We knew we could not find the homes
of the Branch members without help.
There are no detailed maps of the townships in our Branch
area-Zingwangwa, Chilowbe, and Soche, to name the ones we know best. With few exceptions, the roads, lanes and
alley ways are not named. And even if
they were, the homes, often clustered in odd groupings, are not numbered. As a consequence, at the first meeting with
the Branch presidency, we asked President Chikapa (the Branch President) for the names of members who
could take us to the homes of a few of the Branch members, knowing we had to
start somewhere. He suggested working
with the Bandas, Brother Banda serving as the Branch’s Elders Quorum President,
and Sister Banda as the Branch’s Relief Society President.
For this reason, Carole and I soon
got to know the Bandas, more intimately than we did other members, whom we only
saw weekly at Church meetings. As I mentioned
before, the Bandas live high on the slopes of Mount Soche, in a slight bowl on
the mountain, where a number of other members live—Brothers Sangala and Petro,
the Phiris, the Tellas, the Malungas, and the Themkas . They have three children—Comfort (11),
Conscious (9), and Cornice (or Corney) (3).
Our first member visit was to the Bandas’ home. Banda is one of the most common Malawian surnames—like
Smith or Brown or Johnson in the United States.
[Malawi is currently in the midst of a major political scandal—called
“Cashgate”—where a number of high ranking government officials—including the
former President Joyce Banda (no relation)—embezzled millions and millions of
dollars.] Although I have shared this
photo before, I will use it again here to reintroduce the family:
Brother Banda is artistic and
musical. Often he is called upon to
lead the congregation when singing hymns.
With expansive sweeps of his arms, he marks the beat of the music and
urges us to sing along. Not musically
inclined, I generally don’t like to sing much, but even I find it hard to
resist Brother Banda’s encouragement.
Brother Banda tries to eke out a living selling his wood curvings, hand-made
and individually designed cards, and water colors, not an easy way to support a
family, whether it be in the States or here in Malawi. He comes by his talent naturally, his
grandfather before him having also worked as an artist. We understand Brother Banda’s family has
been in the Blantyre for several generations, but before that the family was
from a district in the northern part of Malawi, not far from Mzuzu, the major
city in the north. For the last three
or four weeks, Brother Banda has been out of town, called north to work with his
uncle on some kind of family business venture.
Since most men do piece work—miscellaneous work projects as opposed to steady
employment—to make ends meet, it is not uncommon for men to pack up and go at
the spurn of a moment, to the home village, to another town in Malawi, or even,
on the rare occasion, to another African country, for a temporary job, usually one
sourced by family members or close friends.
Brother Banda stays in touch with the family with occasional phone
calls, but must do so sparingly because of cost.
Brother Banda introduced Carole and
me to the Phiris, Brother Sangala, and Brother Petro, winding through the paths
of upper Soche, and leading us to their homes.
These introductions launched us, giving us the confidence and
orientation necessary to find those families later on our own. Even
now, after almost two months in Blantyre, we are more comfortable picking our
way through the backlanes of Soche than any of the our townships in our Branch,
owing to Brother Banda’s, and then later Brother Phiri’s, assistance.
Sister Banda, like her husband, is
a stalwart in the Branch, leading the women’s organization (the Branch Relief
Society), and making herself available, however inconvenient personally, to
help out with virtually every service project the Branch sponsors. Carole and I think of her as having a heart
of gold, a true example of the type of “charity” the Apostle Paul speaks of in
1 Corinthians 13. Sister Banda must make real sacrifices to take
on projects during the day. First of
all, like other young Malawian women, she has to tote Corney with her wherever
she goes, Corney being too small to walk very far on her own. And because the Bandas live high up the
slopes, she usually has a long walk to meet the other sisters for their compassionate
visits to other Branch members. It is at
least a 40 minute walk each way from her home to the Zingwangwa meetinghouse,
and back again. The following photos
capture how Malawian women attach their infants and young children to their
backs for long walks.
%2B-%2BCopy.JPG)
The wrap used for carrying the
infants/children is called a “chitenge,”
one of the most commonly used items of women’s clothing. Once the infants/children are hoisted up, the
mothers will carry them on their backs for miles. The first week we were in Blantyre Sister
Banda assembled a group of women to make a compassionate visit to Sister
Nkandawire, whose mother had just died.
Carole felt privileged to join with those sisters. The visit to the Nkandawires consumed the
entire morning, first gathering at the Church, then crossing town for the visit,
(the Nkandawires actually live outside
the physical boundaries of the Branch, but want to continue attending our
Branch). Here are a couple of photos of
the women who participated in the trip, showing how much support the women give
one another, giving meaning to the simple proposition that, in times of
trouble, the saints should be ready to mourn together, an living example of the
unity in the Church.
