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Help and Protect the Pregnant Women and Children of Malawi

Malawi is an agricultural, landlocked country, scarred by decades of underdevelopment, corruption, and the impact of an HIV Aids problem. It is one of the world’s worst hit countries by this epidemic and home to more than one million children orphaned by the disease.

In Malawi, many women are also delivering their babies at home causing complications, especially when a child is premature. Too many die unnecessarily at birth. At the current facility to help these women, the Sisters face multiple problems. There is no place for women to wait before childbirth. Those the Sisters can house are subject to sleeping on the floor which is cold, damp and smoky. Clearly a new facility is needed immediately.

Fortunately, the groundwork has been done, but we still need your help to complete it.

Our facility is dedicated to offering good health services to the people in this very remote area. But we are failing to keep up with the high demand — particularly for pregnant women and their children.

Sister Florence

Dear Friend,

When Sister Florence Kankota’s letter arrived, I was struck by her bold honesty about what they cannot do. She and the other Teresian Sisters in Dedza, Malawi are eager to turn the situation around — quickly.

Malawi is an agricultural, landlocked country, scarred by decades of underdevelopment, corruption, and the impact of an HIV Aids problem. It is one of the world’s worst hit countries by this epidemic and home to more than one million children orphaned by the disease.

St. Joseph’s Health Center-Chiphwanya is in Dedza in the Central Region of Malawi. This area is very remote and difficult to reach by any modern transportation. Many of the women are delivering their babies at home causing complications, especially when a child is premature. Too many die unnecessarily at birth. The current facility the Sisters run has multiple problems. There is no place for women to wait before childbirth. Those the Sisters can house are subject to sleeping on the floor which is cold, damp and smoky. Clearly a new facility is needed immediately.

Sister Florence has already done much of the ground work. She has secured the location and a contractor – and worked with the village headman on how they can manage the project together. A health advisory committee was created by the leadership to insure strong management and adherence to the mission.

In addition, local villagers donated some of the bricks, river sand and dambo (wetland) sand. And they’ve created a development team to monitor and evaluate progress. But to build the new facility we must still raise $38,000. Your assistance with a gift of $25, $50, or $100 — or even more — will help us reach this goal.

Bishop Emmanuele Kanyama of Dedza Diocese believes this project is very important to the village people. “The Teresian Sisters have very limited resources to carry out their mission to reach out to the poor and vulnerable people. Your help will make a big difference in helping them serve the people in this remote area of Malawi.”

And our Missionary of Africa superior, Father William Turnbull states: “Chiphwanya is a very remote area and such a building will greatly help the people of the area get the health care they need. The Sisters are very capable.”

We are grateful for these kind words and the support they bring to the Sisters and the villagers. With your faithful generosity we can make this project a reality very quickly.”

As you look around and see a pregnant woman I would encourage you — as old fashioned as it may seem –— to give them your seat, carry their packages, or share a smile. It will go a long way to helping them have a happy day!

Sister Florence ended her letter with the following assurance:

  • Quality services will be provided.
  • Hope and love will be brought to pregnant woman and their infants.
  • Infection prevention will be improved.
  • Stillbirths will be reduced.
  • Home deliveries reduced by 90%.
  • Complications from pregnancy, delivery and after birth dramatically reduced.

How blessed we are to have Sister Florence and the Teresian Sisters journeying with us on this project. To meet our goal of raising the $38,000 needed to build this vital facility. Every gift is critical and I ask you to please be as generous as possible.