News

Malawi has one of the worst records in the world when it comes to child marriages. According to the UNPFA, almost half of women in Malawi are married before they’re 18, with an alarming number married very much earlier than that. Child marriages often have devastating consequences for the girls involved. Not only are they often subjected to sexual violence, risky pregnancies and HIV, but many drop out of school early, dooming them to a life of poverty and dependance.

But child marriage is only the tip of the iceberg. The narrative which emerged from the various brainstorming and discussion sessions in our recent Child Safeguarding training was of a culture that abounds with real danger to the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of the millions of children all around us. Secretive, sexualized rites of passage and sinister superstitions conspire to put myriads of children in real and present danger.

Only the Gospel can make a change

Only the gospel and a personal loving relationship with the Lord Jesus can make a real and lasting change in the lives of these young ones. But it became very clear during our training that even when children are reached and saved by the Gospel of God’s grace, many will likely bear permanent scars of the abuses they have already been subjected to.

We were very blessed to benefit from the experience and obvious commitment of the Tehila trainers who traveled from Lusaka to be with us for the four day workshop. As we explored what it means to be a child in Malawi, learning how to identify and help the vulnerable, and even how to equip them to look out for themselves, we were really glad for the enthusiasm with which our own volunteers, representatives of the local police unit and some key community leaders embraced the training and committed to work together for the well-being of the youngsters all around us. This is just the beginning of a journey for us. What began as an exercise to put in place a legal document has begun to assume much greater importance, as we all have been confronted again, with the extent and intensity of the darkness all around us.

We are just a small team in Malawi, but as you pray for the work and workers, as we hope you will, please particularly pray that the Lord will direct us into ways that we can use what we have learned to be even more effective in reaching young lives with the Gospel and seeing them rescued from the misery in which so many are found.

Pray that the Lord would supply the resources we need not just pounds but people to reach more of these little ones for whom Christ died. The Lord Jesus said, Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of heaven. Thank you for praying.