Somebody Cares through the WOW program is currently providing educational support to over seventy children in both primary and secondary schools. This story covers only three of them as follows:

Memory 17, lost her father ten years ago. Her illiterate and unemployed mother struggled to provide care and education for her and younger sibling. This meant working in neighbours’ gardens for food and little cash amid frequent bouts of various sicknesses. She finally succumbed to HIV/AIDS in 2004, leaving her two daughters. Memory at that time became head of their household taking care of their late parents’ home. They received virtually no support from their other relatives. Their situation became very serious in 2006, at which time Somebody Cares adopted them and started providing assistance. Memory’s education cost has since been met by the organization. She is very hard working in school, always coming in the first top ten of her class. Memory will be finishing her secondary school education next year. If this momentum of hard work continues, she will be expected to go to university in two years time.

 Maria was born 14 years ago in Dedza District, some 80 kilometers east of Lilongwe. With the death of her father in 1999, Maria’s mother moved to Mgona slum near Lilongwe City, where she got married and had two other children. She finally passed away in 2005, leaving Maria and her very young siblings with their seventy-year-old poverty-stricken grandmother. Since primary education is free, Maria finished her primary education quickly and was selected to secondary school but could not go further than that due to lack of money. She stayed at home helping her granny care for her siblings for about a year. One day her case came to the attention of Somebody Cares through the zone coordinator of Mgona zone. She and her siblings were adopted and are now receiving support. Maria is now in her second year in secondary school. She is not only hard working but also very intelligent, most times coming on top of her class. Maria’s main goal is to have university education so she can help her half brother and sister. Maria’s prayer is that God should prolong her seventy-year-old grandmother’s life so that she would be able to comfort her one day.

 Dorothy now 13 years old, terminated her primary education at the age of ten to give care to her sick mother at home. Dorothy’s HIV/AIDS positive mother at the time became very sick. Her situation got worse when her husband abandoned her and 3 children. She suffered from a very devastating stroke which left her completely paralyzed. Dorothy being the eldest child had no other alternative but to drop out of school to take up the mantle of caring for her mother. The family went through gruesome experience; access to food and clothing was virtually impossibile, the family had to rely on food handouts from neighbours, something uncertain and irregular in coming. When WOW adopted this family they were not only provided with spiritual and material support but also relieved Dorothy to go back to school. In her absence Somebody Cares volunteers in the zone take turn to do all the cleaning and other household chores for the family. Dorothy is now happily attending a private school paid for by WOW. 

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Patricia became a widow as a teenager when her husband, Samson, died when she was nineteen years of age.

Now at 23, instead of her life beginning she is a widow with three children. Patricia relates how she was forced into early marriage by her parents at a tender age of fifteen. Patricia’s dream of getting a good education came to an abrupt end when her parents decided to give her up to marriage, citing poverty as their main reason for their decision. Coming from a Muslim background, her plea to her parents against this unfortunate decision fell on deaf ears. Patricia had no choice but to accept Samson who was also a Muslim.

The family lived on Samson’s meager income from his work as a security guard. Though things were not too rosy they had something to live on until Samson left his job when he became seriously ill with TB. He was later diagnosed HIV positive. His sickness deteriorated and he died within a year. With their three children (all boys) to care for alone, Patricia was faced with an uphill task when both her parents and her late husband’s relatives disowned her and her children for converting to Christianity. They lived on handouts which were irregular and inadequate from a few Christian neighbours. The family slept on bare (un-cemented) floor; the only local mat they had got worn out completely. But these difficulties did not deter young Patricia to abandon her new faith; rather she continued her church work with more vigor.

She came into contact with one of our volunteers who brought her case to Somebody Cares field staff. The organization immediately registered her and provided initial assistance including mats, blankets and food. Patricia is HIV positive but her sons including, the youngest that is two years old, are all negative. She has been put on the WOW program and is eager to learn many skills that will enable her to support her children. ‘I am so grateful to Somebody Cares and the WOW program for this life changing assistance they are rendering to me and my children. I want to learn these skills with all seriousness and it is my prayer that I should live to give my children a good education before I die, something I couldn’t achieve on my own.’

Lucy Sandalamu lost her husband 17 years ago in Njewa. Left with the prospect looking after three children (two sons and a daughter), Lucy went through a nightmare for the past 15 years. She had to do odd jobs including cleaning people’s homes, laundering and baby-sitting only to support her children. Her husband’s close relatives kept a far distance from her and the children. "They did not care for our welfare and completely ignored us, saying they too have their own families to take care of".  Lucy’s demise came to a climax when her senior son who started helping the family with income from menial jobs was tragically killed by armed robbers while returning home from work. This situation completely devastated the family, leaving them without the income the late son used to bring in. Though at this time her health started deteriorating, she had no choice but to go back to doing menial jobs in the community. She ended up molding bricks, a task very cumbersome and mainly done by able-bodied men. In 2006 Lucy lost her remaining son and daughter to HIV/AIDS and took into her care nine grandchildren. Aging and frail, she had no ability to work any longer, neither had she the strength to cultivate her garden. Hunger and lack were their daily nightmare; most of the grandchildren became chronically malnourished.

It was at this moment that somebody suggested that she should contact a volunteer of Somebody Cares who was living not far from her home.  Her case was eventually brought to the zone leader and after assessment she was adopted by the organization and immediately put her on the WOW program. This was the turning point in her life and the lives of her grandchildren. She was not only receiving monthly food packs but was also learning new skills that would enable her to generate income. "I have learned a lot of skills since I joined the IGA team, and am now able make necklaces, dollies, cell phone carrier bags, badges and bake delicious cakes and doughnuts. I sell all these and use the proceeds to support my family. I now believe that God never fails to solve any." Lucy repeatedly thanked the WOW Program and Somebody Cares for the immeasurable assistance she was receiving from the program adding that everything including the training has brought life into her family, a situation she described as a mystery. She said their community was being blessed with a lot of things, among these a borehole which was now providing them with safe drinking water for the entire community and the Bible study classes being run by the organization for widows which Lucy is a staunch member. "May the good God bless Somebody Cares and WOW donors for their love for and support to the widows whose lives are being rapidly transformed," she concluded.

