4. January 2006

Dear Myles,

Yes, there is a huge problem in Malawi, and now there is a developing disaster in Kenya as well. The rains have been poor this year, so many, many people are dying from starvation in the north of the country. In Malawi, we assist the local Sisters with a very large feeding programme for poor orphans. Richard Loehrlein and others are getting involved in the issues of food security in Malawi.

The best help would be cash donations which we could channel in the right direction. Both Dave Paul and Bob Metzger are aware of our accounts in St. Louis. Anything earmarked for "hunger needs" in Kenya or Malawi can be put into our accounts and we will make sure that the funds get to the right places. Actually, hunger donations for Malawi can be channeled to the Lusabilu account and that gets sent directly to the food programme in Karonga.

People are suffering, for sure, so absolutely anything will help. Of course, the root problems are much deeper. But, for the moment, there is genuine need for relief assistance.

Thanks for the interest and the good support.

Blessings of the New Year to you and your family.

Marty Solma
Merry Christmas!

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The Newsweek article was quite right, only incomplete. C.R.S. has told us that 33% of the youth of Malawi are orphans. Last August our school staff took a survey of our own students and found that 42.85% of our boys had lost one or both parents. And 20% of the "guardians" (those who pay school fees) of our boys come from villages where they earn no salary. And those who do earn a salary might earn something like K3-4000 a month as unskilled labour, something like $25.00 a month. Yet we need from each student at least K6000.00 a school term, and there are three of them. And even with that we are unable to keep the school open without outside help. Prices keep going up. The guardians are unable to pay the school fees.

THAT'S WHY we are asking for help. We NEED to get into Food Security for the maintenance of our school and for the good of our neighbours who are likewise suffering.

Senario One, with the severest of the hunger now only in the extreme south of Malawi, is 4.2 million who are now already threatened with starvation. But if we move into Senario Two, when the price of maize (corn) here in Karonga rises to a certain price that we haven't hit yet, then it will be 4.8 mil who will be threatened. Note that this is more than 1/3 of the total population of the country. THAT'S WHY we are begging your help to grow food while assisting our neighbours in their efforts. It will be a combined effort.

The problem is that hunger complicates the suffering of those with HIV/AIDS, and that is high. They don't have the will or the ability to work. We guesstimate that here in Karonga we are near 40% HIV+, and that is principally the adult work force. And it is a known reality that for every teenage boy who is HIV+, there are six girls. On Christmas I buried one mother (a widow who had worked in the town council) after our Christmas morning mass. The theme of my homilies at Christmas eve mass and in the morning was, "Jesus was born of Mary to give eternal life to us. Let us pray for Anastasia Mwamsamali who died this morning at 4:00 am. Two of her children were with her in the hospital. She had finished praying the Rosary, prayed her confession, began another Rosary and died." On Tuesday I buried another widow who had died on Christmas morning at 10 am. I had been taking Holy Communion to them in their homes, and then drove each of them to the hospital in the early hours of the morning on Thursday, one at 5:00 and the other at 7:00. And who will care for the children? We are doing our best here at Chaminade Mission. We are standing up facing a Tsunami of suffering.

Happy New Year. Let us love our mother Mary as Jesus does!

Richard in Karonga.