Malawi

Embangweni Hospital in Malawi:

Embangweni Hospital serves northern Malawi. Contributions help provide medicines, charity care, fuel, staff training and housing.  The hospital serves a population of about 100,000 people, with referral cases often coming from much further away, including Zambia.

Presbyterian work in Malawi has its roots in the Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland and the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa, which developed into the four synods that now make up the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), formed in the late 1940s. PC(USA) work in the country began in the mid 1950s and has been strong, through mission personnel and cooperative efforts with partner churches.

Malawi, a relatively small country, is poor and has suffered from drought and floods as well as the spread of HIV/AIDS. But it is English-speaking, which has aided mission efforts, and the people have been receptive. The PC(USA) has been very much involved with its partner churches’ health and educational ministries, including theological education, through congregational relationships and both long-term and volunteer personnel. One major focus is on orphans and day care centers for orphans. Other ministries are youth projects, leadership development and the Chingali Project, a Presbyterian Disaster Assistance pilot project that is feeding 50,000 people and helping to revitalize crop production. The Presbyterians were influential in standing up for oppressed minorities in 1994 and bringing about a multiparty democracy.