Blankets for Needy Malawians

During 2020 SaltMalawi was again able to send funds responding to requests for CDJ’s Mercy Work. This included funds for maize, blankets, soap and other materials destined for the most needy around the country. The team in Malawi have been distributing these items through the church network around the country. The demand for blankets was higher than initially thought however. 100 blankets were purchased but, in the event, these met the needs of only 3 of the 4 districts. In the South, which was much harder hit by 2020 weather events than the rest of the country, leaders identified 100 people urgently needing blankets. SaltMalawi has now sent funds for a further 100 blankets (approx £1,000) to be distributed via Southern Churches. Blankets are needed during cold nights at this time of year, especially by the sick, elderly and young children, all of whom have poor clothing, no means of home heating, and no other way to keep warm. Thankyou for your donations, which enabled us to respond to this need within a week of receiving the request from Malawi. Please continue to pray for the people of Malawi, especially those in the South where there continues to be great need.

Malawi overwhelmed by second wave of COVID-19

Report from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

After being relatively spared by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Malawi is now being swept by a new, fast-spreading wave of the disease that is quickly overwhelming the healthcare system. In the first few weeks of January 2021, the number of people confirmed with the disease has doubled every four to five days, and while the local capacity is already saturated, access to vaccines is likely to be a few months away. MSF responded to a call by the health authorities in Blantyre, and launched emergency activities to tackle the exponential increase in the number of severe patients in the area. The pandemic has been developing at a rapid pace since mid-December. At that time, the majority of new cases was found among Malawian workers returning from South Africa, while today almost all the new cases are the result of local transmission.

There is a very high probability that the COVID-19 variant 500Y.V2, identified in South Africa, is responsible for this second wave. According to current scientific knowledge, this variant is 50 per cent more transmissible than the original strain, leading to a quick surge in the number of people needing hospitalisation. This number has doubled every week since the beginning of January.

If the epidemic in the country follows the same pattern as in South Africa (where the peak of the second wave was reached after nine weeks), we can expect the number of severe patients in need of hospital care to increase unabated up until mid-February. The hotspots of the outbreak are the two main cities in the country, Lilongwe in the centre and Blantyre in the south, which account for around two million people.

SaltMalawi editorial comment:

Potentially even more worrying is that we currently have no news at all of the rural situation, only the cities of Blantyre & Lilongwe. Just think how many men have returned to the villages from finding work in SA and carrying the new, more contagious variant.

Your urgent prayers are requested, please.

Baby Chisomo

Baby Chisomo (“Grace”) (mentioned in the Mercy Work article) is now nearly 9 months old. Her mother died in childbirth in May. We are thankful that it has been possible for SaltMalawi to enable her family to care for the baby throughout these most difficult months.

Here are two recent photos of her.

Miraculous Answer to Prayer

In October 2020, John's 21 year old son Dan was riding a motorbike in the dark (picking up Gift from school who was a pillion passenger) when they hit an ox cart with sufficient force to kill one of the cows. Gift was thrown clear (thankfully uninjured) but Dan was taken to hospital unable to move and John thought he was dying. The local village churches gathered around John and Betha in prayer and when the report came back to the UK the SaltMalawi prayer network was alerted. They prayed with an emphasis on spiritual warfare, and in 3 or 4 days Dan was out of hospital and back to normal. John says -

“I have seen the hand of the Lord at work through your prayers. Dan is completely healed, nothing left of his injuries! Able to walk, able to speak! I have seen a miracle! Today, from complete immobility, Dan has now gone to see his friend. Lots of Scriptures were given to us. Thank you so much.

Please share with all our brothers and sisters over there (UK).”

Malawi Election Result and
Presidential Inauguration Address

Dr Lazarus Chakwera, former General Superintendent of Assemblies of God in Malawi, has been elected President of Malawi by a majority of 59%. ⁦ Julian has met Dr Chakwera and says that he felt encouraged that ‘he was a Godly man’ and ‘hoping that he will bring a different approach to the presidency’. So thank you for praying for this situation and please continue to pray for an equally Godly team of ministers as the new government is formed, who might have a heart for the well-being of the poverty stricken majority in the rural villages and the churches there.

On 6th July, Dr Chakwera published the transcript of his inauguration address. You can read it by clicking here. Please pray that he will be blessed by God with the ability to carry through his intentions.

Coronavirus News (May 2020)

News has arrived of Malawi’s first Covid-19 cases, in the Lilongwe and Blantyre areas. Reports have suggested that in Malawi only 20 people a day can be tested for the virus and there are just 25 intensive care unit beds and seven ventilators in the country of more than 18 million people.   The press acknowledge that there are 43 reported cases within Malawi with 4 deaths (it was only first reported by Biliat in early April that 3 cases had arrived). So far, known cases seem very few. Possibly there are many more that are under the radar. We need continued prayer that the virus does not spread unchecked through the villages. Measures such as hand-washing, social distancing, stay at home and quarantine seem all but impossible to achieve in the village communities with whom we work. Hunger following poor harvests has already claimed lives, and weakened people have limited strength and immunity to resist the virus.

SaltMalawi has been active in helping the churches by distributing water buckets and soap to enable the locals to have hand washing facilities for every one of 51 CDJ village churches. After the famine most rural families do not have enough money to prioritise buying soap for themselves. It may not be enough but at least when the church meets together the leaders are providing the opportunity for everyone to wash their hands with soap as well as practising social distancing. It goes without saying that the church leaders are looking to God for protection.

The article above is taken from the May 2020 Newsletter.