Lessons from Malawi

‘A rich man without God is just a poor man with money.’

I came across this quote after being back in the Netherlands for a few weeks. It got me thinking. 

Together with my cousin, I made the long journey to ‘poor’ Africa this winter. During the car ride from the airport to our host family, I fell a bit silent. There was so much to see. Many people, many rugs with merchandise, many cars, many queues of motorbikes in front of petrol stations. We ended up in a completely different world. 

In a few weeks, I got to know Malawi a little better. I tried to empathise with the people's world, discover their customs, taste the local food. And yet I couldn't manage to imagine a life like someone in Kwanjana. I simply drove back in a car at the end of the working day, with a couple of bottles of water in my bag to be sure, back to a house with solid walls. Here I ate plates of dinner, which I often could not even finish because there was too much. The next morning, I could always put on clean, whole clothes and set off for Kwanjana with a full stomach. 

Some in Kwanjana have never been down the dirt road, let alone ever driven a car. Water requires a long walk and solid stone houses are also rare. It was also a question for many people every day whether they would have enough food to feed their families and themselves. 

These people are poor, underprivileged. And yet I was envious. They had so much wealth! They were rich in creativity, in gratitude, in hospitality. Even the food was shared with us, though for them it might have been the only meal of the day. But what I admired most in these people was their dependence. Dependence on each other as citizens, dependence on organisations like For A Change, but above all, dependence on God. I could learn something from that. 

Are we only rich when we have enough money? What a lot we can learn from each other. Please join us in praying for Hope and Light for Malawi. For daily bread and spiritual bread for the children and families at the centre.