Chief ceremony

Last Saturday I was invited by Diana's family to join a chief ceremony. Every village in Malawi has a person who is responsible for solving social issues - the chief. Choosing a new chief involves a lot of traditional practices. The chief ceremony started Friday night, because of safety issues I decided to join them Saturday during day time. We arrived in the village in the morning and started preparing lunch. The whole village cooks and eats together which was nice to be part of. Soon I figured out Diana's oldest half - brother wasn't there. I asked the grandmother where he was and she told me very proudly he was getting his initiation in traditional practices. I'm not exactly sure what they did with him but initiation involves often making several cuts on the body and circumcision. It all happens in the bush without hygiene. This was a moment I realized again it is not always easy to live in and understand different cultures.

After finishing lunch we gathered together and the moment was there that they caught a new chief. They catch a chief because nobody wants to be the chief. All the men are sitting together and when one person gives a sign they all jump on the new chief, agreed upfront however he does not know. They carry the new chief to his home. The new chief fights and tries to get out of the arms of the people carrying him. I asked why nobody wants to be the chief. As chief you have to solve many social issues in the village so you make friends and enemies. The previous chief died soon after he was selected because somebody poisoned him.
After the chief was chosen the women run, dance and sing around the village. Diana joined them and this was absolutely her favorite part of the day. Diana loves dancing, as soon as she hears a beat she is dancing. Her family laughed and enjoyed her presence a lot.

When the sun goes down the ‘Chilombo’ are coming to the village. Chilombo are persons who cover themselves with leaves and material. They try to catch young girls. There are many stories going around what they do with the girls after they catch them. The grandmother informed me in this village they bring the girls back to the family and the family has to pay money. Unfortunately there are also stories going around that they rape the girls.

Love,
Nicole

Esinta Kalikokha

Esinta Kalikokha was born 28 September 2014. She has four siblings who are all much older as Esinta. The first born is 18 years old, the second born 16 years old, the third born 14 years old, and the fourth born 10 years old. Esinta is the fifth born and is currently 11 months old.
Beginning of August 2015 the mother of Esinta became sick. On the 26^th of August she got admitted at Nkhoma hospital. The mother of Esinta was HIV positive. Her condition got worse fast and on the third of September she died because of advanced HIV and tuberculosis. On the day the mother of Esinta (Gezina Kalikokha) died Esinta was also diagnosed with tuberculosis and admitted at Nkhoma hospital. The family left home for the funeral and Esinta stayed behind with me because there was nobody to care for her. Esinta’s grandmother died several years ago, there is an aunt however she is very old and will not manage to care for her.
Esinta is admitted in the hospital now for several days but still very sick. She has frequent fevers, diarrhea and vomiting. She has no appetite what makes feeding very difficult. Her HIV status is not known yet, we are waiting for the results which are expected to come back within the next two weeks.
The father is looking for someone to care for her, till he finds somebody Esinta will live in the Africare house.

The tuberculosis of Esinta was diagnosed in an early stage however she is very sick. She is weak and is sleeping most part of the day. Please keep Esinta in your prayers. 
Maria and Diana are very happy with their new sister. They help me with feeding, bathing and dressing. As soon as Esinta wakes up they come to tell me she is awake. If she is crying they grab my skirt and run to her bed. They are two proud big sisters!
The cost of sponsoring Esinta is 50 euro per month. Please consider making a donation and give Esinta a chance to live.
(Soon our website www.africarefondation.com will be online where you can find all children who need sponsorships)

Love,

Nicole

Nkhoma mountain

Last weekend we climbed Nkhoma Mountain. Katie, Tiwonge and Fenilli have been living in Nkhoma for several years but never visited the mountain. I arranged two babysitters to sleep at my house to watch the younger girls and booked a night for us in the mountain hut. Friday afternoon we left and climbed the mountain half way to the hut. The girls stopped every five minutes to enjoy the beautiful views. In the evening we cooked our meal and enjoyed some nice card games.

The next morning we continued our journey all the way to the top. The view was amazing and the girls did not wanted to leave.  
The younger girls always ask for a lot of attention and it was nice to spend some time with Katie and Tiwonge.
Katie didn’t pass her interviews for secondary school. She had a difficult time accepting she has to go back to primary school. This week both Katie and Tiwonge will have interviews for Ebenezer, a private primary school in Nkhoma. Please pray for them to do well during their interview so they will be accepted at Ebenezer.

Love,

Nicole

Diana back home!

Diana is living with me since March 2014. I agreed with the family and Social welfare services in Lilongwe she would stay with me till she got better and is strong enough to go back to her home village. As Diana was doing very well I started asking the grandmother several months ago when she wanted to take Diana back to the village. However the grandmother kept telling me she did not wanted Diana to come back to the village. The grandmother is old and has multiple orphans to take care for. The grandmother harvested a small amount of maize and is very poor. She doesn’t have enough to feed the other children so she decided it is better for Diana to live somewhere else.

Family connections are very strong in Malawi and last week something much unexpected happened. Someone in the family decided it was time for Diana to come back to the village. The grandmother walked to my house and told me she was coming to collect Diana to take her home. I was shocked, angry and sad all at the same time however respect the decisions of the family so packed a bag with clothes, soap, a blanket and some food. Diana is not the first child going to back to the village after living for a while with me however this time it was very difficult as I know the grandmother doesn’t want her back in the village. We packed all the stuff in the car and left to her village.
Saying goodbye was very difficult. As soon as Diana saw I was leaving she started crying. She kept calling me and told her grandmother she wanted to go home with her mama. I cried all the way back home.

