It takes between 6,000-7,000 steps to walk three miles. In developing nations like Malawi, Africa, those steps aren’t about fitness or hiking. Those steps are what it takes to access clean, potable water. And it’s those steps in part, those 6,000 to 7,000 steps to access water, that began the connection between our congregation and Villages in Partnership (VIP).
VIP aims to “eradicate extreme poverty, beginning in the rural villages of Sakata in Malawi.” Their approach is to address six critical needs of human development: food, water, education, medical care, infrastructure, and economic opportunity. Working in partnership with the people of each village, as well as other churches, schools, businesses, and community organizations, there’s been notable progress across the last decade.
As Robin, a member of our Outreach commission, explained, “I went to Malawi on [VIP’s] first friendship trip in about 2009. About four years later I went back. That was after we had several other PCTR members go. I went back to see how it had changed, and what had developed. PCTR is one of the Villages in Partnership’s first partners, a founding partner. We’ve been there since the beginning of their endeavor which is pretty cool.”
On those trips, Robin saw the variety of different ways Villages in Partnership works within their partner villages in Malawi. “The efforts of VIP are so important and they work because they focus on the six main issues that are all related to one another: they work on infrastructure development, healthcare, economic development, food security, education, and water,” she said. “All six of those things depend on each other in order to get ahead. They don’t just focus on water. They focus on all those different elements in society to help raise up the communities.”
Dan agreed. In addition to the different ways he serves at PCTR, he’s also a member of VIP’s Board of Directors giving him a unique perspective. “One of the special things about VIP is that it’s focused on the village model. The people decide what’s necessary and what’s important. No one tells them what they’re going to get. The village defines what they think they’re going to need.”
The process starts with a town hall meeting attended by interested villagers, the village officials, the chief, and the traditional regional authority. They sit together under a tree or tarp out of the sun and discuss what the village needs. Giving an example of a conversation that might transpire, Dan said, “’Well, the bridge was destroyed in the last flood so people have to go 6 or 8 miles out of their way to get to the next market area where before they could go across the bridge and it’s only a mile or two.’ Then VIP will say ‘Is that most desperate need? It is, okay, we’ll help build a bridge.'”
As part of the process, the villagers will put up a blackboard and list all of the things they need. They will then vote on what they think is the most necessary. And when the vote is done, that’s what they will work on with VIP. Village involvement doesn’t just stop there, there’s sweat equity to it. Villages may contribute land, resources, or labor to the process. “When we are building hand-dug wells, villagers will be alongside the VIP team digging the well. When the school in a village was built and they needed 1000s of bricks to build the school, the villagers made the bricks,” he explained.
In the recent years, for example, a medical clinic was built in the region. While the Malawian government provides some medical care to the area, the region didn’t have a facility dedicated to healthcare. Instead, medical teams that arrived at the village would see patients out in the open or under a tarp. VIP worked with one of their partner villages to build a brick structure with a tin roof. The facility has separate rooms so medical teams can see multiple patients at a time and can triage patients by the type of care needed. Now when the government comes in or when VIP’s medical teams come in from the United States, they have a structure they can work in that includes waiting rooms and treatment rooms with needed equipment.
Additionally, VIP worked with villagers to complete the addition of a second room of a school in the area. Housing for teachers was also built. These homes included solar panels on the roof to allow for electricity in the home. Such access is rare, which makes this particular village a more attractive job prospect for government-supplied teachers despite being in a remote region.
VIP’s work doesn’t end with construction. “In addition to putting the wells in, a well committee is formed,” explained Dan. “VIP will send in instructors, sometimes they are from a village that has gotten a well previously, and they teach the committee how to maintain the pump or test the well for purity. Going forward, if there are issues they can deal with them themselves before having to go outside. This not only saves money but also creates pride of ownership. Every one of these projects has a sustainability orientation. It’s about the relationships. Eventually, we’d like to get to a point where they don’t need anything from VIP. The purpose expressed by one of the earlier village groups was they wanted to get to the point where they were helping the other villages.”
VIP’s work has expanded from the small grouping of villages it began with to the broader network they come alongside now, aided by the support and prayer of churches like ours, other organizations, and individuals. This brings us back to this year’s walk. “Being a founding partner, I feel like it’s important that we continue to support them,” said Robin. “They are one of our global mission efforts. We only have two, we have what’s happening in Chiapas and we have what’s in Malawi. It’s important to let them know that we’re still supporting them. We’ve made a commitment and we have people on the other side of the world that know who we are and that we’re praying for them and that we’re supporting them.”
The model of sustainability is built on the idea of a village blessing another village by coming alongside and partnering with them to improve and maintain those six pillars outlined by Robin above. “God blessed Abraham to be a blessing to the world and that’s what we’re trying to do in Malawi, be a blessing to one village so they can eventually be a blessing to others,” said Dan.