Container Project 2011

he third of our containers has now arrived in Malawi. It is due to be opened up on June 15^th and our friends are ready and waiting to unload their cartons at the various collection points. It took just ten weeks to travel from Tonbridge via Birmingham, Felixtowe and Durban in South Africa, to Beira in Mozambique and ‘up the road’ to Blantyre.

The whole process of gathering articles and packing them into cartons had been ongoing for four months. It culminated on Thursday March 24^th, when over thirty of our parishioners arrived at the warehouse in Tonbridge, to help load. We were blessed–literally–with the presence of Fr Tom, who opened proceedings with prayers and gave a blessing to everyone and the consignment. He then took an active role in the loading process.

There are 166 cartons, weighing over three tons which are being shared between nine beneficiaries. Apart from the three Parishes of Nsanje, Chiringa and Kachebere (Parish and Seminary), plus an orphanage, which always benefit, we have now included four new locations:

Ø Karonga Parish is in the far north of the country. Fr Denis is now the Vicar General of the newly created Karonga Diocese. As part of his duties he is also Parish Priest of this Parish; he has left the relative comfort of the Seminary to serve in a very poor part of Malawi.

They are a new diocese and are starting with very little office equipment. Fr Denis also has had to set up a new home.

Amongst the items sent to Fr Denis are:

Bedding, towels, curtains, furniture and kitchen equipment.
Two sewing machines.
Three computers and a printer with ink cartridges and paper.
We have also included Fr Francis who worked closely with us at Nsanje and has now moved to a neighbouring parish. He will receive eight cartons of goods to help him set up his new home.
Home Based Care, Kachebere Parish

Many parishes in Malawi have such a group. They receive basic training in caring for the housebound elderly and sick, including washing and feeding where possible. They are unpaid for this service

In July last year they were given eight mosquito nets, to be given to a selection of their most vulnerable families. A carton of equipment has now been sent which includes: soap, rubber gloves, aprons, towels and plastic buckets.

Mchinji Secondary School is only a mile or so from Kachebere Seminary. The four parishioners who went to Malawi last July, visited this boarding school with Fr Denis. This visit was prompted by an enquiry from St Gregory’s school who are interested in helping a similar establishment in Malawi.

We met the deputy headmistress and learned of their chronic shortage of even the most basic educational equipment. When asked about uniforms we were presented with a small cardboard box in which was a small amount of old clothes, available to any student in need.

They have a computer teacher, but no working computers on which to learn. How life has now changed for this school!

This is a selection of items sent to them: