It may seem strange that the Raven Trust sends quantities of blankets and woollen clothes to such a hot country as Malawi. However, in the mountainous region, high above sea level, it can get very cold, especially at night.

Donations of knitted and crocheted goods for children are always needed as well as other clothes and blankets for babies and young children. The boxes of baby/toddler clothes and blankets are sent to Orphan Care Departments in Livingstonia (Mrs Soko) and Ekwendeni (Esther Lupafya), to Maternity Wards in Livingstonia and Ekwendeni and to Mlowe Clinic.

The staff in all these departments would like all those who have donated baby and children’s clothes and blankets to know how deeply they are appreciated by those to whom they are given and how much excitement there is  when a Raven Trust container arrives with boxes of gifts from the UK.

Thanks to money donated to the Raven Trust for the purpose, on his last visit to Malawi John was able to buy 140 Bibles translated into Tambuka – the local language of Northern Malawi. They are pictured here being delivered, by trolley, to the house in Mzuzu.

The Bibles were then distributed to many people. Alex and John, seen here, are members of the Mzuzu Evangelism Association team and were very pleased to receive Tambuka Bibles as neither had ever owned one. John (on the right of the picture) is also going to use his Bible in Friday morning Bible study sessions at work in World Vision.

Here are some of the Mzuzu Evangelism Association team at work in a suburb of Mzuzu – taking their message to the people of the area through the medium of drama and reading their Tambuka Bibles. The team have now been invited to take their message into the local prison.

We have been advised by Ben Mhango, our driver/mechanic in Malawi that the replacement fuel lines for the emergency single phase generator at Embangweni Hospital have arrived. Ben has now fitted them and the generator is working well.

We have now been offered a 3-phase generator by Macduff Shipyards who have reconditioned and serviced the generator set. This machine would be capable of a much greater load, allowing more pieces of hospital equipment to be operated during the frequent power outages.

We are very grateful to Macduff Shipyards and are hoping to ship the generator set out to Embangweni in a container in February.

Many of you will remember our blog about the spec-tacular Christmas trees set up in Dunoon, Argyll for Christmas 2010 when people donated old glasses by hanging them on the trees and took away a “thank you” tag to hang on their own tree at home.

For Christmas 2011, the theme was continued, but in addition, people were invited to donate small pieces of costume jewellry which they no longer wanted. These will be given as gifts to orphan girls in Malawi.

Thank you, once again, to the people of Dunoon and surrounding districts who were delighted to support this initiative. I hear the trees almost collapsed under the weight of your gifts.

The evangelism project has become established in supporting local Christians to share the gospel. One method they use is the ‘Jesus film’ showing to perhaps 500 or more people using video projectors.  The Raven Trust is providing the equipment for this work.  Secondly we are encouraging street evangelism and the Malawians have established the Mzuzu Evangelistic Association to undertake music, drama, storytelling and sport.  Many have become Christians through this -  even in this its early days of ministry.

Just a example of how the Raven Trust provides replacement or new parts for machinery in Malawi.  These uninteresting yet vital pipes are the fuellines for the emergency power diesel generator at Embangweni Hospital.  New ones are not available in Malawi yet could be obtained in the UK.  Thank you John Watt of McDuff Shipyard for your assistance.  Ben Mhango, our local engineer will fit these pipes once they arrive early in the New Year.

On a very wet and stormy day our intrepid team of volunteers loaded FCL 77 with 1226 boxes of hospital supplies, educational supplies, clothes, bedding, tools and household goods. Just after 2 pm,  the container set off for Greenock on the first stage of its journey to Malawi so that the lorry could get over the Rest and Be Thankful before the road closed at 4 pm. Our thanks to our volunteers – you are a great bunch and we hope you have all warmed up now. Thanks also to those who keep the volunteers going with supplies of pancakes, cheese scones, hot soup and filled rolls. Bon voyage FCL 77. We pray that your contents will prove a blessing to those who receive them in Malawi.

At this time of year in Malawi the weather is hot and dry. Ideal bridge building time!.  Earlier this year Neil Lilongwe, while visiting Malawi, saw while on route to Chiabalazi, outside Ekwendeni, a village bridge in need of major repair.  On return to the UK funds were kindly donated by Cake Stuff (see their web site www.cake-stuff.com for more photographs) and recently the community led by the village headman undertook the bridge construction. 