Meanwhile, Fanny Kenamu continues to enjoy healthy life. She has recently enrolled in adult literacy class run by the Mgona community. She said she wanted to read and write so she could organize and carry out her business efficiently.

The Minister of Women and Child Development – honourable Anna Kachiko (MP) visited the widows in Njewa.  She was skeptical at first, as she exclaimed that she was filled with trepidation as we drove to Njewa, as whenever she visited widow groups, they were always so depressed and looking for help and she was concerned that she would not be able to offer them any help.

When she came to Njewa, the widows welcome her with song and dance, they were not aware that the minister would visit them, as we were taking the Board of Visionledd to visit them. 

The Minister was totally overwhelmed with what she found.  She could not believe her eyes and ears when she saw and heard their joyous celebration and songs expressing how they have been blessed and are now empowered, as she had never expected anything so beautiful and noteworthy.   She exclaimed she had never seen such joyful widows and was taken aback when she saw their different items, like soap, bead work, crochet, knitting and sewing.  She bought doilies worth MWK 6,000 (CAD45) and congratulated the widows. She encouraged them and told them that there was a big market in town and other areas for their goods.  She told them to take care of themselves and that she was very proud of them and what they were doing.  She thanked Somebody Cares and asked us to thank the donors in Canada who were making the Widows heart sing in Malawi.  She encouraged the widows to teach other women in their area and elsewhere.  She has asked for the program to be replicated in the South and North of Malawi.  She danced and sang with the widows and told them that they were truly blessed and that it was the first time that she had seen such happy widows.  She told them not to forget the Lord who has so blessed them that they can now take care of their families.       

Widows and banking

The WOW widows are so proud to be able to go to the bank each time and bank their monies.  It is anticipated that as they continue to bank they will be able to access personal loans with the bank at a later stage to increase their business capital.  WOW is definitely bringing hope to the widows and enabling them to become economically empowered.

HOME BASED CARE VOLUNTEER ADOPTED BY WOW

Providing caring services for the chronically ill patients for nearly two years, Aida Yusuf, a twenty-nine-year old HBC volunteer in Njewa community was adopted by WOW program following the passing away of her thirty-two old husband, Paul Yusuf a week ago. Until his death, Paul was employed as gardener by the Maula Roman Catholic Mission in Lilongwe. The family had earlier lost the last two of their four children in quick succession.

WOW provided the coffin and met other funeral expenses. The family was also provided with food and some cash, as we are still in the critical hunger season. In addition, Aida was given a blanket to replace the only one she and her husband used to share, which the latter’s body was wrapped in for burial.

Now left alone and economically handicapped to support her two surviving children who are in mid primary school, WOW came to her rescue. She would now receive benefit from the program which includes food and non-food items support, medical, and training support in IGA.

Since she became a volunteer for the home based care program, Aida has been one of the most committed and hard working women on the program. She worked tirelessly visiting the sick, counseling and praying for them. ‘I am still committed to serving the chronically sick patients as I have been doing despite my new position’, she commented. Aida expressed her profound gratitude to WOW for coming to her rescue at such a critical moment.

Meanwhile, training of some Njewa widows in bead and crochet making has just ended and these beneficiaries have been provided with the necessary materials to start off. The same training has been slated for the Chitukula widows in the next two weeks.

WOW WIDOWS VISIT SOMEBODY CARES OFFICES

A delegation of 30 widows representing the entire WOW widows in Njewa and Chitukula communities paid a courtesy visit to Somebody Cares offices on Saturday, January 19. The main purpose of their visit was to express their gratitude to the CEO and WOW donors for the immeasurable assistance the program gave them last year. ‘On behalf of the WOW beneficiaries, we have come this morning to thank the CEO and to ask her convey our thanks to the WOW donors for the support they gave us last year. The WOW program has not only brought us hope and confidence but has also put us on the path to self-reliance”, commented Ellen Khwangwi, the zone coordinator for Njewa. The women assured the donors that they were determined to work even harder this year so as to achieve more.

Amid singing and mesmeric dancing, the widows brought life to the office which is normally quiet on weekends.

The CEO later briefed them on the program activities for 2008. They were shown various items that were to be delivered to the two communities for their program. These items included bicycles, home used energy saving rocket stoves and electric sewing machines. Those WOW widows who are involved in baking and selling cakes will receive the bicycles to enable them to take there wares to the neighbouring markets and schools. There is an acute shortage of fuel wood in these communities. As such, most people go several kilometers in search of firewood. This commodity is very expensive in the communities. The use of energy saving rocket stoves will go a long way in reducing the difficulties faced by the widows. The stove is over 75 percent more efficient in cooking than the traditional open fire cooking system. The most vulnerable will receive these stoves. Widows who have made remarkable progress in sewing will be given the electric sewing machines. The training venue in Chitukula has a supply of electricity and these widows will be trained there to use the machines for sewing, stitching and embroidering.

Meanwhile, Paul Kenamu, a son of Fanny Kenamu has been admitted to Salima Secondary School (a government school) this academic year, starting mid January. WOW program paid the tuition and boarding fees and Paul is now enjoying his first year of secondary school life. ‘Being fatherless and with a sick and poor mother, I never thought I would ever go to secondary school. Thanks to WOW program for enabling me achieve my long-term of getting at least secondary school education,' commented Paul as he bade farewell.