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We brought Selina home with us December 13, 2002, after being
introduced to her at the crisis nursery that the Dimmocks have
recently begun. Selina was our family's Christmas present. She
is nearly a twin to Salome in age and culturally they could be
sisters since their home villages are in the same area. Selina's
birth mother died when Selina was about 10 months old but the
birth mother had been unable to care for Selina for a long time.
Selina weighed 11 pounds from the age of 4 months to 12 months.
Although at first severely malnourished and unable to sit Selina
has flourished rapidly with food and attention. She now weighs
20 pounds and is crawling and pulling herself up. She gets very
frustrated when her new brothers and sister are running around
and she is not yet able to keep up. For now, she is an independent
toddler in a baby's body, but not for long.
We want to express our deep thankfulness for the support that
sustained us last year. We thank you for prayers, positive and
sustaining thoughts, unexpected postcards from churches, and email
encouragement. Also, we send a huge "thank you" to the
congregations sewed nets, sent financial contributions, and bought
PC(USA) Networkers Mother's Day cards as this past year was very
encouraging for the malaria program.
Malaria prevention has been part of the primary health care program
of the hospitals for several years and recently in some congregations,
yet there was little increase in the use of bed nets. However,
with increased financial support for training, nets, and insecticide,
the concept of using nets has burgeoned. Yet, there continues
much to do. Although the prevalence and impact of HIV/AIDS is
horrific, affecting 9 percent of the entire population, malaria
remains the leading cause of illness and death in Malawi. Malaria
accounts for more than one third of outpatient visits among children
under five and 40 percent of deaths in children less than two.
Pregnant women are four times more likely to suffer from complications
of malaria than non-pregnant women, and those with HIV infection
are even more at risk. With 20 to 30 percent of pregnant women
being HIV positive, the combination is lethal for them and their
newborns.
In addition to reaching isolated areas with education on malaria
prevention and insecticide-treated nets, the program also provides
in some places drugs to congregations to treat malaria and simple
skin infections. For most families, there is no source of what
we in the United States would consider basic home drugs, such
as Tylenol, aspirin, or antibiotic skin ointments.
In October this year, our term of service with the PC(USA) and
the Synod of Livingstonia is ending. The Synod has requested our
return and we anticipate that we will be returning to Malawi around
June 2004. We'll be based in Decatur, Georgia, beginning in August
of this year. We look forward to seeing many of you during our
furlough.
We pray for peace and resolution to the political crises that
hamper development and destroy God's children, including the term
of office for Malawi's president. We ask you to do the same.
Peace,
Jodi, Jim, Michael, Jason, Salome, and Selina
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, page
48
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