1.
Some stories of children affected by hunger :
Ndaziona
is an orphan girl of 12 years. She was brought up by her grandmother
and behaved like any "normal" child of her age until
January 2002 when their village was severely hit by hunger.
In February
the girl ran away to the nearby trading center where she stayed
till harvest time. What really happened to her during that time,
nobody knows, one can only guess. But when she returned to the
village in April, she started stealing money and food like groundnuts,
which she then shared with her friends. In September she also
took the blanket of her grandmother and burnt it. When the grandmother
noticed what Ndaziona had done, she gave her a hard beating with
the intention of teaching her. This made the girl run away. This
time she came to Lilongwe. Out of fear, the girl refused for about
a month to reveal her home village to the Social Workers of Tikondane.
After having experienced much violence the girl agreed that a
Social Worker would escort her to her village.
The family
agreed to take the girl back and Tikondane made two follow up
visits within one month. But after only a few weeks, Ndaziona
was back in town - exposed to violence of any kind. She is no
longer able to lead a normal life after the traumatic experiences
she suffered during the past months. Hunger was at the beginning
of a process that has irreparably destroyed her life.
Mphatso
is a five-year-old boy who, one night in February 2002, was found
on the veranda of a Rural Hospital. He only knew his name, but
could give no other information about his identity.
Some weeks
later, an elderly woman claimed that the boy was her grandson.
She received maize from the hospitaland took the boy. Two days
later, the boy was found near a river, half drowned in mud - and
totally exhausted. He was brought to the next Police station.
The Police
asked the person who had found the boy to take him into his family
up to the time the child's parents would be found. The family
treated the boy with remarkable love like their own child. But
in May they felt they had tohand him over to the Police, assuming
that the Police hadn't really tried hard enough to find the home
of the boy. The Police brought the boy to Tikondane. It took us
several weeks before the mother of the child was found. She had
not missed the boy, because a relative had offered to take Mphatso
during the time of hunger saying she wanted to ease the burden
of the mother. The mother thought that the boy was in good hands….
Some obvious
symptoms of Mphatso's trauma were that he soiled himself by day
and night. He was also terribly afraid of being left alone or
left behind. Will he ever be able to trust again? Will people
bear with him if he as a growing boy continues wetting his trousers
and beddings? Will he be able to lead a normal life?
Noel
is
an undernourished, sickly boy of about 11 years. He was found
in Lilongwe on Dec 27th, 2002. He said that he was an orphan and
that the grandmother who had cared for him had died. According
to him, nobody else was in the village… He was obviously
very much afraid of revealing his true story. When we insisted
that we would like to help him, but that we would need to speak
with the people of the village, he lead our Social Worker to a
village where he was obviously not known. Finally, on the second
day, we found his real village. His mother and younger siblings
were there. The family lives in extreme misery. There is no food
in the house, and there is no relief food distributed in the village.
On Christmas day Noel had passed at a neighbour's home where he
found some meat in a pot. He ate the meat. Then he run away because
he feared severe punishment.
A piece of
meat eaten on Christmas day by a hungry child can be fatal!
Masautso
is a 14-year-old orphan girl who came to Lilongwe in December
2002 because there was no food in her home. After failing to find
work she started begging. A home visit showed that there was indeed
no food in the home. At the day of our visit there was food-distribution
in the village. But the beneficiaries were mainly the Chief and
his relatives. The Chief's wife was found preparing white flour
from relief maize….
Unfair distribution
can drive children into a life of despair.
2. Some disturbing
questions
Can hunger
in Malawi really not be avoided?What is going on in the hearts
of people who are responsible for policies which create food-shortage
and appalling poverty?
What is going on in the hearts of people who try to profit from
the shortage of food?
What is going on in the heart of a person who is ready to expose
a child to die in the mud of a river for a bag of maize?
3.
Some encouraging facts
We do see people who work tirelessly to work for justice and for
providing food and care for the vulnerable. There are families
who selflessly care for children like Mphatso.
4.
A Biblical Challenge
"Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy servant whom the
master placed over his household to give them their food at the
proper time? Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds
him doing exactly that. In truth I tell you, he will put him in
charge of everything he owns. But if the servant is dishonest
and says to himself, 'My master is taking his time,' and sets
about beating his fellow-servants and eating and drinking with
drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and
at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send
him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping
and grinding of teeth." Mt. 24, 45-51
