JUDITH AND THE ORPHANS OF CHIGWERE

Story by Susan Medler, public relations manager for Outreach International

If women hold up half the world, Judith is doing her share of the heavy lifting. Her commitment to the orphaned children of her village is nothing short of heroic. This is her story.

I am visiting Chigwere, a breathtakingly beautiful village in Malawi, Africa, where Outreach International works. Judith has invited me to her home, and we are sitting together on a woven grass mat. She is surrounded by children.

“My name is Judith,” she tells me with the assistance of a translator, “and I am a widow.” She draws a breath and continues. “Although I do not have a husband, I have taken in six orphans from our village. I have two children, and I also take care of my younger sister, who suffered from a stroke.”

Painful Truths

Across the bridge of those few words comes a trainload of truth.

In Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, nearly everyone struggles to thrive. Growing or buying food is an endless concern, and disease is a constant threat. Nearly 60 children in Chigwere have recently been orphaned – half by HIV AIDS.

Taking care of one’s own is hard enough here, but to do it without a partner...and then to take on six more young children...

I ask the obvious question: “How do you do it?”

“It is very difficult. I cut grass and sell it, or I collect firewood to sell. But this is not enough.”

Judith tells me that when times are really lean, when there is no food in the house, she leaves the village to find piecework.

She may be gone a day or two, and the children are hungry. So she leaves them with a cob of corn and tells them to pluck the dry kernels and toast them over a fire. If they swallow the corn and then drink water, the starch will swell and trick the belly into feeling full.

I wonder aloud what would have happened to the six orphaned children if she hadn’t taken them in.

“They would have died,” Judith says.

That Was Then

That was the painful truth before Outreach International began working in Chigwere. Sometimes children were discovered too late, already taken by starvation or dehydration. Now, the community has organized on behalf of the orphans.

“We walk the community regularly,” says Judith. “If we find children alone at home, we ask, ‘Where is your mother? Where is your father?’”

Today, all of Chigwere’s orphans have a home. To assist Judith and the other adoptive parents, Outreach International helped the community launch several self-sustaining programs, including a poultry project, children’s health-monitoring program, and a village preschool.

And guess who stepped forward to serve the school as a volunteer teacher?

That’s right, Judith. Outreach International connected Judith with a teacher-training program, and now she spends part of each day helping little ones learn their letters and numbers.

“We have no books or paper or chalk, but we can see a great improvement in the children. They are better prepared for primary school; they do better in school.” Kids are healthier, too, thanks to the school’s nutrition program.

120 children attend the preschool; 39 of these are AIDS orphans. The school is free for the children, but Judith is not paid, either. Her time in the classroom might otherwise be spent growing food or doing piecework.

“I just decided to help the children,” she says. “I don’t have much, but I want to share the little that I have.”

Looking to the Future

I decide to ask Judith what she hopes for most. I imagine the universe of possible answers.

Her answer is immediate and unequivocal: “Fertilizer.”

 It’s the practical answer of a dedicated mother with many mouths to feed. Fertilizer means more food. 

In the background, one of Judith’s daughters is adding a fresh layer of mud to their house – it needs to be at its strongest when the rains come next month. The youngest child scoots closer to Judith; she draws her knees in and closes her eyes for a nap.