls. They moved to the Mbowe community in 1991, when Leonard was hired as a mechanic by the Chikangawa Forest Company. Sadly, Leonard contracted tuberculosis and died in 2006 when Vaida was pregnant with their last child.

Vaida says that “life is hard”. After her husband’s death, she didn’t know how she was going to survive and raise her children. She was one of the first widows in the Women of Grace group at Mbowe. She is grateful for the widows’ fund because she has learned to sew and life is easier. Vaida uses the money from the widows’ fund for food, soap, and school fees for her children and grandchildren.

Vaida is thankful for the donors who support the Women of Grace and wishes them the very best in life. She prays that God will continue to bless the donors, so they will be able to continue helping needy people in Malawi.

Vaida, her daughter and grandchildren between her house and the outdoor kitchen.

WOGWF ASSISTS WITH HOUSING ISSUES

Weathering the Rainy Season Weather

In December 2023, a major storm hit northern Malawi, with rain and extremely high winds. Two of our widows’ houses sustained major damage to the iron sheet roofs and required emergency repairs. Fortunately, these 2 widows (Jane and Atisiya) were able to shelter temporarily with their families at the Mbowe Community Center. We were able to send money to complete the work quickly. Both houses have been re-roofed and the families are safe and dry at home again!

Jane and her kids before the roof blew off

Jane receives her new iron sheets at a widows meeting. A village builder will put them on her home.

CHANGU CHANGU MOTO STOVE TRAINING

In Malawi, the traditional 3 stone cooking fire, is a smoky tripping hazard that requires a lot of wood for fuel.

Women and children in the smoky outdoor kitchen inhale the equivalent of 1-2 packs of cigarettes each day.

Children especially, can trip and fall on the protruding sticks of firewood, resulting in serious burns.

Deforestation is a major challenge since 90% of Malawians cook on this traditional type of fire. Wood is increasingly scarce as larger and larger trees are felled for cooking fuel.

This year, to improve the health and safety of our widows and their families, we partnered with Ripple Africa (a Malawi NGO) to provide a 2-day workshop in construction and use of fuel-efficient cooking stoves. This stove greatly reduces smoke, eliminates large fire logs and long sticks, and requires about 1/3 the amount of wood compared to the 3 stone fire.

3 stone cooking fire

Fuel-efficient stove

WHO IS RIPPLE AFRICA?

Ripple Africa is a registered UK charity, founded in 2003, working in Malawi to improve the environment and local education. It began as a grassroots organization in a small community on Lake Malawi, and has slowly grown to employ over 200 Malawians full time. Ripple’s focus on sustainable, community-led environmental projects includes fish habitat conservation and forest conservation. Encouraging use of the fuel efficient cookstove is part of their forest conservation initiative. We were happy to partner with Ripple to bring these amazing stoves to the widows!

Oswald and Thandi, the Ripple trainers, were excellent! They provided the participants with lots of instruction and hands-on practice at setting up the 30 bricks in the right pattern. A simple mud mortar was used for a smooth finish on the stove. Two stoves were created in the Mbowe Community Center outdoor kitchen the first afternoon. The smoke in the community kitchen was reduced by about 90% by using the new brick stove.

The second day, the Ripple trainers traveled to 6 widows’ homes and helped those widows construct their stoves. With their new knowledge from the training, the remaining widows will be able to make stoves in their own outdoor kitchens. Ripple trainers will visit at intervals over the next few months to ensure that the stoves are being used and maintained correctly.

Each widow received a brick mold.

Rosemary builds her stove in her outdoor kitchen.

Ripple trainers encourage Josephine as she arranges the bricks.

Success for Gladys and Loveness

The pots fit perfectly

One of the widows, Sarah Mphande, who built her stove during the workshop, has reported that she now gathers only a third as much firewood each week for cooking. Definitely a labor-saving device, with health, safety, and environmental benefits!

Win-Win-Win!

SUSTAINABLE SEWING PROJECT

The widows from Mbowe and Mzenga villages continue to make the PantiPack washable menstrual kits and earn an income from their work. This summer during the mission trip, 16 widows from Mbowe and 5 from Mzenga came together for a week long sewing training, renewing friendships and learning new techniques. Four younger women (widows’ family members) also joined the training to improve their cutting and sewing skills. All the women were included in the work. Non-sewers worked to make doormats and pillows from the sewing scraps, leaving nothing wasted. They will sell these items in their community to enhance their collective earnings. We brought 2 more electric machines from the USA, and purchased 2 more treadle machines in Malawi, to ensure that sewing can continue during the worst of the rainy season. The women at Mbowe continue to assemble the PantiPacks throughout the year when enough components are ready. The PantiPacks are then distributed to local schools by our field director, Sam Chirwa.

