The child you see above is three months old.  His mother died, leaving him and his three siblings in the care of a grandmother, who already had five children to care for.

When the grandmother works washing clothes for others in order to support all nine children, this baby is left in the care of his 12-year old sister.   A week ago he arrived at an infant home that we support in southern Malawi.  He was malnourished but now receives powdered baby cereal fortified with a peanut-based supplement.  GAIA provides the food.  The woman with him in the photo is his “mother” at the infant home during the day.

In Africa a baby is given a name conveying the hopes of the parents.  This little boy was named Dziwani, “one who knows.”

So many of the Malawi children know things that we wished they would not have to know: poverty, hunger, and abandonment, for starters.  What happens to these kids as they grow older, if they indeed survive, is frequently a mystery.  But it seems safe to say that they do not have an easy time.

No one knows for sure how many orphans are in Malawi, but I can say there are an awful lot, an awful lot.

What could be more worthwhile than giving children like this one a chance in life?

We are so very grateful for your help.

William Rankin