Sarah’s blog 2/2/26
I want to use today’s blog to explain how hard and exhausting things can be for Levison and his team in Malawi. I don’t think any of us can begin to understand quite how challenging life can be for Levison and his colleagues. Yet they continue to work hard to support their community. Despite the difficulties, they continue to be committed to making a difference. We are so thankful that we have such caring partners in Malawi. Thank you Levison and team. This is the story of a difficult journey.
As the village they live in is at the foot of the Mafinga Hills (near the borders with Zambia and Tanzania) they have to travel a long way to collect the boxes we send. It is approximately 300km each way but, as you will read, it is far from straightforward and is a difficult journey.
The truck set off from Ibuluma, between Chisenga and Chitipa, on Thursday early afternoon and travelled to Karonga. The three colleagues slept at Karonga and set off very early on Friday morning to reach Ekwendeni (near Mzuzu) by 10am when the container was due to be unloaded.
On the way they had a scheduled stop to get two new batteries for the truck. Once the batteries had been fitted, Levison then needed a welder to replace the bars covering the batteries which help prevent them from being stolen.
It is currently the rainy season. When it rains, it really rains. Recently, some bridges and roads have been damaged, houses and schools have been destroyed and crops washed away. Driving on country roads is always a difficult journey, but more so during the rains.
Thankfully, the lorry carrying the container arrived from Lilongwe after having to have a crack in its water tank repaired. Levison and his two colleagues collected all their boxes and loaded them onto the back of the truck. Everything was tied down and covered with tarpaulins to protect the boxes from the weather.
Levison had suggested to others travelling in the same direction that they go in convoy so that it would be safer in case of breakdowns, accidents or robberies. It gets dark in Malawi at 6pm all year round so much of their journey was undertaken in darkness, making it more dangerous.
Unfortunately, the people who had agreed to travel north with Levison changed their minds and drove off. Levison phoned them and they said they’d wait but again drove off. It’s disappointing when not everyone looks out of each other despite having had help and support from Levison previously.
As Levison’s truck was travelling slowly, in the dark, avoiding potholes at Jalawe, they were suddenly aware of people on the truck. They think there were a lot of people hiding in the bushes. They managed to chase two people off the truck once they stopped and got out of the cab. Unfortunately, the people had ripped the tarpaulin covering the boxes and made off with at least three boxes.
The thieves have had training shoes, school uniform for Bright Futures Secondary School and other clothes and shoes. A skirt was found at the side of the road that had been dropped as the robbers ran off. I am so thankful that Levison noticed quickly and they managed to scare the people away and that more things weren’t stolen or anyone hurt.
This incident has been reported to the police.
Once they arrived at Karonga, a new tarpaulin had to be bought to keep the worst of the rain from ruining the boxes and their contents. They rested at Karonga before continuing their journey. Something also broke on the truck due to the roads being so bumpy. Levison messaged to say that they were going to get the truck fixed once the torrential rain stopped.
Finally, exhausted, Levison and his two colleagues have arrived back safely at 4am on Sunday morning, the fourth day. As you can see, it’s a difficult journey. Nothing is straightforward. Could we do this for those in need? Would we go to all this effort?
All the boxes have had to be crosschecked to check what has been stolen. Many of the boxes are wet due to the tarpaulin being ripped open. Hours of extra work is now taking place trying to dry everything out before it all gets ruined. As we carefully label each box to say which project/who it is for and what it contains, all the wet things need to be kept together to ensure that they go to the correct place. It will take a lot of organisation and disruption to ensure everything is ok. This has taken all of today, both here and in Malawi, helping Levison with identifying boxes, what they contain and which project it is for. Tomorrow, all the wet items will need to be sorted and hung up to dry.
Despite all the challenges they carry on supporting the most vulnerable in their community. This is the story of a difficult journey. There are challenges every day; sourcing enough maize for the weekly feeding programme, finding fuel for the truck or having to wait days until the petrol stations have had a delivery. Daily, people are turning up asking for help. People cannot feed their families because of the food crisis in Malawi.
Hopefully, this gives blog more of an insight into just how challenging life can be for Levison and his team. This is one difficult journey. Every day there are difficult decisions. Things are getting better but there is still so much to do. We need your help and support to ensure that life continues to improve for the hundreds of vulnerable young people and their families. All are living in extreme poverty and need a helping hand through education, feeding and sustainable projects.
I apologise if I sound upset and frustrated. I am, on behalf of Levison and his team. So much extra work has been caused by these thieves ripping the tarpaulins. Many of the boxes have been soaked by heavy rain. Hopefully, most things can be dried and saved and that we will be able to share photos of items being given to those most in need over the next few weeks.
Thanks everyone for your continued support. To Levison and team, thank you for all your hard work and commitment. Also, thank you to all the volunteers at Bananabox Trust who organise the container. Together we can continue Changing Lives (in) Malawi, Sarah x If you’d like to get in touch our email is contact_us@changinglivesmalawi.com
