Kelsey Carroll recently embarked on a journey to Malawi, Africa, on a Friendship Trip. Her immersive experience allowed her to witness the incredible warmth of Malawian hospitality and the resilience of its people through profound connections forged during her trip.
We wrapped up lunch and met our partner sisters and translators whom we would be spending the week with. I was filled with deep joy meeting my sister, Lexa Haward, and our translator, Amanda. I was so excited to spend our days together. After a quick introduction, we bid farewell until the next day and were off to our home visits.
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I have been to Malawi five times now and have seen God working in incredible ways out at Khanda Village. My first trip to Malawi was in 2015 and I joined Lucy at our remote clinic in the village of Khanda. Soon after we started, the suffering and lack of medical resources available to the Khanda villagers was evident. Malaria was a huge problem there, as we suspected, but there were also numerous cases of scabies, diarrheal illnesses, and children suffering from developmental/physical deficits due to birth injury. As someone with a background in pediatrics, the impact on the children really struck a chord with me and I left that year hoping there was more we could do for them in the future.
In July 2022 I returned to Khanda for the first time since 2015, and we are about a year out from opening the long-awaited health center. During the outreach clinic, it struck me how many children with cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, and failure to thrive presented to the clinic. In one year these children will have access to physical and occupational therapy, mothers will have access to prenatal care and a clinic close by to deliver, and life-threatening infections will be managed before serious complications. One patient in particular that really stuck with me presented to the clinic on the back of a bicycle.
At 13 years old, Rabecca developed bacterial meningitis and did not receive treatment until her condition became very serious. As a result, she developed hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain), which was not treated until she was 15 years old, and in turn, she developed a number of physical deficits as a result of the brain damage.
The land cruiser bounced over the dusty roads, jostling Violet and me as we drove into the hazy morning sky covering the villages. We picked up Heswick, an orphan who was identified by our Malawian staff members as vulnerable, to take him to the clinic to have his wound redressed. The clinic asked us to bring more wound care supplies since they were out.
This trip to Africa has been one of the absolute best experiences of my life. I feel so blessed that I was able to use my nursing skills to serve the people of Malawi and meet amazing, life long friends along the way. There is really no way to fully describe Malawi, the villages we serve, and the Malawian nurses and doctors we work alongside, but I can say that you will leave Malawi a different person than you were before you came. This trip has changed my heart for the better and I am forever grateful for this incredible experience.
The Malawian translators were amazing at being our voices for the week. They were always willing to teach us their language (Chichewa) so that we could speak to the patients in the clinics. Seeing the smile on the faces of our patients when we spoke their language absolutely warmed my heart. The amount of impact this trip has had on my life cannot be put into words and I am truly grateful for VIP and the entire village community.
We are created the same, yet somehow by a unique set of circumstances, we survive differently. I met a culture of people born into poverty with unimaginable suffering in Malawi, Africa. They are brilliant and happy and kind and beautiful. Their resilience and ability to laugh drew me to them, and their suffering is what made me want to stay to give them the aid they need and deserve.
VIP gave me the opportunity to emerge myself in this population for a week. Although I was able to provide care to thousands of people, the return on my time was much more valuable. I learned how the Malawian people thrive despite their difficult circumstances. I also learned how to go home and live differently because of my new Malawian friends.
On Wednesday, March 4th, I traveled with Wellings Mwalabu to the village of Disi to attend the Conservation Agriculture Field Day that was organized by VIP, for Disi Village and the surrounding villages. The purpose of Field Day is to give farmers the opportunity to see first-hand sustainable practices being used and to ask the farmers who did the practice questions that only a person who has had the first-hand experience could answer. This is a very effective way to educate farmers about new technologies and a practice that is commonly used in the US as well.
On a beautiful August afternoon during my Friendship Trip in Malawi, I traveled to a village for a goat deworming and goat pass-on ceremony. After this life-changing afternoon, I came home with a determination to tell my story and share my experiences. At my school, I am the head of the Hearts for Africa Club and my club is holding a Goat Drive this month. Instead of a Winter Coat Drive, we are holding a Winter Goat Drive which raises money to buy goats for the people in the villages. Since eighth grade, I worked with various organizations on the issues of poverty and food insecurity on a domestic and international level. Villages in Partnership is dedicated to helping Malawians who struggle with poverty, and a goat is one way for a family or individual to break from their cycle of poverty. A goat can provide economic stability and nutrition, which are both essential in order to become self-sufficient. Thus, I decided to hold a Goat Drive and all of the proceeds will go towards buying goats for vulnerable families in Malawi.
I became involved with Villages in Partnership two years ago, when Tory Huchro and her family spoke to me about her involvement. I soon became involved, and this past summer I had the opportunity to go to Malawi. While in Malawi, I was able to participate in a goat deworming and goat pass-on ceremony where I saw the value of a goat first-hand. The deworming medication is offered for less than 40 cents, which can ensure that the goat will remain healthy and continue to provide for the family. The children and their families came to the goat deworming site to make sure their goat can continue to support their family and economic needs.
All in all, a goat means so much to a family in Malawi and I saw first-hand the short term and long term benefits. They are one of the primary sources of animal protein for the villagers and the sale of goats is a significant source of supplementary income for many of the farmers as well. The cost of a goat is $50, but in reality, it is worth so much more. A goat gives us the opportunity to transform the lives of many families and provide hope for a brighter future. Click here to give the gift of a goat!
This is one of the healthiest comments we can hear. It means that the many varied VIP initiatives are collectively working to enable people to lift themselves out of extreme poverty and become independent. Thanks to all of you who have supported our brothers and sisters in the region of Sakata. Life is changing! We are seeing and hearing miracles!
Then there was no clinic; only a dilapidated broken-down building and an old man molding bricks in the hope that one day there would be a new place for people to receive medical treatment. That was the beginning of VIP. That old man died this past year, but his dream and ours is alive and well. From that otherwise insignificant day God has launched a movement that is transforming thousands of lives including my own.
Clinics, wells, schools, businesses, bridges; hopes and dreams everywhere I look. Healing is swirling around me. I come back to myself and watch as a mother and her child head for home with a prescription and the new life it represents. Something deep inside of me stirs.
The sermon was given by the wife of the pastor. Preaching the word of 1 Kings 17:8-16 where Elijah encounters a widow and asks her for water and bread although she barely had enough for herself and her son. Elijah tells her that the Lord wanted this to happen and she obeyed. After giving water and bread to Elijah, she and her household ate for many days thereafter. The point of the sermon was that in the face of great despair and great odds against you, have faith in the Lord who will provide. What an important message!
The statistic of being one of the poorest places on earth was not evident as the richness of Christ was superimposed in the eyes of the young children, in the rhythmic moves of the teenagers and in the hearts of the ladies. They are rich in the Lord. They are truly walking in the light of the Lord. This feeling carried us to our home visits as our team broke off into three separate groups that afternoon. Each group were to visit two families and each had a suitcase full of clothes and a bag of towels and toiletries. I was in the group led by Liz Nelson, executive director of VIP. We drove through those unpaved roads to our first home. It was the dry season and I imagined how it would be when it rained, how muddy the fields would be and how the lack of shoes on most feet we encountered withstood the conditions.
With poor access to care, extractions are the most frequent and required treatment option for the villagers and care in these remote villages is done without electricity or running water. With the commitment of our Malawian partners and with support from my colleagues in the Us we are trying to shift that paradigm. Each year that I have returned to this community we have brought additional materials and equipment to support more treatment options. In 2014 we were only able to provide extractions and we did so with patients sitting in two plastic lawn chairs. 152ee80cbc
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