On his recent visit John provided technical support and purchased local materials. This new bridge will provide an all weather link from the village to the main road.  The village people are very grateful and the bridge will enable hospital visits, make daily school possible for the young people in the wet season besides opening up business opportunities.

The bridge was opened before John returned to the UK amid great celebrations and lots of cake!

The Mlowe Clinic is basically what we in the UK know as a ‘cottage hospital’. It is under the management of the major hospital at Livingstonia. Mlowe provides basic outpatient, maternity, HIV/Aid’s and emergency services to the local community. Beyond Mlowe the communities of Tcharo and Zunga are reached by boat so the Mlowe Clinic provides a ‘stop over’ for patients on route to Livingstonia. Some patients are treated at Mlowe such as malaria cases. It has a resident Clinical Officer and Matron as well as other staff to support the various services undertaken.

Work has progressed well on repairing and maintenance of the Clinic. The roof and rain water ways have been repaired. Electric lights installed into the Nutrition Unit and all electrical fittings replaced throughout the clinic which where damaged or not working. Water is currently being piped into the staff houses from a revitalized bore-hole system and the whole clinic given a coat of paint.

A unused mobile x-ray machine was donated from Inverness Vet College and brought to Strachur by Bob Baxter with a load of boxes from NE Scotland via the Blythswood depot at Everton. Keith Feay on a recent visit to Strachur was able to ensure that the equipment is in working condition and serviced. It will be shipped in the next container to Embangweni Hospital. This completes the supply to each large mission hospital of a fixed x-ray machine and a mobile machine. The supply of films and
chemicals is another problem!

John has returned, safe and sound, from Malawi. These are difficult days for Malawi as it struggles with shortages of fuel and foreign exchange. The Malawian Kwacha has been devalued by 10%

In mid – July peaceful demonstrations brought the country to a halt and, unfortunately, ended in violence, looting and a number of deaths. Currently the U.N. are mediating talks to try to resolve the issues.

The days ahead are going to be challenging. Please pray for the very many ordinary people who are affected by all this. Their lives are difficult already.

Thankfully the harvest has been good and there is plenty of maize about. For more information on the current situation, look at Google news for Malawi.

The needs of the people of Malawi are many and varied. The Raven Trust, through its supporters, tries to supply some of the needs of the communities in northern Malawi, helping them to achieve their ambitions to help themselves.

Buttons
Over the years the Raven Trust has transported many sewing machines to Malawi in its containers. These are used by individuals and groups to make clothes for themselves, their families and the wider community – especially orphans. Sewing notion (buttons, zips, etc.) are expensive and difficult to obtain in Malawi, so if anyone has anyold buttons – large, small, fancy or plain – please consider putting the in a polythene bag and sending them to the Raven Trust.

Electric Plugs
Many pieces of electrical equipment in Malawi has had to be sourced from South Africa. The plugs supplied with the equipment are of a different type from the ones used in Malawi, so if anyone has spare electrical plugs (13 amp, square pin) we would be grateful for them

Protective clothing for motorcyclists
Health workers going out to villages from Embangweni hospital use motorbikes to get around, often travelling where there are no roads. The danger of injury to these workers is great. If you have any protective motorbike clothing, gloves or boots that you no longer use, the Raven trust would love to hear from you.

John has returned to Malawi for six weeks. His main tasks while he is there will be to

• complete renovation and refurbishment at Mlowe Clinic including the water suuply
• complete and check the water and waste water survey at Ekwendeni hospital
• visit Ekwendeni Blind School to assess progress on the problems there and plan future projects
• get an update from our shipping agent in Malawi of how the new government taxes will affect cost of sending our containers
• talk to the people on the ground in Malawi to assess how appropriate goods in containers are and assess needs

John will be returning to Malawi soon. While there he hopes to complete the repairs at Mlowe Clinic. The main task will be to get water into the main clinic and wards and to replace electrical fittings.

He also hope to fit a ring beam to one of the staff houses.

Here is a link which shows the position of Mlowe :- http://www.maplandia.com/malawi/northern/mlowe/