With the election looming on the horizon, Malawi hopes for change.

CULTURE AWAKENING IN MALAWI

By Wednesday, May 20, 2009, Malawi’s government will have some new faces. Ballots will be cast on the 19^th and counted.  Having gained independence from Britain in 1994, Malawi is still a relatively new democracy, and there is certainly still room for improvement as they consider who will be the next president and members of Parliament.

Malawi is still one of the poorest and most densely populated countries in the world.  There are multiple issues that need to be addressed, not the least of which is HIV/AIDS with approximately 12% of the adult population being infected.  Other concerns are centered around a literacy rate of 62%, and water borne illnesses with deaths resulting from that.  

John Chikago, Parliamentary candidate for the Ntcheu Central Constituency, has already been working hard for the people of his district.  Having served nine years as Ambassador to South Africa as well as Japan, it was in Japan that Chikago became a Christian and began to understand the importance of love and serving those who live in poverty.

This, he says, prompted him, on his return to Malawi in December 2005, to establish a charitable organization by the name of “Culture Awakening Society”.  This name was inspired by Genesis 1:23 where it is written that God created human beings in His image and likeness.  His understanding of this verse was that while God created humans, He also created a culture for them in which to live that was Godlike.

The Culture Awakening Society was therefore established to assist Malawians to awaken and discover the secrets of God.  He explains that this is because before God created human beings, he first created other living things including soils, minerals and water.  "God has a plan for every country and person.  In other words," he says, "Malawi is not a poor country to God, but her citizens are the one failing to understand God’s plans."  

As the needs of the citizens are many and diverse, his approach was to join forces with like minded individuals and organizations and to address food security for AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children, construction of school blocks to enable school children to attend school during flood months and sinking of boreholes for potable water.

The projects made a significant impact on the lives of the citizens, which prompted them to request that he stand for them as their Parliamentary candidate in the upcoming election. Eleven candidates are all vying for that post.  His party has formed an electoral alliance with another opposition party with the objective of removing the incumbent government from power.  This means that each candidate is elected on personal merit.

He states that his mission is “to take the election as a service, not a prize for self enrichment.”  He continues, “I believe God created us to serve His children.  Having been exposed to a number of development models, I believe the best development model is when citizens are left to act as their own liberators.  The role of a leader should be that of a facilitator and connecting the citizens to opportunities.  Already, World Hope International ( www.worldhope.net ), another organization I helped to introduce to Malawi, and the Culture Awakening Society are helping make a difference in the lives of the poor.”  He hopes that they continue to do so even after his election.

After visiting the villages and listening to Traditional Leaders, he has been able to assess the greatest needs of the citizens of his district.  They are:  the need for potable water, because of the frequent outbreaks of cholera, hook worms and dysentery; school blocks or buildings; farm inputs such as fertilizer, seeds and diesel pumps to improve food productivity; and two ambulances to transport pregnant women and seriously ill patients to the main hospital.  He shares his thoughts about implementing solutions for these needs:

-Potable water can be found by sinking boreholes and wells in every village. World Hope International has already brought into the country an efficient drilling machine, but we need money for fuel and buying the pumps and other equipment.

-To build school blocks, a donor only needs to provide cement, galvanized roofing sheets and skilled carpenters.  The citizens already understand the importance of project partnership, so they contribute burnt clay bricks, sand stones and water.  The reason for this need is that, since democracy was introduced as a human right, the age for attending school was lowered from age 10 to 5 years.  This decision, while a good one, created a shortage of classrooms, so that some children learn in makeshift "lean-to" classrooms and under the trees.  These conditions, according to Chikago, continue to adversely affect the students’ education, as they cannot attend classes when it is flooding during the rainy season.

-Fortunately, Malawi, and in particular, Ntcheu District is blessed with rivers that do not dry up during off season months, and it has many wetlands which could be used to grow off-season crops.  The only requirements are seed, fertilizers and the diesel water pumps. Government, Chikago says, would provide free land and technical services upon request.

-Even though every district has a main hospital, the distance to village clinics is prohibitive so that many expectant mothers prefer to deliver at home, without adequate medical care.  Also, many sick people, such as those suffering from cholera, die due to delays in arriving at the main hospital, so a couple of ambulances would help save lives.

So, while Malawi has a long way to go, John Chikago has already started using his connections, wisdom and experience to help the people of Malawi.  He has already begun living his dream for his people and putting his plans into effect.  “I want to work hard for my voters to become a model member of Parliament,” he says, “and use that as a credential for the 2014 presidential elections.”

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