Along my travels in Africa, I met the Taonga Tribe of 4500 people that live on beautiful Lake Malawi. Malawi is the fourth most impoverished country in the world. Getting a glimpse into how they live made an impact on my heart and called me to action. To learn more about the tribe you are supporting please read further.

The Essentials and Daily Life:

The average family consists of two parents and typically up to five kids. Life expectancy is 50 to 60 years of age and it is not uncommon for kids to have one parent pass away early because medical care is unavailable or gotten too late.

They make their own bricks for their houses, have electricity only in certain small areas and do not have running water. The tribe gets water through two pumps that the Canadian government provided and they carry it back home in large buckets (sometimes over a mile) to use for bathing (no bathtub or shower or bathroom), doing dishes, cleaning, and drinking. They use about four buckets a day per household. There are no couches or coffee tables or TVs or photos or paintings hung - there are no decorations. Sheets hanging separate rooms, not doors. There are a couple wooden makeshift chairs to sit on.

The community shares a space to cook and there are is a drop toilet outside for the community to use. It is a small enclosure made of bricks for privacy.

People share used clothes donated from tourists (there are no nearby stores to buy new things from) and only a sliver of the population has wireless phones that are very dated (ex: Nokia dated 1990). There are no places to work to sell goods, so most people make money through hand carving games they play and sell to tourists along with other carvings and paintings. I played a game with one man from the tribe. I bought it and am happy to have it at home now to celebrate the memory.

Healthcare:

There are about 100 cases of malaria daily because there is not enough medicine available to prevent malaria and not enough mosquito nets, so pregnant women are prioritized to use the nets. Some people have had malaria 8 times.

Also, about 10% of the population has HIV, which is a significant reduction from years ago because people have become more educated on how it spreads and condoms have been introduced to the village.

How Your Contribution Will Make a Dofference:

This tribe is full of wonderful people and would really benefit from your help. Some people within this tribe live on less than $1/day. Even a donation of $5 will go a long way if you can contribute.

I have been working with the community social worker to learn what top five things will really make a difference. I told him to think big so together we can really make an impact. He shared that the community really needs:

1. Another water pump because there are still many people walking far with their buckets of water.

2. Another school building structure (in many cases kids learn under Mango trees because they don’t have a proper building).

3. A car so kids can get to school when it rains. Some kids have to walk over a mile and the rain creates too much mud making it dangerous. A car would also be used to take people to the hospital.

4. Feeding programs at the preschool because most kids go to school without eating.

5. Homes for the elderly.

I realize these are big endeavors. Let’s aim high. At the start of the new year, we will see how we can best help them based on the total contributions.

Once we identify how the donations will be used, I will post pictures about how things are coming along so you can see how your contributions make a difference for their community that is full of heart and soul.

Thank you for anything you can do ❤️