Home of Hope; Malawi Africa

We have had a busy year at the orphanage. We still have about 330 children. The number seems to change daily with the arrival of small babies. The big news this year was that the Secondary School opened on Jan. 9th . We have hired teachers and they appeared to me to be qualified, dedicated and excited about their new responsibilities. We have built 4 teacher's houses and have received funding for another 4 houses. It is the responsibility of schools to provide housing for teachers. Most of the teachers hired are couples which certainly helps with the housing.

The teachers will receive about $200-250 per month. My biggest concern was paying them, but thankfully we received a donation from U.K. which will cover the payments for most of this year.

The primary school is now up to Standard 8. We have again hired qualified teachers for these positions. We continue to try and improve the quality of education. We will eventually have to provide housing for these teachers as well. As you can tell the Home of Hope continues to grow and again we are providing work for many people in the area. The women who work our fields receive their payments in food and flour for nsima. If you could see them with their heavy hoes and a baby on their back working you would wonder how they manage on an empty stomach. We also try to provide them with clothing for themselves and children.

When I left in early December the crops were doing well. The rains had come and apparently continued well into December. Not all parts of Malawi will fare as well. We were short of water during November and it was a worry. The water from the mountain was shut off for six hours in the afternoon, so we had to remember to fill our pails in order to have water for bathing children, cooking and washing. I found that I could do without electricity, but not having water was certainly a hardship. I can't imagine how people manage when they have to carry a pail of water a long distance. The container will be sent in early April. At the moment there are two storage units full and many other things waiting to be picked up.

The Chipetas have sent their condolences to our congregation for the loss of the church building. They tell others often of the work that our congregation does and give thanks for the help which they have received.

Once again, my sincere thanks. I could not have carried on for these past six years without your support.

Sincerely, Jane Glaves