Dear Friends and Family,

"Have you got your bags packed?" It was Susan Ryan of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance on the phone, asking Simon how quickly he could get ready to go to Malawi to assist in the famine relief efforts. The call came on Maundy Thursday, and at four in the morning of the Monday after Easter, Haejung was driving Simon to Cincinnati to start the 30-hour journey to Blantyre in southern Malawi.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its members have strong relationships with our partners in Malawi. As early as August 2001, the folks in Malawi knew that the country was facing a very bad food shortage. By February of this year people were dying from hunger and malnutrition and it became a national disaster.
In many African countries, churches step up to provide care to the people when the government response is slow and inadequate. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has decided to support the Church of Central Africa-Presbyterian (CCAP)-Blantyre Synod in their relief efforts. Normally, PDA does not implement the relief program itself, but rather relies on the partner in the field of ministry. However, the urgent need combined with the lack of capacity in the partner church motivated PDA to take lead this time. Mr. Hudson Lugano, a Kenyan Christian with a wealth of experience in relief work in Africa, was hired to set up the initial system and build the human capacity within the church. Simon was called in to assess the situation regarding the need, financial accountability systems, and the training needs. Too often, outside helpers rush in when the disaster strikes only to leave when the real rebuilding process ought to start. Please visit the PDA site on the web (www.pcusa.org/pda/) and learn more about the ministry.

It is both a personal privilege to participate in this ministry in a small way and a good learning experience. I just want to share a few items I noticed along the way. With heightened security, Simon tends to get picked for extra checks. It seems Simon stands out as being peculiar—he is traveling to unusual destinations in a very short notice, traveling with little luggage, and is not talking on the mobile phone while boarding. The longest leg in the voyage was the Atlanta–Johannesburg segment. On the way over it was a non-stop 14 and a half hour flight. On the way back we had to stop at the island of Sal in Cape Verde, West Africa (see if you can find this on the map) for a fuel stop, making it an 18-hour flight. All in all, it took over thirty hours each way.

We, the relief team from CCAP, arrived at a village in southern Malawi to distribute relief food items and were met with joyful singing of young mothers with babies in their arms. Pretty soon, the singing turned into angry shouting. It turns out that GTZ, a German Aid agency, was in the village distributing high protein porridge for children under five. When our truck showed up, they stopped the distribution and prepared to leave. The young aid-worker told us that he could not collaborate with us due to the European Union’s regulation that they will not distribute food in any village where others are helping. It was not as bad a regulation as it seemed at first. The EU was concerned that the help be not concentrated in small areas with good contacts, such as the hometowns of government officials. Sometimes, church partnerships can also have the effect of distributing help according to the connections rather than need. We made special efforts to provide help based on the need rather than tribe, religion, or family ties. Once again, I learned firsthand the value of working together and coordinating the efforts. While the EU policy was a reasonable one in Brussels, it was a difficult one to explain to the mothers with starving children in their arms, and it put the staff on the ground in danger.

When we are doing relief work, the checks and balances, the system of accountability, and other bureaucratic processes seem so cold-hearted in the face of immediate need. Proper planning and coordination are necessary, especially in the chaotic situation of emergency work. One day spent in proper planning seems to save days later. Dr. Terry Hatch in Illinois told us that giving too much nutrition at once to a malnourished child actually hurts, even kills, the child by overloading the child’s ability to handle the energy. Simon believes the same is true when financial resources are rushed into relief efforts. Without the organizational capacity to properly administer the resources, good-hearted gifts can be wasted and abused. We are very glad that PDA sent the management capacity along with the funds for food items. Perhaps a better solution is to enhance our partners’ capacities before the disaster strikes again. Perhaps we can even prevent some disasters due to mismanagement and incompetence.

Simon was fortunate enough to meet with Dr. Ellard Malindi, who is heading up the Food Security Commission for the government of Malawi. Dr. Malindi spent nine years at the University of Illinois earning his graduate degrees in agriculture. He and his wife were active members of the First Presbyterian Church of Urbana. We were briefed on the national plans and discussed the ways PC(USA) can coordinate our relief and redevelopment efforts to complement the government programs. It was more than a business meeting; it was a time to reaffirm our respective responsibilities in God’s ministry and to encourage one another. Remember Dr. Malindi and his team in your prayers, for wisdom, courage, and health, as they seek to lead the country to a permanent solution of food security. It was a very tiring trip, but a rewarding one. We thank God for the opportunities to assist in the church’s efforts to accompany partners in long-lasting relationships.

Meanwhile, in Nepal the United Missions to Nepal (UMN) has accepted us and has begun our visa process. We hope to arrive in Nepal by the end of July. Maoist guerrillas are continuing on their destructive path. Many lives on both sides have been lost and already minimal infrastructure is being destroyed. Many hydroelectric plants, roads, and airport control towers have been put out of commission, keeping much of the rural population isolated. Please pray for a peaceful resolution to this conflict and for the missionaries at UMN and their ministries. Also pray that the $20 million in military aid from the United States furthers the peace process and doesn’t fuel the hatred among the belligerents towards America and its people.

We continue to be on the road visiting churches and sharing the stories of God’s ministry. We are privileged to have these opportunities until we leave for our next assignment.

And so went another month in home (?) assignment.

Talk to you again next month.

May the coming Spirit descend upon you and minister among you.

Our address until the end of July is:

1219 Brookline Avenue
Louisville, KY 40215
(502) 363-2921