Please pray that we will have wisdom and clear guidance as we weigh up whether the conference should go ahead.
We have been looking forward to this conference with great anticipation. Goodson & his team have been working tirelessly to get the dormitory ready. The brothers have been sending invitations across the country. The speakers have travel booked & paid for and have been preparing their messages.
However, sadly the crisis in the Middle East has exacerbated the near-permanent local fuel problem. Malawi is now the second most expensive country in the world for petrol & diesel – when it is available. (Pump prices are now ~US$3.85 / litre – black market prices are nearly double that. And the fuel is often contaminated.)
Each year we heavily subsidise the travel of those who attend the conference. However transport costs have rocketed, making it prohibitively expensive for people to travel. More seriously, there is a very real and increasing possibility that there will simply be no fuel and the country will come to a complete standstill.
The Government of Malawi has stated that they have acquired a loan of $120m to acquire fuel. That will only provide very temporary relief, if it actually materialises.
We are keeping the situation under close review, but will likely have to take a decision to cancel if the situation does not markedly improve in the next few days.