Where in the World is Malawi?

At the beginning of 2010, with the help of my family and friends, I went to Africa to volunteer at the Home of Hope Orphanage in Mchinji District, Malawi. I first heard of Malawi in 02/2006 while watching a Raising Malawi video about AIDS orphans. So where is Malawi anyway? As the child of a career military officer, I traveled often but frankly, had never heard of Malawi. It was easy to find out about Malawi. It is known as the "Warm Heart of Africa" and is the home of Lake Malawi, formerly known as Lake Nyasaland, which I first heard of after reading about the explorer, John Livingstone. Malawi is a sliver of a country surrounded by Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Look closer and you'll see Mchinji, a district in the western portion of central Malawi, about 7 km from the Zambian border.

To get to Home of Hope from Miami, I flew to Washington D.C. (2.5 hours) and then to Johannesburg, S.A. (18 hours with a 1 hour stop in Senegal). There aren't that many flights into Malawi and there was a forced lay-over in Jo-burg of 13 hours. The next day, I flew into Malawi's capitol city of Lilongwe (2.5 hours), and got a car ride to Mchinji District with a couple of volunteers who happened to be in town at a meeting. The Mchinji District Children's Home, known as Home of Hope, is about 50 km but takes a couple of hours because of the condition of the dirt roads during my visit which was during the rainy season.

The trip was a big effort, emotionally and financially, with lots of challenges to overcome. But boy, was it worth it! The children and people of Malawi helped me so much - with appreciation, counting my blessings, thanking God, being grateful for all of my friends, family and loved ones, for showing me that living without material goods is easy, that water is precious, life is short, to be thankful for my good health, to love your children and to love the parent-less children of others. Several people I met on the journey, both coming and going, made commitments to volunteer their time and talents to the kids at the orphanage, including a dentist going home to Senegal from Boston and an executive of a U.S. engineering firm that is constructing dams in Africa. You too can make a difference. The school at the orphanage has no maps...not of the world, Africa nor Malawi. Your donation can help the kids place themselves in the world, in their continent and in their country. Make an effort and receive blessings by making a tax deductible donation to http://www.raisingmalawi.org/ and designate the Home of Hope Orphanage as the recipient.