MALAWI: Small Christian Community Affirms Its Worthiness
Some members of St. Clara CSCC with some beneficiaries at the school of the blind.
By Sam Kalimba
As the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) Region continues to celebrate 50 years of the life of Small Christian Communities (SCC), one SCC in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe engaged in affirmative action over the past weekend proving the worthiness of the SCCs in Malawi.
St. Clara SCC of St. Andrew Kaggwa Parish, on Saturday, September 30, visited a primary school of visually blind children having 55 boarders.
According to the Chairperson of the SCC Mr. Alberto Mhone, it was for the first time that they visited the place but what they saw was heartbreaking.
“We have done charity works elsewhere before but what we have seen today is extraordinary. We have been to a mental hospital, a young offenders’ custody, a general hospital, and a maternity ward but none of us dropped tears. Today, men, women, and youths from our SCC shed tears to the extent that we agreed to offer everything we brought even that was meant for our refreshments. These children need much more help than what the institution gets from the government,” said Mhone.
Speaking on behalf of the Malingude School of the Blind, the In-charge of the institution Mr. Vincent Mathanki thanked the SCC for their visit and assistance in kind.
“This is a government-aided institution but the needs of these children are enormous that the subversion we get from the government does not satisfy. You know, some of these kids live like they were abandoned. Their parents keep telling us not to send them for holidays. They want us to live with them until they are fully matured. Other than that, we are underfunded already coupled with a smaller number of teachers, our work is tough,” said Mathanki.
Members of the SCC were taken through the teaching and learning processes at the school where talking is at the centre of the process. For instance, during national examinations, teachers read out questions for the learners to comprehend and write answers on brail paper. Later on, teachers translate the brail text into written work and send it for marking. On the other hand, the children mastered their environment to the point that they are able to do a lot of activities and errands by themselves without the support of anyone including walking to classrooms, laundry, cafeteria and even washing and drying their clothes.
St. Clara SCC brought with them assorted items including brail paper, foodstuff, clothes, and soap.
The 50th Anniversary of the life of SCCs in the AMECEA Region was launched in Malawi in the Catholic Diocese of Dedza in August this year.
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