2024 FALL NEWSLETTER
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:
Ensuring that the sewing project is running smoothly and paying the widows for their work.
Distributing the finished PantiPacks to local schools.
Purchasing and delivering housing materials to the widows’ homes and arranging for a builder to complete the construction project.
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