Two weeks ago I scheduled a mid-week
visit with Sister MaKawa, an active member of the Branch who comes to Church
with her four year old daughter, Gertrude.
She and her family live high above Chilobwe market, among the last two
or three homes before the government land.
Not knowing where they lived, we asked Sister Banda if the MaKawas were
close to the Bandas and, if so, if she could show us the way a day or two
before our appointment. Her response
was “no problem, they are quite close.”
I doubt Carole and I will ever again believe Sister Banda, her natural
willingness to help trumping any sense of self preservation. The Saturday before our scheduled visit we
trekked for nearly 45 minutes, in the baking mid-day heat, along a winding path
high up the hillside, from the Bandas to the MaKawas, the last 200 years to the
home a rock scramble. The whole time
Corney is perched on her mother’s back, Sister Banda striding along, without
water or rest breaks, waiting on occasion for Carole and me to keep pace.
Sister Banda met Brother Banda when
they both attended a secondary boarding school, miles from their homes. They were each selected for the school
because of their sterling school performance.
Sister Banda’s family comes from Likoma, the largest of the two
inhabited islands in Lake Malawi (the country’s best known natural
attraction). Her island is actually within
the territorial waters of Mozambique, just miles of its coast, but the
residents speak Chichewa and are Malawians.
Sister Banda has not visited home, since she married 14 years ago, not
an uncommon byproduct of the challenges of growing up and living in Malawi,
where considerations of cost dictate much of what one does.
Working now with the Primary at the
Branch, Carole has Comfort and Conscious in Primary during the Sunday
schedule. They are exceptionally quick
and well-informed. She can count on them
to have answers to the questions about the Bible and Book of Mormon, which she
has for the Primary children. Comfort is
like his father when it comes to music.
Without help, during sharing time in Primary, he can lead the children
in singing, using the same dramatic arm gestures to beat time, and starting the
songs with “one, two three, sing.” The
other day Sister Branda told us that Comfort has been at the top of his class
for the last several years, no doubt a tribute both to his innate smarts but
also to his parent’s encouragement. Conscious
is also a good student, but not quite the standout that his brother is. It will be interesting to watch the boys
progress over the coming years. Like
many who join the Church (the Bandas have been members for only three years),
families usually experience radical changes in their individual circumstances
within a generation or two. I am
confident the boys will have bright futures, both in terms of their leadership
potential in the Church, but also in their standing in the community. They will learn much for taking on leadership
roles in the Branch, giving talks in Church, participating in Primary and Young
Men, and eventually serving on missions.
Usually we see the boys playing
around the Bandas’ home, when we drop by the house, in the late afternoons. The other day the boys had fashioned
self-made Indian-like headdresses, chicken feathers attached to a band of some
material. Unfortunately, I did not have
a camera at hand. It showed how
inventive boys and girls can be, even at a young age, making due with what they
have at hand, and finding ways to create an imaginary world for child-like play. I should have asked the boys about their play,
both are pretty fluent in English (though Chichewa will be spoken at home),
wondering if they really were playing “Cowboys and Indians,” something they
would know little about. The Bandas do
not have a TV or DVD player in their home, and I would be surprised if many of
their immediate neighbors did either.
The following photo was taken during a recent baptismal service in the
backyard of the Zingwangwa Branch, capturing a group of primary children
looking on. You shouldn’t have too much
difficulty spotting the Banda brothers, they have a distinctive look (top and
center):
At three, Corney is the baby of the
family. We have shared photos of her
before; here she is playing with her brother Conscious close to their home:
Life is fragile in Malawi, especially
for the young. Two weeks ago, while
Brother Banda was out of town, Corney had a sudden fever, which they could not
get down. With a neighbor’s help, somehow Sister Banda got Corney to the
hospital in the middle of the night. In
Soche this is easier said than done, bearing in mind that there are no street
lights, no taxis, few cars, terrible roads.
Carole and I felt bad we were not there to help, after getting so much help
from Sister Banda and her family over the last several weeks. What would have been easy for us (a quick ride
in the truck) was a real trial for the Bandas. Fortunately, with some medications and care,
they were able to bring the fever down, and in a few days, Corney was back to
normal, running about and causing mischief.
Had Corney contracted malaria,
the story might well have had a different ending, a crushing fear that every Malawian
mother carries in her heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment