Our Founder and Executive Director, Annie Chikhwaza brings our Kondanani Year End Report for 2022 with Christmas Greetings from our family to yours and every blessing for the New Year Ahead.
Dear friend
I am sitting on my veranda, over looking the green hills. What a paradise we live in, and how faithful God has been throughout 2022. The rains have come, the local people are planting, some are weeding already. Maize is the staple food, and it has almost become impossible for them to buy it in the shops or market, the price has tripled. We have been fortunate enough, with the help of our sponsors, to fill our maize containers shortly after the harvest of 2022. Enough for a whole year.
The year of 2022 has been very eventful with lots of blessings and lots of challenges. What is amazing, is that in overcoming the challenges we find joy and blessing. They bring out the winning streak in us and make us more determined.
Something very difficult we had to deal with this year has been the charges laid against a former volunteer at Kondanani. This is not something to focus on in a Christmas update, but needs to be mentioned to ensure transparency. If you would like to know more, please see the statement on our home page. We value the prayers of all our supporters in this matter. Please rest assured the safety of our children is our number priority.
Kondanani Year End Update for 2022
We are delighted with the progress of our students
Our children will always remain our focus. They are so special to us. Let’s firstly acknowledge our children attending the Lewis Chikhwaza Christian Academy and then I will give you an update on our university students.
End of Year Award Ceremony, Lewis Chikhwaza Christian Academy.
It is an honour to congratulate our children at the end of each year for their great achievements in school. Special thanks to all staff members for being there yearly, and showing your consistent love and support in helping the children become great leaders.
We now have several children at University, some at the Catholic University in Malawi and others applying to the University of Zambia. The children have such diverse interests from IT to tourism to medicine. We are so proud of them. Read some of their latest testimonies.
This month our oldest four are doing their final exams and will graduate. They have never failed a semester in the four years at University. But the most important of all, they have kept the faith. Father God kept them in the hollow of His Hands.
One of our young men, who is studying English, did his practicals at a school for orphans. His way of giving back to what he had received since he was a tiny baby and is now 23.
Another just turned 24, met his partner for life. A lovely God fearing girl. They are making wedding plans for next year. That will be the first wedding and I so look forward to that. We need to do some of the traditional things. She has been introduced to me, and I am now going to meet her parents. I think I have to bring presents and stuff. Will get advice.
The only female of the four is doing very very well, she will go far. The last of the three young men is a delight. He really was a very shy young man, but when he had to help others in his class with a computer project, he felt needed and that changed him. He was able to help as he was the only one who had computer lessons.
We have two more students going to university in February. Both girls enrolling for Banking and Finance. They will first go this coming Monday for five weeks for bridging classes.
We hoped to have news from the University of Zambia for admission of two youngsters, one for Medical School and one for Vet School, but no news yet.
Two girls just passed the Malawian High School Diploma. One has left and gone to the family and the other one will do a beauty course. Another of our boys is doing his exam next week, he studied fashion design.
What has really blessed us this year is how we have seen spiritual growth in many of the children . Real change and that is so vital important for their future.
With so many teens they are handful at times but we choose to encourage them. Of course, there is discipline and consequences for the wrong choices made, but we see so much improvement as they grow older.
Each of them know they are dearly loved. I recently took two ‘naughty’ kids out for breakfast to give them a talking to… it may have had the reverse effect. Will the children be naughty now to have breakfast with Mummy?”
We thank God for His provision in every area
Over the past months we have been busy with many different projects. One is the implementation of solar energy. We can now generate 32 KW which will make a huge difference. Some of our boys have been involved in helping to install the solar panels and they have done a great job. This will provide power for the Children’s Village, Hospital and our income generating activities like our cheese making project.
The hospital is completely off the local electricity grid, along with most of the cheese factory. Plus we hope to take Kondanani completely off the local electricity grid. To be on it is not worthwhile because the power is off so often. We have quite a bit of solar already and our recent 32 Kw booster can now be distributed throughout KCV bit by bit. It did not come without a number of hurdles but it is here now. God is in control.
Last month another vision was fulfilled when our dental surgery was installed. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and we now have the opportunity to serve the people in the villages with dental problems. Most of them have no means to travel to the hospital in town. We are close to many of the village population.
Everyone wants our Mozzarella which is amazing. A new cheese vat of 500 litres is being shipped from Cape Town, South Africa. This will make all the difference in keeping up with this demand. All this helps to generate income to support the children and our medical and dental outreaches. We will soon be able to double the production of our cheese factory.
Thank you for reading our Kondanani Year End Report for 2022. We look forward to 2023 and all the wonderful things that are going to happen in our children’s lives.
We wish you all a Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
