TransWorld Radio Malawi Celebrates 25 Years on FM - Press Release

Update on and Appeal for Support towards TWR Malawi

Silver Jubilee Celebrations

Trans World Radio (TWR) a non-denominational broadcaster seeks the support of individuals, friends, companies, churches and partners towards the celebration of 25 years of work in Malawi.

Since 1986 when its radio work officially started, TWR has seen thousands of lives transformed in Malawi and beyond. This year, we are also celebrating ten years (from 2001) of broadcasting on a national FM network with a clean signal using English, Chichewa, Chitumbuka and Chiyao.

Hundreds of testimonies through letters, emails, SMS and personal meetings abound each month. Many Malawians in one way or the other have been impacted by TWR through its shortwave broadcasts in the early years when work was pioneered by among others former MBC broadcaster Mr. Pearson Chunga (based in Swaziland).

As such, we have organized listener celebrations in Mzuzu on Sunday 25th September 2011 at Katoto Freedom Park. Later on the main celebrations move to Blantyre on Sunday 16th for an inter-denominational thanksgiving morning Service and an open celebration show in the afternoon. The main closing event is on Saturday 22nd October at Lilongwe Community Centre Ground.

Ahead of that other special activities include having women take full charge of the airwaves beginning Monday 12th Sept to 18th September. This is to let women who have never been on air to celebrate in a special way by handling basic production and presenting radio programmes. A similar opportunity was made for the children in August during their school holiday.

TWR is also working on installing a new transmitter in Mchinji and host an appreciation dinner on Friday 21st October. The funds raised will go towards the expansion of TWR FM signal to Karonga and Chitipa.

Operating under the theme is “Thus far, has the Lord helped us” from 1 Samuel 12:7, the Silver Jubilee celebrations are an opportunity to celebrate God’s goodness to and through TWR Malawi in the last 25 years, launch a new listeners’ radio project and see a strengthened resource base.

TWR remains committed to holistic programming thereby build good character in the citizens in addition to helping the Church in its mission to reach people through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. We remain committed to provide information, inspiration and entertainment in Malawi.

As such ongoing financial support, patronage and sponsorship especially in this special season will help TWR continue to being useful to Malawi and beyond. For details on how to support (which will be acknowledged publicly), contact the undersigned.

Signed

Victor Kaonga,
National Director (Mobile 0999338902)

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malawi gospel music project X

I have teamed up with some guys to come up with a project to train young Christians in singing gospel music. The project is called Project X and has 15 young men and women from St James CCAP Church in Zingwangwa.

I have grown to like music by the likes of Hillsongs of Australia, Don Moen and Micheal W Smith and i have always wanted to hear the same type of music played by my fellow Malawians. Unfortunately am not good at singing so i decided to team up with some guys to run this project. am mostly doing the administration part while Cassius Ndovie is concentrating on the technical part.

Project X is modelled after groups like Hillsongs and Integrity Music. We plan to train the guys to be individual artists both in singing and playing instruments. Since May we have been inviting various professionals to teach the youths some aspects of music. A sample of the songs they have managed to compose and record so far can be found and downloaded here

Funding

This ambitious project will require alot money and we are asking people who are willing to help us with this project to contact me and i will email them the Project X Concept Paper.

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They need help…….

My part time work as a volunteer placement coordinator for various organizations has enlightened me to many problems that Malawians are facing. Even though I grew up in a poor family, I dint know the extent of poverty in other people’s lives until recently…here is one case.

I was looking for an orphan care centre to place a volunteer when I came across Step Kids Awareness Centre (STEKA) at Nyambadwe in Blantyre. They take care of 20 street kids from around Blantyre and they chose to raise them in a family setup. Godknows Maseko and his wife, Helen resigned from their various workplaces with an idea of taking care of the kids.

Since they started in 2007 they have met a lot of problems but are still operating thanks to a South African missionary, Felix Starker who started helping them until recently. Apart from finding food to feed the 20 kids, Godknows and Helen pays fees for 18 kids who go to school, buy basic necessities for them and pays rent for the house.

Maseko refuses to call his centre an orphanage claiming it has a psychological effect on the kids as they live in seclusion. He prefers to call it STEKA HOUSE and all the kids address him as ‘dad’. A visit to the centre proved this as the way they are raised is very different from the orphanages I have visited so far.

But they have a big problem in finding money. Maseko and his wife are jobless and were surviving on funding from Starker who has since stopped. This has prompted Maseko to start looking for an income generating activity but enough capital is a problem. In a proposal sent to me, he wants to revive a tailoring shop he used to have before Starker came in, start rearing chicken and gardening some vegetables for sell in supermarkets.