Sewers at Work

PANTIPACK DISTRIBUTION/HEALTH EDUCATION

In the past 12 months, over 600 PantiPacks have been distributed to needy girls in these local schools:

• Phwechi School (catchment area 12 villages)

• Kauvi School (catchment area 16 villages)

• Kavinkhama School (catchment area 18 villages)

• Kaligomba School (catchment area 12 villages)

Thirty PantiPacks were provided to Mzuzu University for low income students.

At each school, the kits are given to the girls from the neediest families, as identified by the teachers and headmistress. Each school receives a book about menstrual health for the girls to read, share, and discuss. At the distribution event, girls are taught how to use and care for the kit so it will last for 3 years. They learn how to use the circular chart sewn on to each purse to track their monthly cycle.

After a student spokesperson thanked the team for the PantiPacks, Margot told them:

“We are so happy to make it easier for you to stay in school. Maybe one day, because you stayed in school, one of you will be a doctor, one will be a teacher, and one of you will be the President of Malawi!”

And they all smiled “Yes”!!!

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.

- Revelation 22:21

Ripple Trainers and Josephine with her new stove.

Cindy coaches Josephine.

Distribution training

FINALLY! AT LAST!

Kathy Curtis and Margot McGorman returned to Malawi for 3 weeks in May after a Covid hiatus of almost 4 years. They were warmly welcomed by the widows and pleased to find housing projects completed and the sewing training center requiring only a few tweaks.

Many, many heartfelt thanks to ALL OF YOU who have supported the Women of Grace Widows Fund and ensured that the 2023 mission trip was an amazing success and blessing to Kathy and Margot, and to the women and girls of northern Malawi.

This year WOGWF board members Kathy Curtis and Margot McGorman were able to:

• Renew friendships with the 25 women who sew, after almost 4 years apart due to Covid.

• Participate in joyful Sunday worship with our Malawian friends, giving thanks for the myriad of blessings we all continue to receive.

• Watch the installation of an iron sheet roof on a widow’s home.

• Provide sewing training to 6 new women who are members of the widows’ families, making the project intergenerational.

• Upgrade the solar power system to support 4 electric machines at the sewing center.

• Purchase 2 more treadle machines, for a total of 6, so sewing can continue even in the depths of the rainy season.

• Distribute more than 225 menstrual hygiene kits to needy girls and women. Some of these kits were sewn by supporters in the US and Canada. Thank you!

Enjoy a beautiful 7 minute video of the trip highlights:

MEET A WIDOW...

Mary Mkhandawire

Mary was born in Rumphi, Malawi, a town about 40 miles north of Mzuzu in 1956. Her family was poor and her father went to work in Zambia. He died there when Mary was a young girl. With no money to pay the school fees, she ended her schooling at Standard 3. She married in 1972 at age 16, and she and her husband had 6 children. They moved to Mzenga when her husband found work as a stores clerk at the nearby Kawalazi Tea Plantation. Her husband also asked the Mzenga village chief for a plot of land for the family to farm. In 2010, he was suddenly rushed to the hospital where he died of pneumonia. Mary joined the Mzenga widows group and serves as treasurer.

Mary volunteered for the first sewing training in 2016. Mary sews flannel pads for the PantiPack menstrual kits and earns a reliable income. She also sews other items to sell in her community. Mary reports that her sewing income “helps me buy food for my family.” She was able to buy a goat with her sewing income, and eventually had 5 goats, but 3 died from disease. She hopes to raise and sell enough goats to repair the roof on her home.

Mary is grateful to be one of the Women of Grace widows. She says “It’s a very good thing; as a group, we support each other, know each other’s problems, and enourage each other.” “Thank you very much for what you are doing. May God bless you and multiply your blessings.”

Talita Banda

Talita Banda has lived in Mzenga village all her life. She was born on July 5, 1961 and attended Mzenga School through Standard 5. In 1976, at age 15, she married and she and her husband had 8 children together. Her husband was a laborer at Kawalazi Estates, a local macadamia nut farm. In 2001, he experienced stomach problems, became very sick and died. Talita, age 40, was pregnant with her youngest child at the time. This youngest child finished secondary school in 2022.

