Malawi - More than the place where Madonna gets her kids

For those of you reading this, you may or may not already know that this summer, a week from today (6/22/09) in fact, I'll be flying (by myself) to the southern African country of Malawi.

Malawi is a very small, landlocked country in southern Africa. While it has a high population of Christians, Islam and Jehovah's Witness are also relatively prevalent, Islam especially.


Malawi is a primarily English-speaking country, but the native language of Chichewa is also common. There are also other tribal languages and dialects.

Malawi has a very high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, one of the highest in the world, in fact. It is also one of the most underdeveloped countries in the entire world.




While there are large cities in Malawi that are more developed, many people live in village settings, such as the one pictured below.



Lake Malawi is a huge and very beautiful lake that encompasses much of the country. It is the biggest lake in Africa. It is pictured below.



The organization I'm going to be working with is called "Ministry of Hope". It is based out of Black Mountain, NC and is centered in Lilongwe, Malawi.


Here are some of the kids who are or have been in the Crisis Nurseries and other orphan-holding facilities maintained by MOH.