After a night without much sleep I tried to call Diana’s uncle to ask if she stopped crying. The uncle however stayed in town this week to try to earn some money. I was very worried about Diana but the only thing I could do now was praying for her.
A few hours later my phone rang, Diana’s grandmother borrowed a phone to call me. Diana did not sleep; she did not stop crying since the moment I left. The only thing she said is that she wanted her mama.
After seeing how attached Diana is to me the family decided that they wanted Diana to stay with me. Diana was very sick when she arrived in the hospital in March 2014, without my assistance she would not be alive anymore today and they felt it was not fair to her to bring her back to the village. They asked me to officially adopt Diana.

I love all my girls and they love me. When I couldn’t sleep because I was worried about Diana they sat next to me. They told me if our mama can’t sleep we will not sleep. When I had to cry because I was missing Diana they cried. They told me if our mama is not happy we are not happy.

I thank God every day for the beautiful family he gave me.


Love,
Nicole

Katie's story

My name is Katie Mwamadi, I was born in 2002. My grandmother told me that my father died before I was born, also my mother died when I was three years old.

I stayed with my grandmother for 2 years. Then the sister of my mother came to pick me to go to her house. I started primary school, first she was good to me but after one year she started beating me. Also she did not give me food especially lunch but she always gave her daughter food three times a day, shopping nice clothes but for me nothing.
One day I came from school and I asked about food, she said forget about food. Then I made the decision to go back to my grandmother so I started walking for 6 hours. I found my grandmother coming from the garden, then she asked me why I was there so I explained to her what was happening. My grandfather said; Thank you God to protect this child.
After four years my aunt came to pick me because my grandmother is poor. So I continue going to school. After one term my aunt was transferred from Dedza to Nkhoma for work. She left me at Dedza without food or money. The landlord shouted at me because my aunt did not pay rent, he wanted to take all my clothes. After one week my aunt came to pick me but she was beating me a lot.
I wrote examination for primary school and I passed. After I started secondary school, the first term I was learning only for one week than I stopped because my aunt did not pay school fees. Than I asked my aunt about school fees and she said she has no money for fees for me. But she gave money to her own child for school fees. After a while she went to the village and left me in Nkhoma for two weeks without food or money. She only took her own children. When she came back she told me she was transferred again for her job from Nkhoma to Blantyre now. She left me again and took her children to Blantrye. She left me without anything.
But now my life is good because Nicole pick me to her house, everything is ok also for school.

family life

Often people ask me why I’m in Malawi doing volunteer work. Why do I spend all my time, energy and money on caring and helping the vulnerable children in Malawi? The answer is easy; I feel God want me here, doing this work.
The job is everything except easy.  I have to divide my attention between many children and moments of rest are very limited. But the love, joy and energy I receive back from them is unlimited. I don’t regret changing my life however definitely miss things like chatting with friends, going out for dinner, visiting the movie theater. It is almost 3 years ago I have been in the Netherlands and would love to come for a visit but Malawi is my home now.

Mwayi is finally discharged from the hospital after a stay of almost 7 weeks. I’m very happy we are all back home and able to have a ‘normal’ family live again. Mwayi is doing very well and gaining and growing a lot. After a few days in my house the grandmother decided to take him home. My hart filled with joy after hearing she is going to take care for him because I know there is nobody else who will do better. I will support the grandmother financially so Mwayi will be receiving all basics needs.

 Now Mwayi left there are six girls living with me in the house again. As the school year is ending we are busy making plans for the next year. Katie finished primary school but unfortunately never passed her standard 8 exams. Currently she is not going to school because her aunt did not have money to send her to school. Since she is living in my house she is following English class, three times a week. She really wants to go to secondary school so I decided to let her go for interviews for a boarding school in Lilongwe. The decision wasn’t easy because I have seen her growing and maturing living with her new family, but I want her to become independent and the only way to achieve that is good education. Her interviews will be beginning of August. Good secondary schools are very expensive in Malawi therefore I’m looking for a sponsor for her. If you know anybody who is willing and able to pay for her school fees please let me know!
Tiwonge is going to write standard 6 exams at the local primary school next month. Also she is following English class and we hope she will pass the interviews for Ebenezer school so she can continue her primary school education at a higher level.
Tryness and Diana both celebrated their 3^rd birthday in May so they will start primary school in September. Both are accepted at Ebenezer.
Maria will turn 3 years in November so she has to wait another year before she can go to the primary school. She will enjoy the nursery school for another year.


Love,
Nicole

 



Mwayi; a baby brother

On the 22nd of April 2015 a good friend went into labour. At 7 o'clock in the evening she walked to the hospital to deliver her child. After examination they decided to do caesarian section. At 11 o'clock a beautiful baby boy was born but the mother passed away while giving live to her son, leaving her husband and 4 year old daughter.

The family asked me to assist them taking care for the baby boy called Mwayi (meaning Lucky). As I knew the mother well I did not doubt and took the baby into the Africare house. Mwayi was born with a birth weight of 3300 grams. The delivery process was difficult and very stressful what caused that Mwayi is struggling a lot.
I’m typing this story while we are in the hospital. Mwayi has been here since he was a few days old. He received a lot of antibiotics however keeps being sick. The doctors are not sure what is causing the infections. His current weight is 2900 grams.
 

For the last two weeks we worked out a schedule so I can spend some time with everybody. I sleep with Mwayi in the hospital during the night. At 6 in the morning I go home to wake up the girls and prepare them for school. At 8 I go back to the hospital with Mwayi to see the doctor and to receive medication. From 4 to 7 in the afternoon I take him home so I can prepare dinner and we can all eat together. After putting the girls in bed I go back to the hospital to spend the night and receive more medication.
The schedule is as exhausting as it sound. I’m very tired and can’t remember the last day I had a proper night rest.

Little babies in Africa are so fragile and with the limited resources there is only 1 thing left to do; praying. Many people pray for Mwayi everyday and I would like to ask you to do the same.

Love,

Nicole