Talita joined the widows group in 2008. She initially learned how to bake cakes and how to make doormats from scrap fabric. In 2016, she volunteered for the sewing training offered by the Women of Grace. She now sews flannel pads for the PantiPack menstrual kits, earning a regular income. She supplements this by using her sewing skills to make dresses and do sewing repairs for her neighbors.

Talita expressed gratitude that the program has continued for so many years. She said “Learning to use a treadle machine was challenging, but we kept pushing ourselves to learn. The community in Mzenga is benefiting because now we are teaching others to sew.” Talita is pleased that the sewing workshops “provide a comfortable learning situation, with training at our level.” She had special thanks for Sam Chirwa, the Women of Grace field manager, because “he has never given up on us.”

WOGWF ASSISTS WITH HOUSING ISSUES

In a rural Malawi village, houses are typically made of local brick with grass roofs. A good house has a foundation of several layers of bricks to keep the home elevated above ground level in anticipation of the rainy season. An iron sheet roof is a valuable improvement to the home but not the only important feature to consider.

Brick foundation and iron sheet roof

Bare feet on the hot roof!

Widow Esnart’s house

Widow Esnart Phiri was very grateful to receive an iron sheet roof on her house this year. The $1200 cost is out of reach for a widow in Malawi. The builders worked in their bare feet, installing the rafters and roof in the hot sun. Spaces between the top of the brick walls and the roof will be filled with plaster once the iron sheets are secure.

Widow Esnart Phiri and Margot McGorman

During our trip to Malawi, Esnart became ill with malaria and a high fever. We were able to pay for hospital transportation using money from the Critical Needs fund. Once she received medical treatment, she recovered within a few days and was able to return to the sewing training.

The women at Mbowe decide as a group how to share among themselves the housing money we send. In the past few years, they have chosen to make improvements to their drainage, walls, and floors as most of them already have iron sheet roofs. Cement is used for these projects. The cement is mixed with sand and water to make the correct consistency for each application. The women participate by carrying the necessary sand and water in buckets up to their hillside homes from the river.

Drainage

In the torrential downpours of the rainy season, houses are at risk in rural villages. At Mbowe, the hilly terrain means most houses have uphill and downhill sides. Run off from the uphill side can begin to erode the foundation and brick mortar. Over time, this will weaken the wall on that side.

With ground level cement gutters, run off can be directed away from the foundation to protect the house. The culvert under the door walkway keeps water from running into the house. A gutter like this requires 4 bags of cement.

Sometimes an outside wall is plastered part way up to protect the mortar between the lower layers of bricks. Sometimes the entire wall is plastered all the way up. Plaster is a thinner consistency than concrete so a bag of cement goes further.

Walls and Floors

In the red clay soil of Malawi, where there is never a winter frost, insects thrive year round. In a typical rural home, insects, especially ants and termites, can easily burrow up through the dirt floor and clay brick walls and infest the house. A concrete floor and plastered walls can eliminate this unpleasant health hazard. This project requires 8 bags of cement for a typical widow’s house.

THE PANTIPLUS PROJECT CONTINUES TO BE A GREAT SUCCESS!

PantiPlus Sewing Training

This year, the widows learned to make the final component of the PantiPack. The PantiPurse holds all of the menstrual kit items and each purse has a menstrual tracker sewn inside. A safety pin, easily moveable each day, helps girls track their cycle and understand changes in fertility throughout the month.

The menstrual tracker is written in English and Chitumbuka (the local dialect) and also includes pictures.

The widows in the remote village of Mzenga work on treadle sewing machines.

They produce a monthly quota of pads and wet bags that dovetails with the number of purses and panties produced at Mbowe on electric machines. The widows are assembling the PantiPacks and have begun learning how to teach girls to use the kits at the school distributions.

Distributions are planned at local schools when sufficient PantiPacks are assembled.

Going Intergenerational

This year, 6 younger women from Mbowe began to learn to sew. With their sharp eyes and nimble fingers, these women show great promise. As members of the widows’ families, they are keen to help bring income into the family unit. Over the next year, they will be mentored by the experienced sewers at Mbowe, learning first to make the PantiPurse, then progressing to the more complicated Panties.

Chrissy learns to sew

Gladys demonstrates to Febbie

Brenda makes a pad