Kondanani Update Annie Chikhwaza

Dear  friends,

2020 has been an amazing year for us at Kondanani. Working with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes is always a great challenge, and yet the most satisfying, because of the outcome. Thank you for being part of the outcome by supporting us every month faithfully. 

In March 2020,   harvesting time, we appealed for finances to fill our 2 containers with maize, the staple food of the Malawian people.  And we received enough money to fill them, enough for a whole year. Sometimes I wonder if we are going to make it through the month, and yet I know we will and always do. We continually experience His mighty hand at work and also see the multiplication of the 5 loaves and 2 fishes. Our hospital has been ready for a while but the opening was held up because of covid 19 and my own health.

Two weeks ago the medical council came to inspect and was very impressed with the standard of the hospital, it passed inspection and has already been registered.  Children below the age of 5 from the surrounding villages, will receive medical attention. They are the most vulnerable in our society, 1 in 5 dies from preventable diseases. Lack of medicine and care is a big problem, we can change that. Little lives, worthwhile lives, can be saved. 

Psalm 139 tells us that Father God knitted us in our mother’s wombs. That means we are so precious to Him. While I was in the Netherlands, the Lord provided a missionary nursing sister, fully qualified. She will take charge of the hospital.

Incidentally, she is also a fully qualified vet. Useful, as we have our farm animals. It’s amazing. We need more finances for the hospital, but we can get moving. We did not need to close our school this year, like in most countries and Malawi itself. We are like one household with lots of kids, who live together anyway.

Our university students worked online, in the States as well as in Malawi, and did amazingly well. 1 of our girls will start studying medicines in January 2021. The others have to wait for further studies as the universities are not taking in any new students. The youngsters who are ready for college now, are going to be working in our school while waiting to further their studies.

None of our children or staff have been sick with covid 19. Or any other sickness for that matter.

 We give God the glory for His protection over each and every life. School holidays have started, we are in the Southern hemisphere, holidays are starting in December. We had our school award ceremony on the 11th of December, always a special time to honor our students and to encourage them. It has been a year of hard work, and as the year goes on the work gets more difficult.

Sometimes there are tears, but they know how to conquer. We have saved lives and saved people from having strokes with our blood pressure clinic. There are 100 patients, who get regularly attended to and receive medication. Our rehabilitation clinic had to be closed at some stage because of covid 19, but will open again on the 18th of January 2021, children from the surrounding villages, up to the age of 12 will attend. A very sad thing to witness though, so many are severely handicapped because of lack of oxygen during birth.

Our farm animals are doing well, the dry season is always a challenge but now that the rains have started the grass is growing, the milk is increasing. We are getting more girl calves, that really pleases me.   Thanks to the bull. Thankfully our pigs are supplying ample meat for the children. They also multiply fast. On new years day, we will have a whole roasted pig on the fire, a highlight for the children. They just love it so much. Anything to make them happy.

Our cheese factory is almost back on track. It had suffered a set back because the restaurants were closed.

We have had our annual Christmas party already. One of the Supermarkets supplied all the food for the occasion. It was the 7th year for them to do so. It was a great feast. All of the children received presents, the older ones could choose, money or presents.

It’s quite an exercise to buy and pack so many presents. Father Christmas made his appearance, and some children are still afraid of the dear old man. New years eve is still to come, fun and fireworks. My own health has improved a lot and I am grateful for the years ahead of me. 

We wish you a blessed Christmas and a prosperous new year.💖

Blessings Annie.