STEKA is therefore calling on all well wishers to help them in any way. You can email me if you want the proposal sent to you or visit STEKA’s blog for more information. Any help that you can offer will go a long way in taking care of the 20 kids at STEKA and hopefully many more kids.

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We passed through the Blantyre Magistrate’s court.....

Suddenly the music got so loud that we managed to attract the attention of passersby. Everyone stopped. We danced to the various songs that emitted from the huge speakers while we sang along. Some youths broke into loud prayers whilst others had the courage to touch the walls of the courthouse.
That was how things were when we passed through the Blantyre Magistrates Court where the fate of two gays, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza will be decided Nyakwawa UsiwaUsiwa next week. Hundreds of Christian youths from various CCAP congregations in Blantyre City Presbytery marched around the city on Saturday, 27th March.
As believers, future leaders of both the state and the church, we made our position clear on various issues affecting the country and the world through songs, placards and messages. We centered on what the bible says on same sex marriages, immorality, justice, equal rights and many more.

The march was organized by the Youth Steering Committee of CCAP Blantyre City Presbytery and started at Mount Pleasant CCAP to Limbe CCAP through the Highway. The idea was to make noise for Christ, proclaim his greatness and pray for various things happening in the world.

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ARE MALAWIANS MORE SUPERSTITIOUS?

The past three weeks have seen lots of stories about witchcraft making it to the front pages of the local dairies. From here in Mulanje where Agness Musolo delivered a 'stone' to Blantyre where a dead man 'resurrected' through Chileka where a man 'locked' his wife's private parts.

Various commentators have voiced out their views on all these strange happenings which have even prompted reputable geologists, psychologists,and specialist doctors in various fields to conduct experiments.

We all know that witchcraft exists and it is widely practiced in Malawi and many parts of the world (don't ask me how i came to this conclusion). But to find that all of a sudden these news are making headlines and are receiving positive comments keeps one wondering as to whether Malawians are becoming more superstitious.

A lot of property was damaged and people were injured in Bangwe because of chicken believed to be behind the road accidents (superstition). This is no simple matter and is likely to happen another day at another place where lots of accidents happen. A few days later a girl was thrown out on a witchcraft plane in the same area, Bangwe. In Mulanje everyone believes that the spirits in the mountain are behind the disappearance of Gabriel Bushman. From the village headman to those who organised the rescue operation all believe that the spirits are behind this. (More superstition).

The man who 'resurrected' in Blantyre is happily coming back to terms with his family after spending 6 months in the 'grave'. Instead of the authorities who are responsible for our health, safety and welfare, the 'resurrected man', Moses Levison is in the protection of a witch doctor (so these doctors are witches!!) More superstition.

When the scientists concluded that Agness Musolo did not give birth to the 'stone' but rather inserted it to the birth passage, more voices were against these finding choosing to believe the work of magic. (Superstition) I thought these are respected, learned professionals who are supposed to guide us in issues they know better than us.

Some thing ought to be done fast before we are all brainwashed to believe in witchcraft. I don't know what has to be done to deal with this (is it to adopt the witchcraft law or invest more time in prayer).

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MALAWI'S LOWEST PAYING JOB - 1

Despite that June and July are the coldest months of the year in Malawi, 28 year old, Jimmy Masangwi is spending all the nights of these months outside. Not that he doesn't have a home but it is what his work demands him to do. He works as a security guard for a certain security company in Blantyre.

Operating security firms is one of the blossoming businesses in the country that has attracted alot of people's interest. Walk in the streets of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu and see how many rapid response cars and uniformed security guards you will meet. Many business people including high profile politicians are operating security companies which are creating the much needed employment.

An interview with Masangwi and several other guards working with different security firms revealed the problems that these guards are going through in their companies. Chief among a list of problems is the salary that they are getting after spending 30 sleepless nights.Some get as little as K4,000 (US$28) per month. As if this is not enough, they get their money as late as the 7th of the following month.

This is a very sad development considering the fact that life has become expensive and people cannot survive on US$28 the whole month. These are people who have families that depend on them, they have to pay house rents, buy food and other necessities, pay for the children's school fees.

Masangwi also said that when companies or individuals hire guards from the security firm, they pay alot of money which in most cases is charged on daily basis, but the guards themselves get very little at the end of the month.

Recently a high profile politician who runs a security firm was locked in his office by his employees because of misunderstandings over salaries. Unfortunately these guards have no means of communicating their grievances to the relevant authorities because only a few of the security firms have labour unions.

As Malawi continues to enjoy the international recognition as one country whose economy is growing faster, these security guards are still a long way from benefiting the gains of this economic growth. They rarely get salary increments and their conditions of service are very poor despite being a sector which employs alot of people.

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