So I have written a little bit about some of the work that I have been doing with The Chisomo Idea, but I decided I would share/ update everyone a little more. The Chisomo Idea is an amazing organization and the more people know about them, the better.
Chisomo is the Chechewa (the primary language spoken in Malawi) word for grace. The Chisomo Idea is an organization that was started by a husband and wife team, the husband of which is on staff at Flood San Diego and is actually from Malawi. The Chisomo Idea has different outreaches set in place to spread the Word of God, as well as His Love and Grace to the underprivileged in different parts of Malawi. In Malawi (as well as other third world countries, I am sure) there is a large gap between the upper class citizens and the impoverished. While there is a large gap economically between these groups, they are often juxtaposed next to each other spatially in a stark, in your face, almost seemingly immoral way. I have seen this juxtaposition go as far as seeing a large house with many rooms and a swimming pool in the backyard, backed up- literally maybe 100 feet away- from a village whose community primarily lives in mud huts. The Chisomo Idea is trying to bridge this gap and bring the privileged together with the impoverished.
There are three main facets that The Chisomo Idea uses to do this. First, there are children centers set up in different areas of Malawi. These are places that children can come, play games, hang out, learn the Word of God, and when resources are available have a bite to eat. There is also an aspect of education involved with the children centers. The centers provide different education resources such as health and hygiene education and help with general education. Another area that The Chisomo Idea works with is leadership training. The Chisomo Idea team acknowledges that the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and there is no reason why a child should be denied the opportunity to lead/be trained/ be a leader of tomorrow just because of their socioeconomic background. The leadership training targets youth of different ages to help equip them with skills that will aid them in their future endeavors. The final facet of The Chisomo Idea, and the area where I have been working, is the theater of dreams. This uses sports, namely football (soccer) to reach out and build up kids. Soccer is HUGE here. HUGE. Everywhere you look you see kids playing. If there isn't a ball around- which there normally isn't- they are playing with plastic bottles or some other improvised ball-like object, and they are normally playing on a patch of dirt littered with holes and bushes. By providing a place where kids can develop these soccer skills, it creates an environment that kids flock to. This creates an situation where kids can develop not only their soccer skills, but their social skills, their faith, their communication skills, and even their scholastic skills. (The Chisomo Idea has a program set up called the Scholar Athlete program where it helps pay school fees for some of their athletes that qualify.) The programs within the theater of dreams in Lilongwe (in a village called Chinsapo) is the area where I have primarily been working.
I have written before about going out to Chinsapo and playing soccer with the girls soccer team. I have tried to make that a regular event, going out and kicking the ball around- and getting my butt kicked- with the girls of Chinsapo. I have started to develop a friendship with these girls, and they are finally starting to open up to me. I am no longer that white girl playing soccer with them, I am just Danie. (Or at least that is what it seems like, and I hope I am not just taking away what I want to see from the situation). Last weekend we started our first bible study during practice. There were five girls, and two guys who coach the girls, making seven total. I am no where near qualified enough to lead a bible study, but I am excited to learn more about the Word of God with these girls. I am wanting to have a couple of the girls actually lead the bible study, and me just help, so when I leave Malawi in May it doesn't fall apart. Last Saturday was really encouraging. We talked about God's grace, what it meant, and how it applied to our lives. We had a discussion about what it looks like day in and day out. It was amazing. I am trying to do this bible study in English so that the girls become more comfortable speaking in English. We even read in English! It was a special moment when one of the girls was reading through the passage for the day and felt comfortable enough to stop and ask how to say certain words. I felt like for once I was helping these girls in some way- and more so that God was working through me to teach these girls skills applicable to life. Only two of the seven of them owned bibles.... This is something I hope to change.
The last thing that I have done with The Chisomo Idea that I haven't written about is a Christmas party that I helped put together for the kids of Chinsapo back in December. We called the party The Grace Period. One of the main guys that works for the Chisomo Idea here in Malawi (Cosmas) and I planned this party. We envisioned an environment where kids could come and play and listen to music and have a snack or two (or three) and just experience the amazing love and grace of God, as well as learn about the Christmas story. I was a little bit leery that the event would go off without a hitch, but it was an amazing success! We had so much help from our friends both here and in the States (thanks again!) and were able to host somewhere between 120 and 150 kids! We played lots of games ranging from chubby bunny for the older kids to dragon tag for the younger kids. It was so nice to see the smiles on the kids faces throughout the day. I really hope that they were able to see how much God loves them day in and day out through this one event.
I am really excited that I have been able to become more involved with The Chisomo Idea. I am only here for a couple more months, and I have a few more plans up my sleeve for the girls team. I can't wait to see if they pan out. I have been feeling a little stuck inside the walls of ABC campus, and going out on Saturdays to Chinsapo has been my escape. I think the girls think that I am going out there solely for them. I wish I were that selfless, but I'm not. Going out there helps me as much- most likely more- than me being there helps them. My heart is full of joy and love coming back from Chinsapo covered in the red dirt of Africa with soccer ball prints all over my body. These girls/kids have wedged a place in my heart, and I will forever be changed because of them.
If you like what you hear (read) about The Chisomo Idea, check out their website. www.chisomoidea.com. If you would like to get involved and help out, let me know! I would love to put you in contact with someone so that your skills and resources can be used to help better the lives of the amazing children I have been working with.
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