Mntendere Village

Lumbazi, Malawi "Impossible", they were told when the pioneers of the Blessings Complex started talking and dreaming about building one of the largest children's homes in the entire nation, but they would not hear of it, and ground breaking took place in February 2004. A group of Christians in Alabama became involved and started dreaming the same dream, and funding quickly followed. "Mtendere Village" was on its way to quickly becoming a reality. The name means "a place of peace", and in spite of the noisy sounds of hammers, saws and trowels as twenty-four houses began to take shape, Mtendere has become a refuge; "a place of peace" as it were for parentless children in central Malawi.

Moses Banda, the Communication Director for the Blessings Complex reports, "The setting of Mtendere is a purely village setting where children are living in families with their mother in each family. Mtendere village was built to provide, shelter, food, clothing and education to orphaned children who did not have access to these things due to death of their parents. It was built also to teach children different skills so that they can become independent. When the whole village is open we will have about 576 children living there. It was built to provide medical care since Blessings Hospital is within the complex, as many children do not have medical aid. Mtendere is a place where care for orphaned children is our concern."

The village, planned to combine a traditional setting so the children will not loose their African roots, along with exposure to the new world that is coming to the sub-Sahara, will bring a blend of the old and the new. House-parents, grand, house-parents, and cultural education will bring the traditions and life styles of the past, and the modern education system will prepare them for the future that is awaiting them just around the bend of time.

With the completion of Mtendere Village in Lumbadzi is projected the expansion of Mtendere houses to trading centers and villages in other parts of the nation. Food, clothing and others supplies will be delivered to the children in these other units, but they will be able to remain near their traditional homes and villages. The Lumbadzi facility will remain a core for children who need proximity to the hospital, and for a group of children who one day will take up the reins of the future of Mtendere Village.