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Torch Trust at Work in Malawi
At the Torch Centre in Blantyre there is a braille production unit, mainly producing Scripture volumes in local languages but also in other African languages. So far the languages involved are Chichewa, Sena, Shona, Bemba, Igala and Hausa. Christian booklets and tracts are also produced, mainly in English and Chichewa, and these include some specifically to help those suffering from HIV/AIDS. There is also a giant print production facility for partially sighted people. So far this has been producing the Chichewa New Testament in giant print (20 point). It is hoped to produce a braille 'easy English' New Testament in 2007, and also a braille New Testament in the Ndabele language for Zimbabwe. For more information about literature produced click here or scroll down As well as the braille production unit, there is also a free lending library of braille and giant print books, and a store for relief supplies which are distributed, when available, to needy blind people. Although not directly involved, Torch encourages sponsorship for students wishing to study at the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi in Blantyre. One blind Student has graduated and is now a pastor in a suburb of Blantyre, and there are currently two blind students at the College.
Visits are made two or three times annually by representatives (currently Janet and Michael Stafford) from Torch UK to help and encourage, and also to organise distribution of relief supplies. Michael is a trustee and endeavours to attend all the trustees’ meetings. The Malawian government together with some NGOs provide some educational facilities for blind children, and also a very limited amount of employment. Generally speaking, blind people are extremely deprived, unable to get employment or resources, and often resort to begging on the streets. Many are Christians and appreciate the literature Torch provides. A number of projects have been undertaken over recent years, sponsored by individuals and fellowship groups in the UK. These include a scheme to repatriate blind beggars from the streets of Blantyre to their home villages, in many cases building small houses for them and providing a start for an income-producing activity. Some 60 families were benefited in this way and most have remained in their villages, though often struggling with scarcity of food due to drought, floods etc. Another project is “Sight for Sore Eyes”, where reading glasses have been provided to partially sighted children to enable them to use ordinary school text books rather than relying on the very small amount of braille educational material available. Currently, it is hoped to set up maize mills which can be run by co-operatives of blind people and provide them with a livelihood. Torch’s ministry in Malawi continues to have great potential for assisting blind people, not only in Malawi itself, but also in neighbouring Central African states, especially Mozambique, where two of our volunteer workers – Lapson Mbewe and Bitten Masamba – make regular visits and have been instrumental in setting up fellowship groups for visually impaired people.
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Torch’s
work in Africa is sited in the Central African country of Malawi, with a centre
called “Torch House” on the edge of the city of Blantyre in the
Southern Region. There are also about 70 Torch Fellowship Groups throughout the
country and key voluntary workers mainly in the valley of the River Shire, in
the extreme South, where the incidence of blindness is at its worst, due to the
widespread eye disease known as River Blindness (Onchocerciasis).
At
the Torch Centre there is a staff of five Malawians headed up by Rev Winston
Chidzambuyo, the Administrator. There is a Council, meeting three times a year,
consisting of eleven members, including five who are also trustees. Financial
support comes almost entirely from a fixed sum provided monthly by Torch UK.
The
building of small houses. This scheme started by repatriating 60 plus blind
beggars and their families from the streets of Blantyre to their home villages.
Most of them have remained, though often struggling with scarcity of food due
to drought, floods etc. Building of houses continues and over 100 others have
now been built.